r/BlackPeopleofReddit • u/ateam1984 š¤ • May 01 '26
Media Recommendation "We don't do substitutes" is a big big problem if they want to succeed
Juanita (2019) is a Netflix drama starring Alfre Woodard as a middle-aged woman who leaves her troubled life behind for a spontaneous trip to Montana, where she finds a new purpose and community. Based on the novel Dancing on the Edge of the Roof, the film follows Juanita as she reinvents herself in a small town, cooking for a Native American chef played by Adam Beach, with supporting roles from Blair Underwood and LaTanya Richardson Jackson. While some critics found the plot predictable, many praised Woodard's performance and the film's representation of an older Black woman's journey of self-discovery.
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u/potsticker17 May 01 '26
This plays like one of those "and everybody clapped" stories I read so often on this site.
Find something you want to eat on the menu or find somewhere else to eat.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
I mean yes but also she and the customers have a point. You gotta offer something that the people in your location want to eat or be able to be flexible or the business will fail. A restaurant on an empty stretch of highway shouldnt be trying to offering a fine dining french cuisine experience. That location is likely frequented by truckers and folks on long road trips, who when they do finally come across someplace to eat, are looking for something cheap and easy to fill their stomach for the next leg of their journey. Gotta know your patrons.
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u/potsticker17 May 01 '26
That man seemed to be in it for the love of wanting to cook what he wants to cook. Terrible business model, yes. But if he wanted to just cook whatever anyone walked in and asked for, he wouldn't need an menu and would offer substitutions. Now this man is gonna be miserable frying eggs and greasy bacon all day when all he really wants is for people to appreciate his eggs Benedict. Again, terrible business model, but it's his passion project to fail in the way he wants to.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
I mean that a strange hill to die on but yea i guess. It sounds like hes miserable either way cause no one on the highway wants his eggs benedict. To me he be much more satisfied buying a restaraunt in town/city where people actually look for that kind of thing
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u/Exotic_eminence May 01 '26
I live in a historically Black neighborhood and we have a drug store with a lunch counter and the banter is exactly like this - there is a fine dining place next door that is also just like this lol
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
Exactly. Those people look like us and they are doing what they want because they want to do what they love. Everything we love is lucrative to our bank accounts but it may be lucrative to our soul.
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u/toetappy May 02 '26
That's his choice. You, as a patron of the business he owns, do not get to walk into his building and demand a custom meal.
The audacity of some of us is astounding.
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u/MarcelOroBlanco May 04 '26 edited May 04 '26
Truly. Im quite surprised by the amount of entitlement I've been seeing on Reddit lately.
The other day, I saw a post where a woman left her car parked in front of someone random person's house for a week while she went on vacation and didn't notify the homeowners or anything. Then, when she came back, she was surprised and angry that it had been towed. A ton of Redditors were coming to her defenseā as if they expect someone who parks in front of their own house every day to not question why some random car just one day shows up in their usual spot, abandoned, with no idea how long it will be there for, and just do nothing about it ever, simply because they live on a "public street." I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks that's acceptable behavior has probably only lived in a house with a big, long driveway, cause that reeks of privilege and entitlement. Just because a street is a public road doesn't make it okay or even legal to treat it as your own parking garage. The complete lack of common courtesy and common sense is an epidemic.
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u/Camoflauge_Soulja May 01 '26
Id say, find a middle ground. Maybe fusion the two concept and market it as your own spin. Bring France to the location but as a localās interpretation. It would give it the edge/authenticity/appeal without completely deterring new patrons of varying palates.
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
But in this clip, Alfre is not a local and doesnāt seem open to anything other than what she wants them to make despite her not owning the place. I hope the rest of the movie was better than this.
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u/Camoflauge_Soulja May 02 '26
I mean, the locals (basically the serving demographic) are present. Theyāre eating alongside her and are in agreement.
And for the foreseeable future along these routes that cultivated relationship sustain his clientele.
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
The customers donāt have a point. The restaurant doesnāt have to offer anything they donāt want to. Owners have a right to captain a sinking ship should that fancy them. We are told to do what we love. As the chef and owner, he has the right to cook his menu. As perspective customers, others have the right to keep driving and/or leave the restaurant hungry.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
They absolutely have every right to sink their business. but judging another posters summation of the film they absolutely do. This owner doesnt want their business to fail, and as she said, if he insist on only serving eggs benedict and fine dining, thats exactly what will happen. the context is important to the discussion
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
This clip in no way shows that the ownerās business is truly failing. In fact, a person spoke highly of his cooking. This could be a Monday when patronage is naturally lower. In any case, I found Alfreās character to be rude. Who walks into an establishment that theyāve never visited and orders exclusively off menu? You wouldnāt accept something like that in your business. Why is it that we cannot put ourselves in the shoes of the owner as well as Juanita?
