FAKE mashed potatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Hi all! Went to the Whistle Stop a few weekends ago for my birthday and ordered the veggie plate. Everything was tasty except the mashed potatoes were terrible! I couldn't eat them, even smothered in butter (the potatoes). I asked the server if they were real and she admitted that they were instant. Instant potatoes served in a restaurant known for home cooking?!?!?! For shame!

Other than that, everything was delicious. Instant potatoes, really?

Just thought I'd warn you. Go for the baked potato I guess.

Did you get these at THE Whistle Stop in Glendale or at the cafe in Etown? The cafe in Etown has had alot of problems with quality.

instant mashed potatoes, is not home cooking in my book.

Depends upon which home you grew up in.

instant mashed potatoes, is not home cooking in my book.

Depends upon which home you grew up in.

My thoughts exactly, Mark. My mother LOVED them. Luckily my dad was a chef and cooked for the holidays.

instant mashed potatoes, is not home cooking in my book.

Depends upon which home you grew up in.

My thoughts exactly, Mark. My mother LOVED them. Luckily my dad was a chef and cooked for the holidays.

A year or so ago a Cheftestant on Top Chef won a challenge making gnocchi with instant mashed potatoes.

when i moved in at my bf's house, he had a HUGE box of instant mashed taters in the cabinet. i simply will not eat them. it took some persuasion, but i finally got him to let me throw them away. i promised i would whip up a batch of real ones anytime he wanted. this didn't much matter to him, he says he can't tell the difference between instant and made-from-scratch. geez!

since we are talking boxed potatoes, kfc's mashed potatoes are also reconstituted.

Ahhh, but the question is ... reconstituted what?

popeye's uses "fake" ones, too.

I grew up with a mother that cooked most everything from scratch, including mashed potatoes. Most of the time, I prefer boxed now.
I LOVE kfc's taters and gravy when I need some comfort food.

Instant potatoes always had a grainy texture to them. I keep a box around however to add to my real mashed potatoes when I put a little too much milk or chicken stock in them and they need thickening a bit quickly.
But in a restaurant, as a side dish? Not for me.

Boxed taters have come a long way. The hubby and I keep a few envelopes around for quick side dishes during the work week. They're not bad, but they don't compare to REAL mashed potatoes. Especially my mom's...still slightly lumpy, and full of butter and cream. Yummy!

I was a mashed potato snob. Then while I lived in Dallas, we started eating lunches at Po Melvin's in Irving. Their instant potatoes with cream gravy are A-OK in my book. Maybe the gravy just fixes everything?

BTW, their catfish po boy and a cold Shiner Bock? Da bomb!

In a weird kind of way, isn't instant mashed potatoes "just like mom used to make"?

My mom jokes that the best thing she makes for dinner is reservations. However, there are a few things she makes really well...beef stew, green beans, and mashed potatoes.

I don't believe that my mom ever used instant potatoes. And I certainly never have. And don't plan to.
But getting back to the question from the beginning that may have been lost - it seems there are TWO Whistle Stop restaurants. Which one does this thread reference?