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Chipotle & Olive Garden are top teen dining choices, survey says
November 5th, 2009, 6:01 am · 68 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer
Teens picked Starbucks and Chipotle Mexican Grill as the No. 1 and No. 2 favorite places to eat, according to a restaurant survey conducted by financial firm Piper Jaffray.
Chain Leader restaurant writer David Farkus reports on the survey, conducted by one of the firm’s restaurant analysts. Besides Starbucks and Chipotle, other chains that made the Top 10 Teen Favorite list include Olive Garden, Chili’s, McDonald’s, Cheesecake Factory and Irvine-based Taco Bell. (Note: 16 was average age of those in survey; see full results.)
While some of these choices make sense, I have to question the sanity of our youth.
Why would any teen enjoy a meal at an Olive Garden? Most restaurants are decorated like they’re stuck in the 1980s. I just don’t see iPod-clutching teenagers flocking to this Italian chain after a Friday night football game.
Sheryll Alexander, a freelance writer from Costa Mesa, gave me some insight. She said her daughter, Katya Zangeneh, 17, is smitten with Olive Garden for three key reasons: endless servings of breadsticks, soup and salad.
I can buy that.
“My teen just got home from school and quickly left for Souplantation. She also LOVES Olive Garden,” Sheryll said Wednesday afternoon.
In a text message, Katya — who attends Newport Harbor High School — said her other fave places to eat include Jan’s Health Bar in Huntington Beach, Tummy Stuffer in Costa Mesa and Pizza Bakery in Newport Beach.
Another survey surprise — no frozen yogurt chains made the list. I wonder if there are just too many brands now, making it difficult for anyone to pick a standout? By the way, a few froyo chains in O.C. have gone belly up. Is the froyo craze finally fading? (See my updated froyo map, or read my O.C. closure list for the latest details.)
Tell us: Does your teen agree with this list? Write in and let us know.
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my teens love chipotle and olive garden - and it’s all about the food. They love the taste and offerings. They don’t care about decor or anything else..
I think the love of all-you-can-eat will ultimately lead teens to Home Town Butt-fat and Claim Jumper. It’s the first step in becoming a wide-load adult.
Have you noticed how overweight teens are these days? It’s a national embarrassment.
Then you add the all you can eat free school Breakfast and lunchs and bam you have 200lb teenage girls and 300lb teenage gang bangers.
having 100lb baby thugs…
And all this time Rush Limbo was telling me you conservatives were such a positive and happy go lucky bunch. You just bag on everything, caseclosed. Seems like the M.O. is just critisize and bag on everything.
On the good side a 300lb gang banger cant run very far and will be easily caught.
The fatties have both white and brown skin. America isn’t the fattest nation in the world for no reason.
Findings like this is precisely why we don’t let young teens vote!
LOL!
Please- more endless breadsticks for my teenage daughter.
She really can’t get enough of simple carbs from the other food choices during the day and I’m concerned she’s too lean.
Olive Gardens idea of spaghetti and meatballs is to drag a hamburger pattie through the sauce once in a great while…………
While dining there one friday, I came upon a legion of HS girls in their prom dresses settling in the OG for a pre-prom dinner. I guess this poll is pretty accurate.
I’m with you on this one. Olive Garden seems like an odd choice. The inside of an Olive Garden looks like the dining area of a retirement home. Endless breadsticks and all, it still surprises me.
Starbucks as the No. 1 place to eat surprises me too. Is Starbucks really considered an eating establishment?
As for frozen yogurt, it wouldn’t surprise me if the fad is waning. In fact, whenever I’ve gone for frozen yogurt, none of the places I’ve been to area ever really that busy. Maybe there are too many locations, I don’t know.
I don’t have a teenager yet, but what surpised me is that outside of Chipotle (which wasn’t around when I was a teen), this is the list I would have come up with at 16 at that was over 15 years ago.
The power of franchises, I guess.
Also, I wonder what the wording was on the survey. There’s a big difference between what teens eat when they are paying for themselves, and what they like to eat when mom or dad are footing the bill. I haven’t seen herds of teens at Olive Garden (although I have seen them at Chili’s), but I have seen a lot of families with teens at Olive Garden.
(And OG must have noticed this as well - they recently ran ads featuring a mom and her teenage son, so they are obviously aware this a good demographic for them.)
The one where it looks like the son and mother are having an romantic dinner date? I think that ad is strange to say the least.
My teen LOVES Olive Garden!
Where do you think her and her friends like to go on Sunday after church? Yep, they go to Olive Garden!
How about dinner before the homecoming dance? Yep, Olive Garden again! and the place was FULL of high schoolers dressed up for the dance when they got there.
There’s something about it that appeals to teens for some reason. So, yes, this seems to be accurate from what i’ve seen.
Hog-wash. Teens like cheap mexican places and cheap places period. 99 cent specials are in not the over priced chains mentioned here ! ! Why write such babble if it is not true?? Trying to tout those chains , writers???