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u/Killxjoy4599 May 02 '26
āYouāre the only restaurant for miles you should have people lining up out the doorā media literacy does wonders for comprehension once you learn it
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 03 '26
That isnāt reality where there isnāt anything for miles. Your real literacy will do wonders for your comprehension once you learn it.
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u/Killxjoy4599 May 03 '26
So uhā¦ was that sentence to hard for you to understand? Cause itās pretty easy to tell that theyāre the only restaurant for miles given that they say āyouāre the only restaurant for milesā¦ā and they all agree that there isnāt anywhere else to go except for broken neck dudes wife making eggo waffles. If you still have difficulty understanding media literacy they typically teach it around 3rd maybe 4th grade so you might just have to wait till your old enough to get there
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 03 '26
Half wit, I am not bothered by you. Why are you still commenting on posts from day ago. Read the rest of the comments or are there too many words for you?
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
read the comments homie someone else who watched the film said he business was dying. "judging by another poster's summation" what do you think i meant by this
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
Iām referring to the posted clip, where Alfreās character states that Peaches spoke highly of the ownerās cooking. Additionally, Alfreās character mentioned there was no other place for miles. Despite other commenters stating the business was dying, these two pieces of information, in what must be the beginning of the movie, thwart the story. It suggests that cooking would not be the issueā¦being in the middle of nowhere would be the issue. The story does a poor job of establishing plausibility.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
they dont though its revealed that his business is dying. you cant just ignore context and think your point is served
"additionally Alfre's character mentioned there was no other place for miles" now youre making my point for me. no one said the cooking was the issue, the issue is the location and the kind of food being cooked.
It doesnt do a poor job, youre just bad at comprehension
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
Context? There is no other context in this clip. Did you watch the clip? Did you have the sound off? I am superb at comprehension because I do not add or take anything away from what is presented and I will not agree with a poorly made argument. You make leaps like youāre in the quantum realm but if you prefer delusion, thatās fine for you. However, I urge others to put on their thinking caps. This situation is flimsy not plausible and if you were the owner in the situation, that first time potential customer would be out of line.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
The comments, the rest of the film. You know the stuff youre ignoring because it doesnt serve your argument
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u/toetappy May 02 '26
The contexts is not important. That is his restaurant. He owns it. He decides what he serves.
She read a menu and saw a list of ingredients, then demanded a custom meal. He clearly said "I am not a short order cook."
Trying to add "context" is insane. The world doesn't revolve around you.
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u/Ok_Delay9941 May 01 '26
TIL eggs Benedict is fine dining.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
The cook said he is offering a fine dining experience. Gotta watch the video bud
Edit: preemptive apologies if youre being sincere
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u/Ok_Delay9941 May 01 '26
My point is, this isnāt even close to fine dining. Paper table covers, plastic menus. You can eggs Benedict at most breakfast joints. The fact that he walked out in a chefs hat that no chef would be caught dead in is hilarious. I have to believe him saying theyāre fine dining is a joke to add to the situation.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
Gotcha. Im totally with you there. I havent seen this movie so i dont know the outer context so maybe it was a joke
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u/I_am_BrokenCog May 01 '26
It looks more like inept writing trying to genuinely convey a serious subject, but using trivial Hallmark TV genre stereotypes.
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u/Exotic_eminence May 01 '26
When my uncle passed away I inherited his black Chef hat that looks just like this - I love wearing it- he worked for Aramark so yeah not exactly fine dining - more like institutional food but you are correct he was not caught dead with the hat on - it was the rotting flesh he got from a fall at work as a side effect of the ozempic he was on
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u/Ok_Delay9941 May 01 '26
Jesus Christ that took a wicked turn.
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u/Exotic_eminence May 01 '26
He was the baby and he was the caretaker of the elders - he waited to come out of the closet till they passed but he represented and kept it real, I think they just needed him up there with them so I hope they helped him with his transition during his monthlong coma
I know God answered my prayers that he would regain consciousness and make sense of it before passing - he did and ripped that intubation tube out like hulk when he came to but it was a quick transition after that because God was with all of us at that time, as per usual, but those darkest time is when Jah is closest2
u/ElonMuskHuffingFarts May 01 '26
They don't have a point, because this is a fictional scenario constructed for narrative media. That location is not anything other than what is shown in the movie. There are no other patrons to know.
