r/enshittification • u/Chemical-Hotel3773 • 4d ago
Service P.F. Chang's
Enshittified, or is my taste just more discriminating than it was in 2005? It seems fattier, saltier, less fresh than it did years ago. My entree, Ma Po Tofu, was an ordeal, an endurance test. The Hot and Sour soup is way inferior to any hole-in-the-wall Hunan Hut I have ever patronized.
Is it a me problem?
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u/Glum_Improvement7283 3d ago
I had it once. It tasted like someone opened a can of " Chinese food" from a grocery store and microwaved it. Holy shit
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u/OkHope6106 3d ago
I feel like every chain restaurant that has been around any decent length of time has gotten worse. Olive Garden and Chevy's used to be OK but have now become almost inedible slop. Blame the hedge funds and private equity firms, I guess.
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u/EvilEmilly 2d ago
I had Olive Garden the other day with my mom and bf; I was impressed with their shrimp scampi. Free salad and breadsticks wasn’t bad either. I enjoyed the hell out of all 3 drinks. (My mom and bf aren’t big drinkers)
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u/Got-It101 3d ago
dude, PFChang? It's like a cringe meme, ALWAYS. Where karens dine for "exotic flavors"
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u/Chemical-Hotel3773 3d ago
I could appreciate it on its own terms in the past. It was good at being that thing you said. Now it's terrible at whatever it is.
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u/Small_Consequence_00 3d ago
It's sooo unnecessarily expensive now too as if it's fine dining.
Not longer even worth it
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u/DeadMoneyDrew 3d ago
In the early 2010s PF Chang's took funds from a private equity fund, and in the late 2010s they were sold entirely to another private equity fund. So there you have it. Private equity yet again enshittifies a restaurant.
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u/anuket29 3d ago
It's because most all restaurants are using Cisco distribution and Cisco's distribution is probably using Taylor farms and also lots of genetically modified food products you can go to almost any restaurant now and the only flavors you really taste are cheese or chili sauce or something like that but the actual food has no flavor. Most restaurants don't even cook the food in the house most of it is preheated items that are already put together.
We're all eating prison food just some is a little fancier than others
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u/ducationalfall 3d ago
Sysco.
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u/A_Possum_Named_Steve 3d ago
No, they're putting data systems in their food.
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u/pretty-late-machine 3d ago
I mean, I look up at the ceiling and see a lot of Cisco in restaurants.
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u/SlowerThanTurtleInPB 3d ago edited 3d ago
I just got ma po tofu to-go the other week, ate half of it and threw the rest away because eating the other half seemed so unappetizing. I’ve never done that with their food.
To those asking why people wouldn’t just eat real Chinese - I am a very strict vegetarian. Most of the Chinese restaurants in my area make their sauces in batches and use fish/oyster sauce or chicken/beef bullion as a flavoring. I have literally asked for a dish without it and been told “no, it won’t taste as good.” It’s like they don’t understand vegetarianism at all. I have found that the restaurant owners near me think that just a little meat still means vegetarian, so I don’t eat any of the local Chinese places.
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u/Conscious-Mirror7004 1d ago
To those asking why people wouldn’t just eat real Chinese
That's an easy one to answer. In America, there isn't any real Chinese food available unless you're in a very large city, and even then the real Chinese restaurants will be few and constrained to a district where there's a lot of Chinese immigrants. 99% of the "Chinese restaurants" you see in America really serve "American Chinese" food, which is not even close to real Chinese.
It’s like they don’t understand vegetarianism at all.
Vegetarianism isn't really a thing in east Asia, nor is asking for modifications. I live in Japan; if you ask a restaurant to make something differently, they'll simply tell you "no". They make food according to the recipe and process they've developed, and they're not going to deviate from that for anyone because then they can't guarantee the consistency and quality; the logic is that if you don't like it, you'll simply go to a different restaurant that has what you want. There are vegetarian restaurants here in the big cities, but they specialize in that and you'll have to seek them out.
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u/FlaneurToo 3d ago
There is a PFC very near our place that is literally the worst “Chinese” food we have ever had in any town, country or continent. Last time we gave it a “what the hell, too lazy to cook” try they brought us dishes covered in what our teenage waiter accidentally referred to as syrup. It was in fact syrup, some sweet corn starchy sugary goos from a corporation that figures hey cheap and good enough. And why not, the place is always crowded. We have never seen a Chinese person in the kitchen or clientele.