+1 for SandyBunz
All the teens we know love In and Out!!! the boys especially, they love the protein, not the carbs. 4 x 4s are the way to go for them to bulk up!!! If they want fries they order the fries! Yes they do the dessert thing at the yogurt shops too. But as for Starbucks there’s nothing good or filling to eat there. They don’t do coffee they go straight for the Energy drinks!!!
one shake at In N Out and a double double (fries optional) should be plenty for anybody looking to “bulk up”. have you seen the caloric content? the shake alone is almost enough calories to qualify for lunch for your average 165lb man.
The youth at my Church are always talking about Chipotle. The burritos are pretty good, but I think most of the attraction is the hype factor.
Now Olive Garden bread sticks? Thats a different story!
It should read survey say’s teens love garbage food! Olive Garden is nasty & Chipotle is loaded with salt.
your typical Chipotle burrito is also around 1000 calories (assumes you get either sour cream or guacamole, but not both), so it’s not just the salt that’s abd for you. but yes it contains just over 100% of your daily value of salt.
most adults need to consume right around 2000 calories a day to sustain their body weight. your typical active teen is probably a couple hundred calories higher (yes there are exceptions).
All the teens we know love In and Out!!! The boys especially, they love the protein, not the carbs. 4 x 4s are the way to go for them to bulk up!!! If they want carbs they order the fries! Yes they do the dessert thing at the yogurt shops too. But as for Starbucks there’s nothing good or filling to eat there. They don’t do coffee they go straight for the Energy drinks!!!
My son isn’t exactly a teen yet, he’s 11. He loves Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Red Lobster and Rubios.
Oh yeah, and he loves sushi. Joe’s Suchi in HB or Westminster, not sure what city it is. Great place.
This sounds about right. I loved any fast food as a teen (Taco Bell and Del Taco specifically) as well as the Olive Garden, but only when I went to dinner with my parents. If I was paying myself it was always Denny’s.
Stonefire Grill in the Target parking lot on Culver and Barranca is a great place as well.
My Teen and Friend’s, Love Moms home cooking everyday!
All natural made from scratch, grilled not fried, extra veggies, it is open 24/7.
Who cares where teens like to eat. The girls only care about what they wear and if it will fit after they eat all that food. The boys only care about getting the girls out of what they are wearing after they eat all that food.
Now for a real dining experience at a non chain restaurant, they should try Slater’s 50/50 Burger in Anaheim Hills. Great food choices for a burger restaurant and while the peanut butter and jealousy burger sounds gross, it is amazingly delicious. The vampire dip and sweet potato fries are excellent as well.
I just checked out their menu (Slater’s 50/50). Too expensive!! $10 for a burger and then another $4 for fries??!
These type of places (Slater’s 50/50) are so lost on me. It should not cost $35+ (food, tax, tip) for two people to have a burger each, SPLIT an order of fries, and SPLIT a drink.
Yeah, seriously. We went there for the Food Frenzy meet up and ended up paying $80 for our meal. No teenager is going to be able to afford that, and no parent would pay for a meal at those prices.
Holy cow! $80 bones? How many was in your party?
That 50/50 burger at Slaters is just plain nasty!………….they have to cook it so much they taste and flavor of the meat is lost in the charred outer crust……….a hamburger should never be cooked well done………….
I tried 50/50 and was not happy with the service or the food. Maybe it was what I ordered. But the lack of service was bad enough for me not to go back.
I’ve reached a level of affluence where I don’t mind paying more if the quality of the food is on par with the price. Slater’s gives you that quality and then some.
The only issue I have with the service was for breakfast. Twice the waitress for breakfast has been lacking in basic wait person skills and their tip reflected that. The owner is always on site and willing to listen to criticism as well as praise to make his restaurant a better place.
If one goes there for just a burger, expecting a fancy drive thru burger, they are misguided.
I can appreciate paying for higher quality stuff instead of just wasting money on cheap cr*p that won’t last. And I’ve never tried Slater’s, but it is just food (something that will not be with you very long unlike a car or television). And often times people mistake “gourmet” for quality. I dunno, just seems silly to me to pay $10 for a hamburger and then not get any sides or a drink. But like I said, places like Slater’s are lost on me. Just can’t get my head around the concept of paying $20 for a burger, fries, and a drink.
Del Taco egg burrito
Teens are not known for their excellent taste, which explains Olive Garden. They like it because it’s cheap and they can run their servers crazy asking for more bread sticks. I used to go to OG when I was young with my friends mainly because the food was cheap not good. Plus you get the facade that you are dining at a somewhat nice place other than Burger King. Teens like to pretend they are mature.
Olive Garden’s eggplant parmesan. nothing compares!
You really should get outta Da Hood and try some real restaurants if you think Olive Garbage eggplant is the bomb.
