Family values

There's nothing so tragic as seeing a family
pulled apart by something as simple as a pack of wolves.
--Jack Handey, Saturday Night Live
I've come to realize that the North American institution of "Family" is in jeopardy. This concern has nothing to do with people's sexuality; it has to do with our restaurants.

Although I had never realized it before, I figured out yesterday that I equate the phrase "family restaurant" with bland, lacklustre food. Now it could be that the two original places we found to eat in town yesterday were both "family restaurants" resulted in this brainwave - not because of any deficiency in the food, but because smaller towns tend to have more, and we rarely eat in them at home. I should stress that although the food in each place was simple, neither was poor. In fact, Cheryl was pleased with the pizza we got at The Apollo Family Restaurant for supper. Basically though, it's almost like the "family" element precludes the possibility of anything being outstanding.

Is it just me? If you're looking for good food, and see a place with the "family restaurant" subtitle, does it conjure any prejudices for you?

For the record, we didn't know that Neva recognized our lunch destination until we were in the drive thru and she asked "Are we having lunch at Tim Horton's?" It was a proud Canadian moment.