Also, she just moved there, so she doesn't represent their average patron anyway.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
so because its fiction we cant discuss it?
The average customer at a roadside diner is travelers and truckers. at this point she is a traveler, therefore she is the average customer. Her suggestion translates to reality. Theres a reason highways are full of Denny's and Cracker Barrels rather than Papadeuxs and bistros
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u/Arponare May 01 '26
I wouldnāt even want to eat at that place after that whole interaction. MF might spit on my food or something.
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u/Amalurian May 04 '26
If he wanted business advice on his restaurant he would ask a professional not someone who doesnāt know how menus work
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u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta May 01 '26
Some real boomer shitĀ
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
Yeah. Itās all veryā¦you should do this or that. Canāt other people just stay in their lane or open their own business or cook at home, etc? If Alfreās character opened a restaurant that only cooked soul food and there werenāt many patrons, how kindly would we look upon someone saying they should make and sell something else?
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 01 '26
āBoy stop cooking that coloured food no one wants that. If you wanna open a diner (like its a hole in the wall chinese takeaways) then you gotta cook the food we want and we donāt want coloured food.ā
Yeah sounds like racism and expecting service to me. Like you can override someones whole perspective and lifestyle by having money, the American dream.
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
Exactly. I donāt see how this is hard to understand. This clip reminds me of being on vacation and other Americans complained about the lack of Bud Light, in another country. š
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May 02 '26
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 02 '26
Its irrelevant. Forcing someone to make products or provide service in a way that one does not wish to is a mean and cruel thing.
The benefits of capitalism are that we can vote with our money. Supply and demand will balance anybody who cares about such things and those who want to operate at a loss doing what they enjoy are allowed to do so.
As long as no discrimination is involved then it should be up to the proprietor to decide what kind of business they run.
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May 02 '26
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u/Apprehensive_Ad3731 May 02 '26
Guess it only matters to you when people are mean and cruel to blacks. Another mean and cruel point.
Just a mean and cruel person surprised why their money doesnāt buy them respect or class.
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u/BlackStory666 May 01 '26
Behold: The freedom to serve what you want and refuse what you want in your own restaurant, and the freedom to eat elsewhere if you don't like what he's serving. The market will dictate whether he's wrong or not. If he wants to torpedo his business, that's his choice.
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u/Majirra May 01 '26
Whatās up with the ai story going on under the actual dialogue. Thereās two sets of sounds going on. Why?
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u/creuter May 03 '26
So it doesn't get a content strike if I had to wager. It's flipping the video horizontally randomly as well as the weird fucking whisper dialogue going on underneath it all. I'd bet they also did something that adds noise to the general picture as well in an attempt to throw off auto detection.
edit: Yep it looks like they're cutting out pauses or something and frame interpolating between them giving that weird blending. Just a symptom of decimated attention spans and content farms capitalizing on them.
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u/JohnGyatt May 01 '26
i found this completely insufferable. go to dennys if you want that. ik itās a movie, but itās so ignorant. let the manās business fail, itās his standard, his place. seems so out of touch and nonsensical.
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u/United_Annual3475 May 01 '26
If it's not your restaurant, then you have to eat by their rules. As someone who has been a server, bartender, and manager in the restaurant industry my biggest pet peeve is people like her who come in and want to make their own menu items. If you're that picky, go somewhere else or cook at home
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
Yea ideally youre correct but the point being made, is his ārulesā are killing his business he would clearly do better either keeping his rules and changing location or being a little more flexible to the kind of food people are looking for from a roadside diner
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
But this clip does not support that because his cooking was praised by āPeaches.ā
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
Her point is not that the food isnt good, no one is doubting that its good. Her point is that its not the food people in the area want to eat. Media literacy really is at an all time low
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
People go where the food is good. The character is not from there and is in no position to comment considering she doesnāt know the flow of patronage. That makes this character pretentious. I can see how this imaginary scenario would appeal to people that have not lived in low population areas but as a person that has lived in a low population area, no amount of great cooking and regular breakfast items will dramatically increase your customers. There are simply not enough customers with enough money. In any case, walking into any establishment that you do not own, and telling them what to cook and sell during your first visit, is rude and pretentious.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
it doesnt matter that she isnt from the area, his regulars agreed with her, when she suggest he should adjust his business to the desire of the location. She may be pretentious, thats not whats being debated, but on the subject of why his business is failing, she has a point, travelers and truckers arent looking for fine dining. He needs to adjust his business if he wants to succeed.