7 year old: Las Barcas in Huntington Beach (burritos), Souplantation, California Pizza Kitchen, and favorite: Duke’s Bar menu!! (likes the calimari, we like the happy hour prices)
Of course, at 7, she does not factor in “who’s footin’ the bill.”
Breadsticks? Let’s just call them out for what they are…. cheap hotdog buns painted with butter flavored crisco and garlic salt.
I’ll take a McDonalds full of screaming kids reeking of ketchup and pickles over any Olive Garden with it’s cheap nasty “food”.
The bread sticks at OG really failed me last time I ate there.
Hey teens: Pat & Oscar’s bread sticks are so much better….
+1 for Luna(tic) on Pat Oscar’s stix.
P&O needs more buzz. Not only are their breadsticks fresher and tastier, their greek salad and lemon chicken are tasty and reasonably healthy. The ribs are pretty good, too.
no wonder these places look like hell and service is nil, while wait times are high. who else would put up with this?
You sure do know alot about food there Molly - bet you are a really big boy! Have another dbl cheeseburger on me!
One word: WAHOOS!
yecch. gave it up in my late 20s. just bland, bland, bland, don’t get the appeal at all. would rather eat any other fish tacos (Rubios, Baja Fresh), or make my own at home.
Must be those same teens who routinely vote for the two crapholes in the BEST of OC mag every year. Honest to go there are at least 5 awesome mexican food places in HB alone and people are voting for Chipotle? And Olive Garden is the Denny’s of Italian Food. Its the last resort for me when Im hungry for italian and there are absolutely no other choices.
Have to agree with you there. Chipotle isn’t good and in my opinion it is really overrated. And Olive Garden is like eating “Italian” food from the school cafeteria.
agreed both. I loved Chipotle the first time I tried it, even though half my burrito was rice (ick). but I’ve had some even worse ones there, plus it’s just the same thing over and over. gets old after the 3rd or 4th time.
but something tells me these are the same people who would consider Subway a palatable sandwich on a regular basis, though.
I hated Chipotle the first time I had it, but it was probably because I blindly ordered a chicken burrito with rice and pinto beans etc. Blech. My favorite now is chicken/steak soft tacos with corn salsa and whatever else. Nummynummy!
Goes to show how much taste your average teenagers have.
Chipotle is an overhyped, over rice stuffed, no flavor, dry excuse for a burrito. All those ingredients that have been sitting under a heat lamp is supposed to be good? Please…
At least at Baja Fresh you can see them actually cook the meat before your eyes.
Olive Garden is an overpriced fake italian experience. They trick you in by giving you all those breadsticks. What a sham.
The odd thing about Chipotle is that it’s not even really cheap, which is supposedly the driving factor for these teens. And as for Olive Garden, how many breadsticks can one eat and still be able to eat a bowl/plate of pasta? They’re trying to lure you in with free breadsticks but all I think is, blah. I couldn’t stuff myself like that.
I don’t think teens really care, as long as they’re full for more than an hour at a time. so in that regard $6 for them to eat there is pretty good especially if it’s mom & dad’s dime.
What Mike said.
I’m just wondering where teens get the money to regularly eat out at some of these places. Each visit has to be $10-$20 with tax & tip. Even with our part time jobs in HS, my friends and I could barely afford Taco Bell. A big splurge for us was getting Heidi’s frozen yogurt WITH the 2 for 1 coupon. Seems I really missed out….
ditto. it’s definitely them blowing their OC weekly allowance money. I remember being a teenager with a part time job and actually skipping a meal or subsiding on something like a bag of chips when I couldn’t afford mcdonald’s, subway, or something similar (there were few choices nearby and didn’t have a car anyway).
occassionally when I’d get my weekly paycheck, I’d “splurge” by spending $8-10 at Ruby’s. but this was once a month, tops.
tell me about it. the only fast food i got as a teen in high school was the hot sauce packets at Taco Bell! i was broke trying to save money for the prom, which i never ended up going to…okay im done.
haha classic
School Cafeteria food is nasty. I think they would rather save their lunch money for the week and have chipotle on Friday. .
Seems like kids nowadays always have like $20 bucks. I guess $20 allowance a week is appropriate? I could be wrong.
that’s true about the lunch money…
and yeah I’m sure $20 is pretty standard, except for the places where it’s $100 (and up)
As long as the kids eat a balanced, healthy meal 6 days a week at home by responsible, health conscience parents, I have no problem with a teen scarfing down a double-double burger with his buddies. That’s part of growing up.
The problem is when the parents get lazy and buy fast food four or five times a week for dinner. This is conditioning the child to believe its OK to eat junk each and every day. Our culture has spiraled into a microwave ready society where nobody eats at the dinner table anymore and where we look for something cheap, fast and starchy to scarf down in five minutes. That is real effective way to groom their children into forming poor eating habits.
I think Chipotle is over priced crap! What a waste of good money! Anybody who would pay upwards of 8 dollars for a burrito is a knuckle head! Try a local Mexican meat market for a great burrito, priced right!
i know these people are reres