A counterpoint: Chain restaurants we actually like.

Cafe Society
101

[QUOTE=Drain Bead]
I love Champps. I’m not sure how big of a chain it is, but it’s a sports bar with food that is pretty damned good. Their lettuce wraps are terribly addictive.

And I know this is going to be unpopular, but I adore Pizzeria Uno. We’re only 8 hours from Chicago, but it’s still impossible to get a half-decent Chicago-style pizza here. Uno’s is the closest thing I have.
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My wife and I used to really enjoy going to Uno’s, unfortunately they closed the one here in town a couple years ago. :frowning:

102

My one experience of P.F. Chang’s was really lackluster, so I’m wary of them. Rice was bland and not glutinous enough, sides were kind of gross, and the dish I ordered was totally dry, overcooked and too salty (some kind of honey-sesame chicken. I usually love anything with honey in it, and I was really disappointed). They don’t seem to be aiming for authenticity so I won’t say anything about it’s not really being Asian cuisine, but I expected a lot more palatability for the expense.

Now Popeye’s, of course, is a staple for me. I remember Church’s being all right, but there don’t seem to be any more around here. KFC is totally gross in comparison.

103

[QUOTE=Taber]
Culver’s has the best fast food fried chicken I’ve ever had
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I just had it for the first time on Monday…I usually get a hamburger there, but not any more…I know they make a big deal about the “butterburger,” but it’s nothing special to me. The chicken was awesome. Although, I must say, I like all the chicken places, too, especially Popeyes and our local chain in Chicago, Brown’s. You just can’t replicate fried chicken like that at home.

I like Chipolte pretty well, too.

I almost never go to the sit-down chain restaurants, but one I used to like was Chilis.

104

If we’re not restricted to national or regional chains, I have to throw in a mention here for Tucson’s eegee’s. Everyone but me seems to adore the not-quite-italian-ice they sell of the same name, but the sub sandwiches are simply head and shoulders above Subway. They’re the only sub chain I’ve ever encountered that serves fries instead of chips, and they’re some of the best damn fries I’ve ever had.

105

I like Cracker Barrel. At some locations I’ve had poor service, but it’s usually due to an obvious shortage of waitstaff. I always order from the breakfast menu and I’ve never had a bad meal.

For fast food my favorite is Chick-fil-a. I enjoy Back Yard Burgers, too. For late night food Sonic is pretty good. I love the cherry limeade.

106

Waffle House! Cheap eggs and hashbrowns, and no one cares if you hang out for hours doing crosswords. AND (and!) the Waffle House here has wifi! Well, the hotel across the street has wifi.

107

Anybody else like Bertucci’s? Everything on their menu is good, and they give you those nice, hot rolls that I’m just like a meth addict about. I’m not sure they’ve expanded much beyond the Eastern Seabord, though.

108

[QUOTE=chaoticbear]
Waffle House! Cheap eggs and hashbrowns, and no one cares if you hang out for hours doing crosswords. AND (and!) the Waffle House here has wifi! Well, the hotel across the street has wifi.
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Waffle House is without a doubt the cheapest, most disgusting chain on the planet. I make sure to take my students there for a meal whenever we are near one for a debate tournament. Broadens their outlook, so to speak.

109

I love Pick Up Stix for Asian style food.

My current favorites from there are Pad Thai, House Special Chicken (uses a caramelized sauce of white wine, garlic and soy), and Mongolian Beef. Yum, yum, yum.

(Their web site shows they’re only in southern California, Arizona, and Nevada.)

110

[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou]
Finally, Fuddruckers makes the best burgers around, and that includes Five Guys, fancy steakhouse burgers, and yes, even the ones YOU make on your backyard grill.
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I would have disagreed if I hadn’t have finally tried one of their plain burgers. Before I’d always get one of the specialty options. Surprisingly (or maybe not so much), gooey pepperjack, bacon, and guacamole completely overwhelms and destroys the flavor of their otherwise great-tasting patties.

I’ll also ditto Chipotle and California Pizza Kitchen.

EDIT: And I’m of course ignoring the part about my backyard grill.

111

For Italian, Carrabba’s over Olive Garden in a heartbeat, but for a cheap, fast Italianesque meal, Fazoli’s. Spaghetti, penne or fettuccine, marinara, meat sauce, or alfredo, and optional bits on top (meatballs, diced chicken, garlic shrimp, sausage, and a couple variations on broccoli) for less than $5. Plus some baked pasta including lasagna, sandwiches, and pizza (which isn’t their forté).

ETA to comment on pizzabtat’s Fuddrucker’s comment: Too true. When I go to Fuddy’s, It’s a 1/3 or 1/2 pounder with a bit of salt, a lot of black pepper, and some diced onions. Period.

112

[QUOTE=tdn]
Au Bon Pain. Their coffee sucks, but the sandwiches are pretty good. And many years ago, when they were very local, I tried something new they had invented. It was called a croissant.
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Au Bon Pain is everywhere in Bangkok and many places upcountry. They have good stuff. And they deliver here.

I used to like IHOP back stateside. That’s one thing that’s almost impossible to find in Thailand: good pancakes.

