At the risk of potentially offending any possible die-hard fans of this particular restaurant out there reading this blog, I will stand by the statement that Perkins is not high quality food. There are many other places that are cheaper, tastier, and healthier than Perkins.
That being said, Thursday night, I went to Perkins.
To me, it seems that going to Perkins forever will be a social event – having very little to do with the actual food that is eaten (as, in my experiences, eating at this restaurant sober happens very rarely), and more so to do with the fact that it is open late and it is a place to get quick food with very small risks of being kicked out for being drunken and disorderly.
Thursday night was the birthday of one of my roommates, and we threw a huge party. By about four in the morning, there were only four of us left awake, drunk, and hungry. So instead of making food, or just bypassing the food all together, we went to Perkins. The owners of Perkins must be absolute geniuses to have such a place open 24 hours, serving BOTH breakfast and dinner at all times. But back to the economics / politics of this adventure: drunken munchies is not a new or novel concept, the craving of food is really normal. But as far as places to gather while drunk and hungry go, Perkins seems a strange choice. In my group of friends, eating is generally where our nights begin and end, centering around food only because it is a nice diversion from a bar or house, and everybody enjoys sub-par pancakes. It is a weird habit we have acquired, turning Perkins into more of a place of memories of past parties or adventures that ended up with the Perkins dining experience. Perkins is, in my mind, something that is more than just a place to eat. Even when not hungry, we are driven to there for a change of pace in a night, to switch locations, etc. It’s a strange habit but centers around socializing; it would be beneficial to go eat somewhere else for the sake of our bodies (plates loaded with bacon, eggs, burgers, breakfast potatoes and sides of muffins and pancakes are not items that should be eaten often) but we are stuck in this rut and have nowhere else to go at four in the morning. Location, time and drunkenness make Perkins the perfect place to go.
I too have many fond memories of Perkin's mediocre food. It's one of the few restaurants my friends from high school can agree to eat at (since a multitude of them are picky eaters) and even though I don't really like the place, I still feel this draw to go there, if only because of the memories I have there. I have a tendency to over-think this sort of stuff, so I'll avert doing that now. But it does blow my mind how a restaurant like Perkins can keep drawing me in even thought I'd rather not be a patron.
ReplyDeletePerkins knows all of your reasons for going there. They know nowhere else will take you, so sub-par is better than nothing. It's a lovely balance.
ReplyDeletePerkins is also great for old people. They can recognize everything on the menu, and get a senior discount. Old people want familiarity and frugality. Set the bar low, and places like Perkins will meet you down there. The only ones who lose are those poor, late-night waitstaff. I ffugure they give as much as they think they'll get in gratuity from drunken college students (or frugal old folks.)
For me, the big question is: how can a stomach full of alcohol be okay with adding in greasy, carb-heavy foods? It's some kind of magic; one or the other may make you puke, but together they have some synergistic effect that gets you through 'til Sunday morning. Further research is required.
You're not the only one filled with nostalgic perkins experiences!
ReplyDeleteDuring high school we'd go there before school for birthday breakfasts or late night post-party meals. Even in high school, I never was the biggest fan of french fries, burgers (even when I did eat meat), pancakes, or eggs. But it didn't matter! Something about Perkins made me WANT to like it. Or rather, the experience and the people I was with completely took precedence over the food I was actually eating. So to this day, as it sort of disgusts me to say it, I LOVE the caramel apple perkins pie.
This reminds me of something my grandfather (my father's father) told me when growing up. He owned a bar/restaurant, and when I made a remark along the lines of "I can't believe so many people come here when the food sucks" (I was around 8, mind you). That was when he told me something that I'll never forget.
ReplyDeleteA restaurant, like Perkins, isn't so much selling food as much as it is selling an experience. Perkins is a relatively mild example, but think of the highly stylistic restaurants like Rainforest Cafe'. It's not the food you go for, it's the atmosphere, the social liveliness, the social and personal ties one has to the place.
I think Perkins and others represent, in a way, how food has essentially become a commodity in our society. One doesn't just eat in order to keep your heart and lungs functioning, eating has become something one does.
We don't go to Perkins drunk at 4 AM because the food is good, we go there for the overall experience of eating at Perkins drunk at 4 AM.