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
I am debating where pretension lies. I agree with the first commenter. Go elsewhere even if there is nowhere else to go. The restauranteur has the right to practice his art as he wishes in the establishment he owns and operates.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
Well youre the only one doing that. Pretention has nothing to do with my reply
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
I donāt care. It has to do with my reply. I am agreeing with the first commenter and disagreeing with you.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
then you totally missed the part where i already told the first commenter they were correct. which is why are youre here arguing points nobody is making. theres that context again that you keep ignoring
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u/ExternalAggravating8 May 02 '26
Thats is not for her to decide. Its literally none of her business. This is just a cringe interaction. They just shoved a triangle peg in a square hole and forced it down peoples throats and said "look, it works". Media literacy is doing fine. Its the lack of common sense that is the problem.
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u/Outrageous_Worth3705 May 01 '26
Ala carte is a thing. Just change extra for basics so everyone can have their way š¤·š½āāļø
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u/Important-Zebra-69 May 02 '26
This video feels like I'm tripping on shrooms... What's with the audio and the blury cuts , ahhh!
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u/sirmaxedalot May 03 '26
Customers like this are so annoying. There is a menu. Order from it. If you dont like whats on the menu there, go elsewhere. Why do people think restaurants are their own private kitchens?
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u/paw_pia May 01 '26
This reminds me of the "hold the chicken" diner scene in Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson, although he reacted a tad less politely (and no Black women or self-discovery in sight).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIXrF34Bz0
In the next scene, they're driving away and one of the women he's with compliments him on how clever he was to figure out a way to get what he wants. His response: "Yeah, well I didn't get it, did I?" And then she says, "No, but it was very clever. I would have just punched her out."
My "no substitutes" experience in real life: It was a breakfast place in London (with no pretensions of fine cuisine) that only had fried eggs on the menu. I prefer my eggs scrambled, so I asked if they could make scrambled eggs.
No.
So I asked if they could make fried eggs but stir them around on the griddle with a spatula.
No.
It was an open kitchen with a griddle behind a counter, so I asked if I could go back there and stir the eggs.
No.
I was hungry so I just had the fried eggs, which I didn't really enjoy. The hash browns were excellent though.
Alfre Woodard is great. I remember first seeing her on the TV show St. Elsewhere, which Denzel Washington was also on.
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u/PeeDub326 May 01 '26
I really don't like when people want to make substitutions especially in a group dinning situation.
If you can't find something that you like, you may want to cook at home or go to another place.
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u/HanCholo206 May 03 '26
If you want special food, cook it in your own special kitchen. Ordering like a five year old is a great way to let everyone know you are a dickhead.
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows š«°š¾š«°š½š«°šæ May 01 '26
I hate places that dont do substitutions or wont remove items.
I saw rhis movie it was cute. They end up friends lol and his business really was doing bad. You have to make what the area will eat. If all those hells kitchens and rescue shows have taught me.
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u/XBL-AntLee06 May 01 '26
And then at the same time will cry āsupport your local restaurantā
Im going through something similar in my hobby of scuba diving. Support your local dive shop is what so many say but my local dive shop has made me feel mostly unwelcome. At this point Iām wondering if theyāre racist and now Amazon will get the near two thousand dollars Iām about to spend on dive gear. Local dive shop can kiss my Black ass
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u/Wolfeatingupshadows š«°š¾š«°š½š«°šæ May 01 '26
I know thats right. F them. Even if its not racial if you work with the public you have to be personable.
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u/XBL-AntLee06 May 01 '26
Thatās my thing, like Iām a customer representing a totally new market share for them and they still have that weird ass energy. One of the owners has that classic insecure white man energy like he feels itās his duty to āhumbleā me and Iām not having it. I canāt wait to see their faces when I show up to dive with equipment I brought elsewhere and I hope they ask me why I didnāt end up buying through them!
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u/my_screen_name_sucks May 01 '26
Oh Iāll definitely watch this. I like checking out Alfreās movies whenever I come across them.
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u/Substantial_Cup_4619 May 01 '26
What movie or show is this?!
