Talking to a teenager

Joann: If you could eat at any restaurant, which one would it be?
Ben: Tomo in Huntington.

Why do you like that place so much?
Because the food tastes good and they have a lot of variety. I like the atmosphere and the show that they put on at the Hibachi table, with the knives and flinging the food into people’s mouths. It’s fun to go there.

Are there restaurants your friends talk about?
No, my friends and I don’t talk about any restaurants or going out or what they are eating or if they’ve eaten something really great. We don’t talk about food.

If you could design your own restaurant to appeal to you and your friends what would it be like?
It would look modern, would have booths and tables and chairs, and have a large variety of foods, like pizza, Chinese food, different types of foods from all over the world. It would also have hamburgers and hot dogs and French fries and have healthy foods, like salads and fruits.

Is eating healthy food important to you?
Eating healthy is important to me, because it is good for you. But I do like food that isn’t good for you, like ice cream, chips and soda. I always order soda when I eat out, since we usually don’t have any in the house.

Why do you eat the same things over and over? I wish you’d eat more things sometimes.
I guess I do like eating different foods, but I eat a lot of the same foods over and over because I can’t think of anything else to eat. Especially with lunch, because I don’t like most kinds of sandwiches and that’s what I would have to have for lunch. So I eat yogurt, fruit and a snack. I like Subway, but I can’t get that at camp or school.

How can I get you to try new foods?
To get me to try different foods, you can tell me it tastes good. I will eat new foods when you cook them at home—like this year I started eating salmon. But when I go to a restaurant I usually order something I know I will like, like chicken fingers or pizza or pasta.

Do you like going out to eat?
I like to go out to restaurants, but sometimes I don’t feel like going out. Sometimes I don’t want to sit for a long time.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners