Big Boy Elite Dinner

When I first read a story about a year ago that the decision makers at Big Boy decided to launch a gourmet burger concept called Burgrz, I was a little excited. I LOVE reboots. I love what Domino’s did with their «we suck, we’re sorry, and we fixed it, please come back» thing.
I was even MORE excited when I went to Burgrz for the first time. They are actually fantastic burgers, and the whole place feels great. Big Boy is behind this? Really?
That said, when I got invited to this Unilocal Elite event, I was terribly excited; I thought for sure that Big Boy was seeing the success at Burgrz as a sign to reboot their core franchise.
That was my problem: I had high hopes.
We all know what Big Boy is: Big Boy is for the geriatric set. It’s where we take Grandma every Wednesday for lunch. I’m not sure why it ended up with this reputation, because they certainly try different images on for size; sometimes they try to go «celebrate retro classic Americana», sometimes they try on «You know you love Big Boy desserts» and sometimes they try to be the family restaurant to end all family restaurants. They sort of have an identity crisis, in a way.
So here I went to this event, expecting a total reboot, a la Burgrz. What I got was this:
The cleanest, nicest Big Boy restaurant I’ve ever been to. The exact same Big Boy restaurant menu that hasn’t changed since I stopped going with my Grandma in 2005.
The same crappy iced tea from a powder mix. The same eyebrow-​raising prices. The same «chain food» feel; if it’s not deep fried, it’s microwaved.
Don’t get me wrong; this particular restaurant was a four-​star experience – for a Big Boy. The staff was a little harried, but that was probably because the place was absolutely packed.
I had a good meal; really, I did. I had their new chili fries, and they were awesome. I had a buffalo chicken salad from their «new» menu, and it was just fine. It was certainly not gourmet, fresh ingredients, but it was fine.
My girlfriend got a piece of pie, though, that was REALLY sad. The crust wasn’t even a crust; it was a slab of mushy dough. Seriously, at first we both thought it hadn’t been baked. It was a sad, sad excuse for «pie». No flaky anything. Kinda gross.
My friend got the new «bad boy burger» and he was excited, because he LOVES Burgrz. This, however, was not a Burgrz-​grade burger. No. This was a standard burger with some hot sauce and a HUGE overabundance of mustard on it. I mean, so much mustard that he literally couldn’t eat it. He was also disappointed in his mac and cheese.
I think Big Boy has something here: I think they know that they need to change their image. HOWEVER, this ALSO means they have to change everything about their kitchen; they need new recipes, new suppliers, and new cooks. The food was exactly the same as I always remember it: Good enough for Grandma.