Well, considering that chain restaurants source their food from giant suppliers (like Sysco), there should be little difference in the final product (assuming competent preparation). That is why the steakhouse with $50.00 entrees serves superior cuisine-they start with excellent raw materials. When you sit down to dine at a low-end chain restaurant, you have to accept that the beef you are served is not “Prime” or “Choice”-the economics won’t allow it. It really is hard to serve seafood in a low end chain-that seafood is expensive to begin with, so mostly, you get some kind of “white fish” that has been frozen for months. The really high end places buy their food fresh daily-there is no way you can get that with a $15.00 entree.
Waterman - Your bad experience at 5 Guys is your own fault. You asked for a thin patty to be cooked medium rare. Ain’t gonna happen. You could get a burger cooked that way at Red Robin because they have much thicker patties. But no place will do burgers medium rare anymore except under very specific circumstances. Too much of a chance of food poisoning, you see.
Another vote for Red Robin and P.F. Chang’s.
Cosi hasn’t been mentioned. I think it might only be in the U.S.
I like Chipotle, hippie politics aside.
They’re mainly in the DC area, I’ve eaten there once and it was not bad. Not sure I’d call it excellent but the food was above average.
Here are some more - 10 Foreign Chain Restaurants We're Glad Came To The U.S. (Slideshow)
I think Potbelly’s hasn’t been mentioned. I like their sandwiches fairly well when I’m in the mood. Certainly tastier (and a closer fascimile to real food) than Subway or Quizno’s. I wouldn’t call it great food, but it’s a pretty good sandwich for a chain.
On the garbage cans they have a picture of Tom Hanks, and the lettering reads, “T. Hanks”.
Not in my experience. Aside from the thin patty places like Steak n Shake, almost every sit-down restaurant I’ve ordered a burger at asks me how I want it cooked. (I go for medium. I like rare steak but rare burgers taste mushy and wrong to me.)
I concur with this. Except that there are too few Which Wich eateries around. Subway is at least ubiquitous, and you know what you will get- a decent (but not great) 'wich at a great price.
Same here. No problem getting rare burgers at most sit down restaurants. I agree that for a thin party it’s nigh impossible, unless you start from a frozen patty.
I’m not sure they are legal in California. I’ve seen signs, but I don’t know for sure that you can’t get them by special request. Medium-rare is no problem, though.
My local Starbucks baristas had the same thing on their tip jar.
California. Figures. 
I have to order “rare” here to get what I personally would consider “medium rare”. There are a few that do it truly rare, though – it’s a matter of knowing the place and their interpretation of “rare” and “medium rare.” So can you not get steak tartare in California, or is that under some different sort of regulation?
Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans are usually very good in my book. I like old people food apparently. As OP mentioned, the catfish is very good, that’s what I usually get.
If I want a quick meal McDonalds and Subway both do a decently consistent job, although McDonalds seems to have splintered into $1.50 and $5.00 burgers/sandwiches, with not much in between.
I like Which Wich too, but my all-time favorite sub shop is called Port of Subs. The closest one to our house is over 100 miles away now (there used to be one in our college town, which is where we found it) but any time we’re anywhere near one, I make a point to visit. Love that place! Twice a year or so I hopefully check their website in hope that they’ve put up a new one closer to home; so far no luck.
For a bit more upscale chains, my favorites are Fogo de Chao (Brazilian steakhouse), Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and Benihana. I’ve tried and didn’t like Morton’s and McCormick and Schmick. Not sure why, but just wasn’t impressed.
I also like Chipotle and Steak and Shake (though we don’t have one of the latter, so I only get to go once a year when we go to Gen Con). The spouse and I like Chevy’s.
A couple that I used to like but aren’t as good as they used to be IMO are Red Lobster and Outback Steakhouse
I agree about Mortons, really over priced.
McCormick and Schmick has a nice happy hour menu. Other than that, meh.
I don’t know for sure. It might be only for burgers - you have no problem getting rare steaks, and I’ve had a kind of steak tartare dish at an Ethiopian restaurant in Berkeley. Without having to sign a waiver.
This past weekend we attended a friend’s wedding; the spouse was in the wedding party so we got to go to the rehearsal dinner, which was held at Il Fornaio (upscale Italian place, and small California chain). I had the beef, which the menu said was served rare. I was skeptical, but that meat was practically blue. And it was wonderful. Tenderest beef I’ve had in years.
I think all they’re legally required to do is post on the menu that eating rare or undercooked food can make you sick. I see that a lot. But I’ve ordered rare burgers at (oh–forgot! Another favorite chain!) The Counter, and never gotten sick.
Hard Times Café - get the 3 way. DC, Northern Virginia, Maryland area.
I go to the ones in the Boston area. Like any restaurant I will occasionally get sub-par food but it’s generally quite good. I love the deep-dish pizza.
I can get rare burgers at Shake Shack (NYC-based chain) and Tasty Burger (Boston-based small chain) which are both thin-patty. I generally refuse to get burgers unless I can get them at most medium-rare.
Yes, An Gadaí, of course I know that Nando’s is headquartered in South Africa. I linked to their Wikipedia entry. I’ve been going to Nando’s since 2004, when I went to one in England. I had to wait until 2008 before they opened one in the U.S. As Telemark said, there are now 18 of them in the Washington/Baltimore area and more opening up there and in the Chicago area soon.