Where did all my favorites go?

Every time I go out to eat, I get something specific at each restaurant. I never try anything new. If I find something that I like, I stick with it. But every now and then I'll go to a restaurant that I've been to a million times and always order the same thing at and they won't have it anymore. Where did it go? Why did they take it off the menu?

Well here's why:

Restaurants want as much business as they can get and what is a good way to bring in customers? By adding newer, trendier dishes to their menus. When they add new dishes to their menus, it only makes sense that they would have to take something else off. If they left everything on the menu, it would become extremely lengthy and overwhelming. Also, there would be too many things for the cooks to have to remember how to make. So usually what happens is that the restaurant retires old or unpopular dishes.

But come on Bob Evans! What were you thinking? I really think that Chicken Bow-tie Pasta was one of the best things on your menu! (If you haven't noticed, I am kind of a sucker for pasta with chicken in creamy sauces.) I used to go to Bob Evans all the time, but now I prefer other places thanks to the loss of my favorite dish.

And Texas Roadhouse...oh how I love your rolls and sweet butter. I used to go there a lot with my grandparents...until they took my grandma's favorite dish off of the menu. ( I can't even remember what it was...something with pork I think.) Now I don't get to go there as often.

How do restaurants determine what the "unpopular" dishes are? I'd like to know because I'm sick of looking forward to getting something only to find out that it doesn't exist anymore. If you have any ideas on how they decide this, let me know.

Word of the Day: guava