So good! Briny, clear broth with potatoes and clams. No cream, not thick. Tastes like the ocean.
Guy had some at a place in RI on DDD.
That sounds very good indeed.
Panera for soup and Potbelly for sandwiches are my favorite choices when I want a fast, reasonably inexpensive meal.
I don’t live near In-N-Out but I made a point of going there when I was visiting the southwest due to the hype. I loved the animal style grilled cheese (I don’t eat meat, so it was very nice to go somewhere that has a decent vegetarian sandwich option). Honestly, I would probably be a lot fatter if I lived near In-N-Out (I seldom go to fast food places here, but In-n-Out would be very tempting to me if I lived by it).
I also like the grilled cheese and the fries at Five Guys. Five Guys also seems to treat their workers a little better than most fast food places (they get bonuses for good service when secret shoppers visit the stores).
I haven’t had the chance to try it, but I WISH that Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation was near me because from what I’ve heard it sounds like something I’d really like.
I get it at Lenny and Joe’s and Bills seafood in CT. Yum.
Chick-fil-A is one of the best fast food restaurant chains. The food is delicious and reasonably priced, the restaurants are clean and the staff is always polite.
You have good taste. City BBQ is a consistently very, very good product. I LOVE that place. It’s a little expensive for lunch but I don’t care. The quality of the food is excellent. Their brisket sandwich is the fucking bomb.
Incidentally, where do you live? I thought City BBQ was a regional chain in the Midwest, but I will happily be wrong.
Yep, just checked. They are a regional chain, with most of their locations in Cincinnati (lucky me!) and Columbus. Seriously though: look at this sammich: http://www.citybbq.com/our-food/
What’s wrong with that?
What can you get for .59? Tap water?
Zankou Chicken.
My SO was trying to act like The Chicken Shack in Astoria (where we live) would be competitive with La Zankou. No. It was not.
Tacos on sale, bean burritos on sale, etc.
I love Bonefish Grill, but strangely, only for their chicken.
My contribution is Zea Rotisserie & Grill. Their rotisserie veal is to die for!
Not quite what you’re getting at, but chain wise:
Steak N Shake
Portillo’s
Arby’s
Husband loves Popeye’s - I won’t eat there.
I love White Castle so I’m listing them too.
For dinners out at a real “restaurant” (which we very, very rarely do) we usually go somewhere local that isn’t a chain and one none of you would have ever heard of like Brandt’s Little Cafe, Jameson’s Charhouse, or Palm Court.
Evelyn’s? Friends of mine run that place.
Yes. This. Sure, it’s only spicy chicken. But it’s Spicy Chicken with Special Peri-peri and Crack Marinade.
Seriously, I loves me some Nando’s. And soon the rest of America outside the DC/Annapolis area will too know of its chickeny goodness. It is only a matter of time. Resistance is futile.
I don’t know why Nando’s is taking so long to expand its presence in the U.S. It’s a large chain, now in 27 countries. They finally opened their first restaurant in the U.S. in 2008. There are now 8 of them in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, with two more to open in the fall.
The chains my wife and I frequent the most are:
- Red Lobster
- The Keg (Canadian)
- Mandarin Chinese buffet (southern Ontario)
- Asian Legend (southern Ontario)
They may not be perfect, but all of those places have a couple of dishes that my wife and I really enjoy.
“on sale?” What discounted day-old stuff? 
Must work them differently out there, or maybe something new as I haven’t gone to a fast food place in years.
PS never heard of Nandos and am in the area(s) above. Got me curious though. What could you compare it to (roughly) that’s already here?
The signature dish is chicken in the style of Portuguese colonists in Mozambique:
As to what that’s like, I can’t explain it well. It’s not like anything you know. You’ll just have to try it. You can find lists of the American locations on those websites. Incidentally, checking the list given in the Wikipedia article, it appears that they have restaurants in 31 countries.
Chili’s is probably my favorite chain. They’re burgers are okay and they have good fries made in house, not precut and frozen. I worked at a Chili’s when I was in my 20s and the most of the ingredients are fresh.