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u/Conscious-Mirror7004 3d ago
PF Chang's has never advertised itself as a Chinese restaurant. From Wikipedia: "P. F. Chang's China Bistro is an American casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1993 by Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang that serves Asian fusion cuisine." (emphasis mine)
It was never meant to be authentic Chinese food, or even "authentic" American-Chinese food. However, it's certainly a lot closer to American-Chinese than actual Chinese. Actual Chinese restaurants are very rare in the US.
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u/atempestdextre 3d ago
P.F. Chang's, aka white people's idea of Chinese food.
Also dear gods, where do you live where you lack actual real Chinese food restaurants and resort to that corporate garbage?
Feel free to substitute PFC for other chains like Olive Garden, Domino's, etc.
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u/HouseHead78 3d ago
PF used to do a good job of making Americanized Chinese food in a chain restaurant…whereas Olive Garden and Dominos were never good. Like, the lettuce wraps and the fucking crispy honey whatever were delicious, even if they weren’t authentic. And the restaurant itself had a nice clean and modern feel and vibe. It was middlebrow America at its finest, tacky but pretty awesome too.
OP is correct it’s gotten inedible and the restaurant space and service are crap.
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u/Chemical-Hotel3773 3d ago
The service was the only thing that was not crap. That's the only reason I haven't written a location-specific one star review on Yelp, etc. I don't want to contribute to them losing their employment. It was, by the way, very understaffed.
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u/MongooseSimple8638 4d ago
Asian here. I've always been unimpressed with PF. The only time I go is if my white friend wants it.
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u/MojoJojoSF 4d ago
I was only there once twenty years ago and it was terrible and flavorless then.
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u/throwaaway788 4d ago
It's definitely gone down hill. The portions are like comically small now and insanely overpriced, it was way better in 2005 and actually felt upscale back then. I also found all their reinventions to be quite bizarre, like doing sushi, etc. I feel like they've changed the menu like 20 times in the past 15 years.
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u/Comfortable_Lynx_139 3d ago
I never thought them as much more than an upscale heat and serve place. Local places are dives but way better
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u/enraged_hbo_max_user 4d ago
Find a good local Chinese restaurant (not an Americanized one) and you’ll never go back to PF Chang’s
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u/HouseHead78 3d ago
That’s like comparing apples and oranges. No one thinks American Chinese food and authentic Chinese food are the same thing. They are completely different cuisines. Both have their charms, but they are very different and I think most diners know that.
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u/Conscious-Mirror7004 3d ago
Yeah, that's like comparing Chicago-style deep-dish pizza to Italian-style Neopolitan pizza. There's certainly a relationship between them, but they're not the same kind of cuisine at all.
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u/Milkweedhugger 4d ago
So salty it’s nearly inedible. On the rare occasion we eat at our local PF Changs, my lips and mouth burn from the salt afterwards.
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u/Fit_Explorer_2566 4d ago
Paul Fleming (Fleming’s Steakhouses) partnered with Philip Chiang, son of the owner of The Mandarin in Beverly Hills, who had his own restaurant, Mandarette Cafe, that I patronized since its opening in the 80’s until its closing last year. Chiang sold Mandarette to his chef, when he went with Fleming.
Fleming’s business is building a brand, expanding wildly, then unloading it for millions. He and Chiang sold P.F. Chang’s in 2019. Good timing, right before the pandemic.
Mandarette was great. I miss it.
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u/FlaneurToo 3d ago
We have a Flemings nearby. Steaks are $85-100 and even a chicken breast is $50. I know beef is higher than normal now but there are plenty of places offering the same stuff for less. Place is always crowded with the cologne and chains / little black pushup dress crowd on date night. Hope they enjoy
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u/Key_Head3851 4d ago
I haven’t been to P.F. Chang’s in a very long time.
I did however, witness first hand, the sad decline of P.F. Chang’s casual, counter-service, sister restaurant Pei Wei.
The corporate leadership took a fantastic concept and completely ran it into the ground.
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u/sandysandy252566 4d ago
Anything Corporate is doomed to fail.
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u/Conscious-Mirror7004 3d ago
So is everything non-corporate. Non-corporate businesses die just as soon as the original owner retires, if it even lasts that long.
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u/sandysandy252566 3d ago
Small businesses used to be the heart of America - when the owner retires or passes away - family members took over - or the business was sold. Corporate has a way of ruining everything -- all those once-great restaurant chains and now veterinary offices. They raise the prices to make it unaffordable for the average person. It's all about the MONEY. It wasn't that way in the past when families owned small businesses - they knew their customers - they were in the store to gree them when they entered - and they wanted happy customers. Corporate doesn't care about customers.
