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Favorite Chain Restaurants

dioxide45 said:
Interestingly, chain restaurants are usually operated by a franchisee that is local and employ locals...
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What they have going for them is consistency. You're going to get the same food at a Denney's in Miami as at a Denney's in Anchorage. Yes, they are operated (mostly) by regional franchisees, and hire local help, but they have to buy from the corporate supplier, and prepare their menu EXACTLY as dictated in their contract or their franchise will be pulled.

Yes, some Mom & Pop's are better- and worse- than others, but the not-so-good ones usually don't last long. Gimme a local, one- or-two off that has a sign outside saying something like "Serving you since 1947" and a parking lot full of local license plates- THAT's where I want to eat!

Jim
 
magmue said:
The Original Pancake House (NOT IHOP!), sometimes called Walker Brothers Pancake House. Their apple pancake is to die for, and the rest of their breakfasts are excellent as well. They were a favorite when I was a young adult in Chicago and didn't realize they were a chain - started in Portland - until I moved to Oregon and found one in my new home town.
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Oh man, forgot all about OPH. We have a few of them here too, and they're bomb.
 
clifffaith said:
In N Out really does make a great burger. We'd tried Habit Burger, and I think one other of the higher end burger joints where burgers are about $8, so when we picked up In N Out for my now home bound parents we were pleasantly surprised they were only around $4. And the fries are so generous that two orders feeds four people, and Cliff is still left finishing those up when everyone else is full. I do enjoy an occasional Quarter Pounder, if I'm not eating the now available-all-day Egg McMuffin, but for a chain burger the In N Out at least feels like you got your quota of vegetables for the day. My favorite fast food sandwich is the Santa Fe Chicken sandwich at Carl's Jr, but the darn things are like $6 now, and it's been eons since I've seen a coupon.
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I will admit that when I was pregnant (don't remember if it was with first or second or both) I would get cravings for a Burger King burger, fries and shake. I would usually only do this after I'd had a fasting glucose test and was starving.
 
Passepartout said:
Yes, some Mom & Pop's are better- and worse- than others, but the not-so-good ones usually don't last long. Gimme a local, one- or-two off that has a sign outside saying something like "Serving you since 1947" and a parking lot full of local license plates- THAT's where I want to eat!

Jim
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Or, when you ask other chefs in the area what THEIR favorite (best) restaurant in the area is....and they all mention the same place.
 
heathpack said:
We like a couple of chains:

3. Wood Ranch BBQ, another local chain. Good barbecue, healthy sides. Oh yeah and plenty of non healthy sides for Mr H too. They make a mean Paloma and have good wine and beer options.
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I love Wood Ranch! Didn't know it's a chain. I used to stop at the one in Agoura Hills when I traveled from LAX to Amgen for business.

Luanne said:
When I was a kid and we'd do family road trips we'd always stop at Denny's. It goes to your comment that the food is consistent. Not great, sometimes not even good, but you knew what you were going to get.
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I used to love its New England Clam Chowder. Now I go to Sweet Tomatoes for it :)

The few chain restaurants we go on a regular basis are Habit Burger, Eureka! (Great Bone Marrow Burger), Chipotle and Rubio's...
 
Luanne said:
Or, when you ask other chefs in the area what THEIR favorite (best) restaurant in the area is....and they all mention the same place.
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Ha-ha, that reminded me of one of my tactics in unfamiliar places. We were on a cruise stop somewhere (maybe Stockholm?) and I asked a shopkeeper where HIS favorite local eatery was nearby. He directed us to a shop a few blocks away through a maze of narrow streets. We sat down to peruse the 'local' fare and there it was, on the window- a 'TripAdvisor Recommended' decal! You can't win 'em all.
 
I ate at a place called Mellow Mushroom the other day that for a chain was pretty good, pizza, hoagies, etc. I will go back. Their website says they have 150 restaurants throughout the US and that their headquarters is in Atlanta, GA...

George
 
pedro47 said:
Cracker Barrel for breakfast because they are along I-95 and I-85 for traveling purposes from Virginia. The food quality is average for a National Chain.
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Agree on the breakfast
Plus. The price for what you get is almost what McDonald’s charges
 
Chick-Fil-A.
 
For me:
Fast Food - drive in: Wendys
Fast Food - sit down: Panera
Restaurant: local chain Not your Average Joes. The founder started out with one place in the next town over and now they are in 6 states on the east coast. Larger chains: Texas Roadhouse or Pub 99 - more for convenience and consistency
 
Great:
Houston's Steakhouse...
https://www.houstons.com/gallery/
THE BEST CHAIN EVER and in a class by itself, ambience is more like a very upscale tavern
(mahogany & red leather booths, expensive fixtures).
Best steaks (Filet Mignon is "perfect"), best French Dip Sandwich, best Hamburger, etc......
best Spinach/Artichoke Dip starter, best sides, best desserts (hot Apple Walnut Cobbler w vanilla ice cream, OMG!),
best salads, great fish & other entrees, great sandwiches, great drinks, best everything, in a romantic atmosphere.
It's every bit as good as any other great steak house at which I've dined. There are two locations in Atlanta
(also located in other big cities), and we make the 2.5 hr trip to Atlanta just to dine there.

