Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Posted in Fluff on Oct 25, 2022

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✍️ 52 stories

“Taco Bell” by Sonora Binkley

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #141

I have never been to Taco Bell. I did not grow up in an outing family. Though I pictured it to be spices and aromas of crisp tortilla shells laid out by the thousands, I am sure that I would discover none of the sort. Maybe three or four, at most, tossed together with some questionable greens, at the hands of two groggy teenagers exchanging no more than a word or two in a shift. That is a stereotype, of course, a prejudice opinion of someone who's never even set foot in a Taco Bell. Maybe it's not all I think, it may very well be the taco p...

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“Dusty Springfield at The Pie and Pancake” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #141

Two stars was a cause for celebration. We had only ever gotten one star up to that point. Just about everybody in Scoville had taken the time to stretch out their keyboard fingers and let us have it at one point or another. The pie usually took the worst of it. Casey Ann said she wouldn’t serve that pie to a dying dog, but I didn’t mind the key lime. The custard? No, thank you, but the key lime you could eat if you were starving enough for it. Casey Ann just has refined taste, because before she was a waitress, she used to be married to a ...

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“We Were Kids” by Tanja Riley

Submitted to Contest #141

CW: Mention of: physical violence against minors, statutory rape, substance abuse, murder, suicide. None of it described graphically. Also contains coarse language.Only with the utmost generosity could it even be called a restaurant. We at least never ate there. No matter how much our stomachs growled and begged for something to alleviate the nausea induced by cheap vodka. The tables were scratched and the floors always sticky. The bathrooms, indescribably dirty. To be used only for extreme emergencies, like retching until there was nothing ...

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“Condemned at the 'Cano” by Christopher Kelley

Submitted to Contest #141

The night before the massacre, Devon gathered his crew of ne’er-do-wells to sharpen their claws for a caper. A smooth syndicate of old-fashioned marauders, they lived for spoils and carnage. Taking all credit, leaving no evidence. They were criminal poltergeists with an arsenal. Devon “the Scalpel” stood and filled his lungs, which cued the crew to simmer down. Devon was in charge of planning (and everything else) — his silk-stocking plots always knifelike. World markets soared and plummeted at the sound of his voice. And tonight w...

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“RITA'S STEAKHOUSE” by Jaiden Frost

Submitted to Contest #141

[RITA'S STEAKHOUSE: DINING ROOM - NIGHT]The stale air of the dining room is filled with the aroma of charred meat and fry oil. The sounds of nearby traffic bleed through the poorly insulated walls, pushing past the sun-faded décor, and adding a consistent static to the otherwise silent room. Behind the trebly country-western music playing from the vintage speakers in the ceiling is the cadence of the kitchen pouring out from the small space.A vote would have to be taken on which of these soundscapes was the most annoying.Sitting alone at a t...

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“Rest for the Wicked” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #141

Rest for the Wicked was the oldest restaurant in the city, if not the country. It was also one of the most unpopular because the bigoted landlord didn’t serve anyone who couldn’t demonstrate their magic. The owner, Alan, was all skin and bone. Everything else had shrivelled away during his mumification eight hundred years before. If he loved one thing in this world, and it was possible that he loved ...

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“Soup Du Jour” by Abbie Pedrotte

Submitted to Contest #141

Dori woke up when she was good and ready. She’d stopped bothering with an alarm clock years ago, and elected to start her mornings slowly. The sun streamed in through the smeared, nicotine-stained window at the opposite end of her pathetic bedroom. She could still hear her father snoring across the flat, and finally dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen in search of coffee. Her bones seemed to get stiffer every day, and each morning she awoke with a new ache, a new soreness in her feet or shoulders. Some days, usually days w...

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“The Comet Of Love” by Cate Stamper

Submitted to Contest #141

I could not believe I was at Comet Pizzas. It had to be the worst place in town. I didn’t expect to go to some five-star steakhouse or anything but seriously? This place has been shut down twice by the health inspector. The last time I ate here I was five at Becky Smith’s birthday party and got food poisoning. It was brutal. Twenty screaming five-year-olds all puking. I was here for my first date with Scott Owens. Ever since he moved here at the start of the year, I’ve had a crush on him. Me and about half the girls and some guys in o...

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“One Of Those Things That Unravels When You Blow On It” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #141

One Of Those Things That Unravels When You Blow On ITIt had been twenty-two years since Herb attended a New Year’s Eve celebration. He had not even heard the words “Happy New Year” for ten. We will never know the motivation with any degree of certainty, but this year Herb decided he would celebrate the arrival of the new year. And he would do it up big.Divorced and living alone, Herb would occasionally partake in the pointless exercise of trying to recall whether he left the world or had the world left him. Either way, Herb was what most wou...