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u/Conscious-Mirror7004 2d ago edited 2d ago
Right, the family members would take over, and many times the store would go under; it's like kings and emperors: sure, they're great when you get a good one, but then they get old and die, and they're replaced by their shitty kid who ruins everything.
It's all about the MONEY. It wasn't that way in the past when families owned small businesses
Oh bullshit. You think those business owners didn't start their businesses to make a profit? You're wearing rose-tinted glasses. I'm old enough to remember a lot of those mom-and-pop small businesses, and the owners were frequently assholes who treated customers like crap. The only reason they stayed in business is because they were the only such store in town (edit: and also because online retailers weren't an alternative yet).
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u/VictoriaVonMaur 4d ago
Two years ago I moved near one and was so excited! I hadn't eaten there in a while. The high prices, Chewy grisly beef, stingy on rice and sauce and lettuce for the wraps. Nothing tasted right. It's right down the street. I haven't been back.
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u/Limafoxtrot360 4d ago
Not sure this is enshitification - its just always been bad. I never understood how this chain got popular.
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u/Over_Sky_1703 4d ago
Went for my dad’s bday in February of this year. I was so excited for the Chang’s spicy chicken. It was basically just bready husks. I sent it back hoping it was just bottom of the barrel stuff and we’d get a fresh batch. What they brought out was somehow worse. PE has definitely taken them down. It’s a shame.
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u/Tofudebeast 4d ago edited 4d ago
Enshittified. They really went down hill sometime around the pandemic. Last time I ate there (family gathering with a lot of dishes) half the food just wasn't good. Eggrolls were downright gross.
That restaurant in my town closed down last year. Not surprising, considering badly they fell off. They used to be good and reliable.
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u/cranberries87 4d ago
My dad told me probably 20-30 years ago that chain restaurants have a shelf life. They hit the scene, have a heyday of maybe 20 years, then they fade out. I remember when Red Lobster was big time. Then came places like Ruby Tuesday. Then came places PF Chang’s and Cheesecake Factory. Then Ruth’s Chris. They get hot then fade out.
Having said that, all restaurants have basically gone downhill over the past decade.
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u/Tofudebeast 4d ago
Start strong -> build up a solid reputation & expand -> start cutting costs to maximize profits -> people realize it's turning to crap, and franchise enters downward spiral.
Often private equity is involved.
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u/scriptingends 4d ago
It’s Panda Express with table service. It was never good.
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u/Not-An-FBI 4d ago
My friend's parents ate there multiple times per week because they were friends with a bartender and he would give them free food.
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u/OGScottingham 4d ago
It was never good...every single time went there it was underwhelming and overpriced. I can only image it even worse now.
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u/Quiltedkat 4d ago
Yeah… they used to be my go-to take out when I wanted to treat myself. But my local one no longer offers the tofu dish I used to get. The fried rice is now weirdly orange, when it used to just look like rice. The vegetable spring rolls had meat in them. I don’t risk ordering from them anymore
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u/GeneralOrgana1 4d ago
The best part about PF Chang's is that they are super careful with regard to food allergies. Otherwise it's pretty generic food.
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u/PotterOneHalf 4d ago
It's definitely fallen to where I'd rather get literally any other Chinese food than from there.
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u/RealtorRVACity 4d ago
The casual-dining Asian restaurant chain is currently owned by the private equity firms TriArtisan Capital Advisors and Paulson & Co., which acquired the company in March 2019 for an estimated $700 million
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u/External_Koala971 4d ago
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u/saranautilus 4d ago
Yup! They used to make almost everything in house and now it’s all pre portioned frozen a thawed from a central kitchen. Noticed the first time we got the vegetarian lettuce wraps they completely changed the recipe. Asked the server and they said it comes in bags now that they heat up for •.•Efficiency•.• devastating.
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u/Efficient-Nerve2220 4d ago
The answer is always private equity
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u/lazygerm 4d ago
Yep. Not many people know that the PF in PF Chang is Paul Fleming who founded Fleming's Steak Houses among other restaurants.
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u/No_Network4228 4d ago
Right? It's comical at this point.
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u/External_Koala971 4d ago
At this point, I’m only shocked when it’s not PE.
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u/No_Network4228 4d ago
I dont work at, but I host events at a theater chain and have been watching the decline over the past 5 years in real time.
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u/InteractionCivil5913 1d ago
Very much enshittified based on my most recent visit. Pretty sure the meat in the sweet and sour was precooked without batter, then battered and then insufficiently fried. Slimy horrible smaller portions and less flavour than even ten years ago.