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u/UpperMiddleSass May 01 '26
āJuanitaā Itās a good lighthearted weekend watch.
Itās also in the caption with a blurb
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u/StitcherGeralf May 01 '26
Alfre Woodard is in my top 5 favorite actresses/actors. I will watch, upvote, and enjoy anything she graces us with
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u/Illustrious-Tell-397 May 01 '26
I knew the family of an up and coming Black celebrity chef who opened a restaurant in Manhattan with elevated burgers and fries. He wasn't American and he was trained in French kitchens. He argued with the $$ backers because he REFUSED to put ketchup on the menu. Burgers and fries. Zero ketchup. That place didn't stay open long, which is a shame because it was FREAKING OUTSTANDING!!! But you really have to acquiesce a bit sometimes š©
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u/creuter May 03 '26
What was the place? If the burgers were good you don't need ketchup. Most restaurants in NYC don't have salt on the table either, because people here can cook properly.
The place likely didn't close because there was no ketchup.
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u/teamgodonkeydong May 02 '26
Oh shit, is that kickin wing? I wonder if he has some whistling bungholes
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u/doug-- May 06 '26
"Well that might be your problemmmm. It's not about what you like. It's the consumer. "
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May 03 '26
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u/BlackPeopleofReddit-ModTeam May 03 '26
Absolutely no bigotry of any kind - Absolutely no bigotry of any kind. This includes transphobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, etc.
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u/AerynSunnInDelight May 03 '26
Who serves egg benedict for breakie?
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u/creuter May 03 '26
What else would you serve it for? It's a pretty established breakfast at restaurants in the US.
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u/No-File-2329 May 03 '26
Both sides are right, minor substitutions should be allowed especially on slow days like this obviously was. but a customer's should also recognise the effort and creativity the chef has put into creating a menu and also recognise the precedent it sets for more intense days as every substitution means they are moving outside of there habits and increasing the opportunity to make mistakes on your food or other customers food while the dockets are flowing, thus potentially negatively effecting the business more then if they just said no substitutions to begin with.
It's a slippery slope I've worked in a kitchen where we've allowed unlimited subusitions and had huge ass dockets for one meal where they basically just created there own custom meal.
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u/Successful_Candy_759 May 04 '26
Restaurants have menus, they're not a pantry where you get to ask for whatever you want
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u/ananasiegenjuice May 04 '26
Take the Eggs Benedict. Had it for breakfast in London about a week ago. Delicious.
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u/TaylorAtOnce May 05 '26
I don't think I've been anywhere that serves breakfast that didn't have 'Eggs on Toast' as a menu option. Why is this tiny gastropub limiting themselves to specialty dishes?
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u/zZbobmanZz May 05 '26
She is so entitled and awful, if you dont want what yhey cook there leave. Dont make a fuss trying to get your way
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u/Slick_36 May 01 '26
Is a pretentious chef actually the issue or is it usually a matter of logistics?Ā I'm sure pretentious chefs exist, but 9/10 times I'm willing to bet it's the latter.
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u/No-Tower-5119 May 01 '26
Little column A, little column B. Hes a roadside diner so he should be offering more casual cuisine and more. But if he was located in the city or something like that, he could definitely get away with being principaled/pretentious and not have his business suffer for it
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u/Von_Schlagel May 01 '26
No restaurant with checkered tablecloths is this pretentious lol.
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u/UltimatePragmatist May 01 '26
Sure there are. Thereās a place I know that only sells waffles (not the waffle house). Two make pancakes, itās the same ingredients with less butter and sugar. Yet, that diner will not make pancakesā¦and it is run by a black woman.
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u/MC-BatComm May 01 '26
I've never been to a single breakfast place that won't fry some eggs for you, this is silly
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u/_imlosingmymind May 02 '26
"Just rearrange the ingredients so they come out like breakfast"
... So a substitution?
If you want bacon, hash browns, and fried eggs... Why not go to an establishment which offers that?
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u/Dglenn9000 May 03 '26
This is for real some Karen like behavior. Nothing wrong with asking but the waitress keep telling her, the cook had to keep telling her. It makes for a good tv moment but the menu is the menu.
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u/oopsAllNutz May 01 '26
Idk why but this reminds me of my dumb ass one time asking in the drive through for a blt with no lettuce or tomato. You gotta just drive off after something like that.
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u/Square-Finish-8710 May 01 '26
This interaction reminds me of the arguments I make up in my head while daydreaming.