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“Signature Dish” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #141

“Welcome to Little Red Riding Hood… How would you like your egg?”The hungry couple sat opposite each other looking puzzled. They had been travelling all day on foot without provisions and looked forward to something to eat in the accidently stumbled-upon Diner.A confused glance towards her husband of three years, Galyna prompted Dimitri to query the waiter.“Can we see a menu?”“No need, sir. We have egg, egg, or egg – depending on how you like it.”“Nothing else?”“A slice of bread,” replied the expressionless waiter.“Do we only get one egg eac...

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“The Basement at Percy's” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #141

Robert Sorola got comfortable in his chair while he read through the agenda one more time. His son, Reggie, he’d sent upstairs to the kitchen with the vaguest of shopping lists. Neither of them had what you could call a refined taste. Both their lives had been peppered with such hardships that whenever food came into sight – whatever food came into sight – it was a case of how much they could claw their way before they found it swept away by someone who figured they were just doing their job. Not these days. Robert Sorola had risen throug...

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“Dive Diner” by T.M. Kehoe

Submitted to Contest #141

He just had to pick this dump, to rub it in her face. Tina pulled up in front of the Dive Diner, parked where she could monitor her car while inside. By arriving early, she could choose the seating, and she would not let him leave her with her back exposed. Not this time. The chimes over the door jangled wearily as she entered. No one looked up, which was normal for the Dive. She knew her entrance had not gone unnoticed, however. Everyone in this place had an angle. Most of them had people trying to find them, and not for a happy reunion. ...

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“A Stellar Journey” by Dragos Marcean

Submitted to Contest #141

Eddie sat with his elbow on the bar, scrolling through social media, not bothered by the sun shining into his eyes. Breakfast was going to be served for another four hours before lunch-time. Apart from the workers from the nearby construction site who were coming every morning, he did not have many customers. "I hope you liked the eggs, gentlemen," said the waitress. “Thanks, Pattie. They were great.” said one of them. "And as usual, coffee, for you, is on the house," she smiled. Pattie was a nearly forty-year-old woman, tall and thi...

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“When It Doesn't Pan Out” by M B

Submitted to Contest #141

Amber, a young meerkat journalist, sat in the last booth of ‘Rod’s Roadside Café.’ A plump coyote waitress ran to and fro into the kitchen behind her. It was late evening and the sun was quickly fading into night. The woods past the parking lot were turning from a pleasing orange into black.The meerkat, dressed in a skirt and semi casual blouse, reached into her purse and checked her essential items: Recorder? Check. Notepad and pen? Check. Pepper spray? Check.It certainly wasn’t her first choice for meeting a contact, especially considering...

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“Mystery Meat” by WRL Battle

Submitted to Contest #141

Okay, I admit it. My restaurant, Sleazy's Delights, might not have the sturdiest furniture, the cleanest plates, the shiniest silverware, tastiest food, or prettiest décor, but it's not the worst. So don’t believe the online reviews that call us “disgusting” or “horrific." Anyone can say anything online. And don’t you dare believe the big red F on our door, everyone knows you can’t trust the government. Our food is just as good as anyone's. Really, it is! However, I knew I messed up when a large, globular creature made out of mold and meat s...

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Set your story in the lowest rated restaurant in town.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 52 stories

“Taco Bell” by Sonora Binkley

“Dusty Springfield at The Pie and Pancake” by Story Time

“We Were Kids” by Tanja Riley

“Condemned at the 'Cano” by Christopher Kelley

“RITA'S STEAKHOUSE” by Jaiden Frost

“Rest for the Wicked” by Graham Kinross

“Soup Du Jour” by Abbie Pedrotte

“The Comet Of Love” by Cate Stamper

“One Of Those Things That Unravels When You Blow On It” by Murray Burns

“Signature Dish” by Chris Campbell

“The Basement at Percy's” by Karen McDermott

“Dive Diner” by T.M. Kehoe

“A Stellar Journey” by Dragos Marcean

“When It Doesn't Pan Out” by M B

“Mystery Meat” by WRL Battle

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about someone who critiques things for a living, or acts like they do.

Start your story with someone receiving a one-star review.

Write a story about someone struggling to swallow some harsh (but fair) constructive criticism.

Write about a character named after one of our contest’s judges.

Contest #141

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

177

Contest entries

110

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: