Farewell, Norman Brinker

A dead man can't be libeled. But trashing one is also in very poor taste, so I'll try to be temperate in my remarks about the death of Norman Brinker, who turned Chili's into one of the leading national chain restaurants in the casual dining industry.

I never heard of Brinker before his death earlier this week, at the age of 78, but what he developed is a symbol of what is wrong with how and where we, as a country, spend our money. The abundance and popularity of restaurant chains such as Chili's -- Applebee's, TGI Friday's, etc -- never ceases to amaze me. Sure, the food is generally very mediocre, overly greasy and a mishmash of way too many flavors in each dish, but there's something much more elemental and deeply disheartening about them.

For the sizable number of such restaurants in the industry, it's remarkable how they're all the same. Each, of course, claims to have a distinct personality, but, in the end, are essentially identical: Menus that hew as close to the middle of the spectrum as possible, with manufactured nostalgic knick-knacks on the walls, mildly cheery waiters and waitresses, neon-colored alcoholic drinks and free refills for soda. They're inexpensive, sure, but no more than $2 or $3 cheaper per meal than eating at a locally owned, similarly casual restaurant.

Furthermore, most are located in the "outdoor shopping centers," or whatever you want to call them, that have proliferated the past 10 years that have a Target or Wal-Mart, home furnishing store, electronics store, sporting goods store and a couple of these restaurants. At best, they're in a strip mall directly off a highway. Either way, there are endless parking spots. Wherever they are, they are part of the development genre that continuously draws people away from downtowns, when, really they're no more than several minutes' extra drive. Even the parent companies that own these restaurants, Darden Restaurants et al (and they own several each, to "diversify," which is an inherent contradiction here), all seem to be in suburban Florida, surely in distant office parks, compounding sprawl.

So, what compels people to patronize these restaurants? The only reason I can think of is the mirage of convenience, spun through snappy marketing, has replaced the idea and pleasure of authenticity. Whoever can figure out how to break us out of this morass will be a very successful and deservedly influential person.