Ah. yes, I hate that. On our only time, we were near WDW and the place was kinda empty and they said it’d be a couple minutes.
Where? I’ve been to the original one, and we used to have some near here which were good. But a few months ago I went to on in Ft. Worth, and it was dreadful. Perhaps the worst pizza ever, certainly the worst deep dish pizza ever. They seem to have fallen on hard times.
I have the opposite experience. I guess maybe the entrees aren’t too big, but I find that everything comes with at least 3 sides (that are pretty dense- for example hash brown “caserole” instead of just hash browns) and loads of bread. They don’t really have anything on the menu in a configuration of what I would typically have for a meal.
They remind of a french fries stand where I grew up (and I think they may have admitted to copying them) that does not offer ketchup. I would never think of it, and I like that Five Guys has the vinegar.
I’ve never tried eating there because the place gives me a lot of anxiety for some reason. I would probably like it.
You can get a 7x7 at Steak n Shake, but I’m not saying it’s any good.
I live in the desert in eastern Washington so we are not blessed with all of the chains discussed above, and, in general, my experiences with chain restaurants have been mostly bad but individual rankings are (1 is god awful worst food ever and 10 is the absolute nirvana of dining experiences):
[ul]
[li]5 Guys - 1.5 (just barely above McD’s - went once and could not figure out what all the excitement was about. Asked for medium rare and got medium to well done)[/li][li]Red Robin - 2 (used to be much higher until they stopped fixing burgers medium rare)[/li][li]Cracker Barrel - 1.5 (let’s see how much we can put on your plate and BTW everything is going to taste the same. They are not here so my experience is from the Midwest and they made us wander through the store for 10 minutes before seating us and the damn place was empty)[/li]Houlihan’s (none here but used to go to the Naperville/Wheaton one frequently) 6.0 (good consistent food with
[li]Olive Garden -1.5 (tasteless food for the masses)[/li][li]Bob’s Burger’s (regional chain?) - 6.0 (they will fix your burgers however you want it cooked and they have a pretty good selection of craft beers)[/li][li]Anthony’s (another NW chain) - 8.0 (impeccable seafood and excellent/knowledgeable wine steward)[/li][li]P.F. Chang’s - 3 (way overpriced and tends toward tasteless)[/li][li]Dave’s Famous BBQ - 2.5 (I can fix better BBQ on my home grill any day of the week)[/li][/ul]
Here’s my thing about burger places - I want my burger cooked medium rare. Now if the place tells me they won’t do it then I have a choice to make and I will either compromise or order something else. But what really frosts my butt, is when the server tells me that they will fix to order and they bring a medium to well-done burger to you.
You just dont like fries. In N Out employees take a real potato and crank them into raw fries and straight into the oil. There is nothing frozen or artificial here.
At least they arent brown.
Depends on what you mean by “get” a good meal. There’s a Chili’s in Carlsbad NM that I had okay service at once, but the next time I went I waited over 5 minutes without anyone acknowledging me, the only person in line. No one came closer than from behind the bar, in an empty restaurant, so I ended up walking out, figuring that if I had to walk all the way to the bar to ask to be seated when there were hardly any other patrons, that the rest of the customer service experience would be bad as well.
On the other hand, there’s a Chili’s in Georgia, not sure where but I recognize the Interstate exit, that I stop at because they have good service for a Chili’s and like you said their food is never bad.
I second Nando’s.
Also Oporto. I don’t know if it exists outside of Australia, but it’s probably my favourite fast food chain.
The gang in Dead Like Me met at “Der Waffle Housen”, not Waffle House. German atmosphere, not Southern.
That really hasn’t been my experience. If I went into a Bennigan’s in Plano, Texarkana, and then Little Rock my dining experience was pretty much the same. Sure, on occasion I could find a franchise restaurant that was of particularly low quality. There’s a Wendy’s in Little Rock I won’t eat at because I’ve gotten too many bad meals out of them whereas I generally think of Wendy’s as one of my favorite fast food places. I’d say most franchises are really good at delivering the same experience at all their locations.
I don’t particularly care for Cracker Barrel because it reminds me of old people food. i.e. Bland and mushy. This is true for every Cracker Barrel location I’ve been to because they’re all pretty much the same.
It appears that Oporto opened one place in the U.S. but has since closed it. Can anyone else recommend any chain restaurant that’s headquartered outside the U.S.? I think it would let us know something new, instead of endlessly rehashing the same set of American-owned restaurants.
More of a street food outlet than a restaurant but this is the best hot dog in town, if your town happens to be Reykjavik.
I’m not a fan of most that have been mentioned. I do like Baja Fresh, though.
At least in Ireland, Nando’s is shite. Overpriced, stupid service system, and perfunctory meals. Immensely, inexplicably popular with teenagers.
Thanks, Telemark, but can anyone suggest some chain restaurants headquartered outside the U.S.?
Another chain I really like is Which Wich. Much better than Subway, and they have healthy choices as well as not so healthy, but still delicious sandwiches. Their gimmick is you grab a brown paper bag, and a Sharpie, and the menu’s on the bag. Choose what you want, hand it to the cashier, pay, and then get your sandwich.
Nando’s is from Johannesburg, South Africa.