Ruth's Chris ....reputation well established, but I like Houston's more.
Bonefish....amazing restaurant and consistently great at all locations.

Very good, consistent:
Carrabbas
Monterrey Mexican (Southeast)
Mellow Mushroom
Zoes Kitchen
California Dreaming (Southeast)
Chick-fil-A
The Chop House

Good, consistent:
Cracker Barrel
Red Lobster
Texas Roadhouse
 
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Here's the chains that have been mentioned:

Texas Roadhouse
Chilis
Hungry Howie
Cracker Barrel
Olive Garden
McAlister's Deli
Panera Bread
White Castle (no smilie, surprisingly)
Freddy's
Mimi’s Cafe (?)
Lazy Dog Restaurant (?)
Wood Ranch BBQ (?)
Baja Fresh (?)
Wendy's
McDonald's
Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen (Is that like Cheddar's? . . . an all-time favorite with us, but we don't get to it often)
PF Changs (?)
Chipotle
Denny's
In n Out
Carrabba's
Original Pancake House (?)
Carl's Jr
Burger King (but only if you're pregnant)
Sweet Tomatoes
Habit Burger (?)
Eureka! (?)
Rubio's (?)
Mellow Mushroom (?)
Chick-Fil-A (I forgot that one . . . it's our favorite fast food place)
Pub 99 (?)
 
geist1223 said:
Our first and probably last trip to CB the Bisquits were cold and hard.
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We kept seeing signs during our move for Cracker Barrel Fried Chicken. Apparently a special for their 50th? Well, we stopped in at one along the way, the biscuits were hot and fresh. The chicken ws hot and fresh too, but I wasn't overly pleased with it, too peppery for my taste. But you can't beat a four peice meal with two sides for $10.49!

bogey21 said:
I ate at a place called Mellow Mushroom the other day that for a chain was pretty good, pizza, hoagies, etc. I will go back. Their website says they have 150 restaurants throughout the US and that their headquarters is in Atlanta, GA...

George
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I agree about Mellow Mushroom. Ate at one years ago in Jacksonville Beach. They finally built one near where we used to live in Ohio, but we never made it there. Now that we are in Jacksonville, we will be headed to that original one again!
 
Have eaten at many of the above listed places but not very many in our area as most are being priced out. One of the problems now that we are older is the noise level in most of these. I'm not affected and have very good hearing but my mother,older brothers, and their wife's always complaining almost all the sit down chain places where as I don't hear the noise complaints in local places.
We went to one recently which is a slowly growing chain called Grub Burger and the noise level was so loud you couldn't hear your family sitting right across from you. Seems to be even worse for people with hearing aids that seem to pick up all the surrounding sounds. I'm getting this information from my brother and his wife whom both wear hearing aids.
 
Talent312 said:
Don't accept cold, hard biscuits, or any food that's inedible, anywhere.
IME, most places are willing to fix or replace just about any dish.

At CB last Friday, our biscuits were steaming hot, fresh from the oven.
But a fellow diner complained his chicken was too spicy.
They made him a new plate of less spicy chicken.

Another time, a diner spilled the leftovers he was putting into a box.
They brought him a new order packed to go. It never hurts to ask.
.
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Nope they had their shot. It is up to the restaurant staff to make sure the food is ok for serving. It is not our job.
 
Cracker Barrel. Best chicken and dumplings we’ve found since I was a child.
 
TGIF "Fridays" is one of the best I can think of. Also Chipotle is very good IMO. For subs I really like Mike's.
 
Reading this got me thinking of chains I have frequented in the past when my son was growing up, many Saturdays he would hang out at a mall and when I picked him up we would meet and have a meal. The five places we went most often were Elephant Bar, Claim Jumper, Mimis Cafe, PF Changs and Black Bear Diner.

Nowadays I live in an urban area near many ethnic communities and tend to visit family run places.

There are a few chains that I like, Slapfish, Bruxie, Rubios, Maggianos, Inca Mamas, Tokyo Central, Dickies BBQ.

I wear hearing aids and was going to mention the noise factor also, I wont go back if a place is open and noisy, prefer quieter booth dining.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
OldGuy said:
No Applebees or Ruby Tuesday?
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I have found Ruby Tuesday's to be bad. However by us we have one that is very good and is one of the very few chains we go to locally.
 
Hillstone which is the parent company for Houston's.
 
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