113

[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
good pancakes.
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Oxymoron :stuck_out_tongue:

I have a sentimental respect for **Waffle House ** for one reason only: they make you pay CASH. Yeah, that’s right, folding green stuff. No credit cards accepted. More places should make you do that; America would be much better off in some respects without “cheap” credit.

Steak n Shake is ridiculously overpriced for what you are getting, IMHO. In n Out makes this abundantly clear, and so does Carl’s Jr. (which at one time was my favorite burger chain, long ago, when they owned their restaurants and had the best quality assurance program in the business) with the angus burgers. Those Steak n Shake burgers are puny by comparison. Good shakes, though.

114

This is a VERY regional chain, mostly in West Virginia, but Tudor’s Biscuit World has the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had in my life. HUGE fluffy biscuits, wonderful melted cheese…delicious.

115

Stranger on a Train, I didn’t know Paradise Bakery still existed anywhere! We had one in a mall here in Houston for years, but it went out of business. My late grandfather used to eat there every day during his mallwalking excursions, and when I would come to visit he would take me with him. I loved their albacore tuna salad sandwich, served on a croissant, with a chocolate chip cookie on the side. Man, I had a total sense memory experience just looking at their website.

Red Robin – they offer a good variety of food, and I’ve always had good experiences there. We try to go on weeknight when they’re less busy, because it gets really loud in there on weekends when it’s full of teenagers, or families with little kids, and they crank up the music loud. I love the Whiskey River family of entrees: the burger (on a garden patty), the chicken sandwich, or the chicken wrap. Yum!

Chili’s – we have one less than a mile from our house, so we get a lot of takeout from there when I don’t feel like cooking. The mesquite grilled chicken salad is good, and not terrible for you if you skip the ranch dressing and just use the spicy barbecue sauce instead. I like the Barbecue Ranch burger and the Boneless Shanghai Wings too. In general, I enjoy foods that involve a sauce of some kind.

Fuddrucker’s – some of the best burgers you can get in a chain restaurant. And that cheese sauce! And the beer-battered onion rings!

Jason’s Deli – convenient, seamless online ordering, and a nice variety of delicious food. Love the tuna salad on wheat, also a fan of the penne pasta with meatballs and garlic bread.

Chik-Fil-A – I’m a sucker for the nuggets and waffle fries.

Freebirds World Burrito – like a Chipotle, but way more awesome and with more choices. I love the spinach tortillas!

Pei Wei – Honey Seared Chicken! When my department took me out to lunch for my birthday last year, this is where I had them take me. :slight_smile:

Outback Steakhouse – people gripe about this place, but we like it. Never had bad food there. You can keep your overpriced Ruth’s Chris crap; I’ll take an Outback Special, medium well.

Olive Garden – my husband’s family goes there all the time for birthdays and such, so I’m there several times a year. I’ve been there more times since we started dating than I had in my entire life up to that point. I like it just fine. I don’t go out of my way to eat there on my own, but my only actual bad experience was at an Austin location back in 1999 or so. That time, everything was just bland and sort of blah, but not terrible.

116

[QUOTE=Lamar Mundane]
I’ve raved about this place to people in the Midwest and East Coast and they almost puke at the thought of a fish taco, but they are so good.
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The problem is that people in the Midwest know nothing about fish, and people from the East Coast know nothing about tacos. So, putting the two together is foreign to both groups. :slight_smile:
I just had Wahoo’s for lunch yesterday!

117

[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq]
I have a sentimental respect for **Waffle House ** for one reason only: they make you pay CASH. Yeah, that’s right, folding green stuff. No credit cards accepted. More places should make you do that; America would be much better off in some respects without “cheap” credit.
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Maybe it’s because we’re in a college town or something, but the WH here actually got a credit card machine about 6 months ago. It’s so much easier than having to use that damn $2.50 fee ATM or run across the street to get some cash.

118

[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq]
I have a sentimental respect for **Waffle House ** for one reason only: they make you pay CASH. Yeah, that’s right, folding green stuff. No credit cards accepted. More places should make you do that; America would be much better off in some respects without “cheap” credit.
[/QUOTE]

Screw that. I rarely carry more than about two dollars in cash, if that. I use my debit card (which works like a Visa card) for damn near everything. I’ve only been in “cash only” situations maybe a half dozen times since 2000, so it works out fine. The only restaurant I can remember purposely getting cash out for is Taco X-Press in Austin, where the breakfast tacos are worth the inconvenience!

119

How about a Pennsylvania (originally) chain - Quaker Steak and Lube . Great wings!

We don’t have one in our town, but anytime I’m spot one, it’s my first pick for a meal.

120

[QUOTE=chaoticbear]
Maybe it’s because we’re in a college town or something, but the WH here actually got a credit card machine about 6 months ago. It’s so much easier than having to use that damn $2.50 fee ATM or run across the street to get some cash.
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The decision was corporate, and now all Waffle Houses accept credit/debit cards.

What’s odd is that, at least at my local WH, the credit card machine was installed in a cabinet under the cash register, roughly six inches above the floor, and the waitress has to squat to run a card through it.

I’m not a cash-carrying person, either, but I always thought the cash only policy was part of the Awful House’s charm.