It is in Ashland rather than Framingham (they are right next to each other) but lots of people like John Stone’s Public House. Framingham itself is just typical suburbia. They have every chain you can think of either there or in neighbor Natick usually along Route 9. They have a Legal Seafoods there and it is quite good if you like seafood although not that cheap.
Oh it’s certainly not the greatest place in the world, but considering that Shopper’s World stretch is mostly national chain restaurants, you could do worse.
To the OP, since you’re there for the night you might get a kick out of this…
Before moving to New England a dinner at Legals was a rare treat. Since then I’ve developed the same opinion as you because there are so many other great seafood restaurants. But lacking a good recommendation for another restaurant I’d go with Legals for seafood because the quality will be good, even if overpriced for what you get.
Ken’s Steakhouseis right in Framingham. Well known for their salad dressings.
There’s also a Capitol Grill in Newton. My wife likes going to the one in Providence. I’ve had better. If you are willing to go into Boston I’d recommend Abe&Louie’sfor steak.
I’ll second Ken’s Steak House – an excellent restaurant of long standing. They should be known for their steaks, not their salad dressings, but they’ve been selling the dressings in supermarkets for years. They used to have branches in Copley Square, Boston and Central Square, Cambridge, but those closed long ago. Nevertheless, I’ve eaten at the one in Framingham, and highly recommend it.
There are lots of intersting restaurants along Route 9. Not all are chains. as Telemark observes, John Harvard’s Brew Pub is there, hard to find in Shopper’s World on Route 9. It has stained glass windows, like the restaurant at 33 Dunster in Harvard Square, with which I think it has some connection.
I also highly recommend Minado in neighboring Natick, on Route 9. It’s nominally a HUGE sushi restaurant, but you can get other things there. My company has its Christmas dinner (!) there: http://www.minado.com/