# Restaurant Chains that Have Improved Over Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375 "2020-01-13T22:31:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/41 "2020-01-14T21:47:56Z")
Applebee’s has improved greatly in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/42 "2020-01-15T01:15:18Z")
I went a couple of decades without darkening a fast food door, but then I kept hearing from other Annoyingly Healthy People about finding good fast food. Now I often stop by McD’s for a sausage burrito or a yogurt parfait, and Taco Bell has a number of, as The Onion headline put it, “Entirely New Ways To Combine The Same Five Ingredients!” And you can get anything Fresco Style, where they replace the cheese and sauces with pico de gallo. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/43 "2020-01-15T01:46:54Z")
Arby’s got better at constantly having sales. I remember me and a friend went for 4 roast beefs in the early 2000s and it cost us $15. Now they’re running 4 for $5 deals almost daily. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/44 "2020-01-15T04:48:13Z")
Dunkin Donuts. In the 1990s, coffee at a fast food place or a convenience store usually meant a scalding - or tepid - watery brew with off-white powdered creamer. After the rise of Starbucks, McDonalds and Dunkin have tried hard to compete. Dunkin has really remade itself from a place you really don’t want to spend more than a minute in to a fairly solid chain for breakfast or coffee and a place to meet or work - I prefer their coffee to Starbucks now (A good local shop with a roaster is much better than any of the chains). Also, some fast food places have really improved their seating experience. The closest Starbucks to me is usually dirty, has a hundred flies in the window, punishing chairs, and is crowded with students downloading movies. The Dunkin and McDonalds locations by my place are clean, quiet, have Wifi and comfortable seats. I save a dollar or two in each visit, though I appreciate that at Starbucks there are more benefits and tips for workers. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/45 "2020-01-15T05:22:25Z")
I as a personal rule will not eat at chains by choice, but occasionally family and friends will rope me into it. Years ago I ate at a Lazy Dog Cafe…which is just one of those “by a mall” chains…it was fine. Pretty standard “appeal to everyone” places with burgers, nachos, salads and beer. Two weeks ago, a friend of ours who we hadn’t seen in awhile because they moved to a nearby city wanted to meet half way…at a Lazy Dog Cafe… Uggh. I was honestly shocked at the menu. Every dish sounded interesting and unique. Frou-frou but not like it was trying too hard. And it was legitimately good and very cheap. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/46 "2020-01-15T12:53:33Z")
Agree with Domino’s. They were _shit_, like seriously “hot circle of garbage.” I wouldn’t eat there if they paid me, but then they changed everything about 10 years ago. I remember it because at the time I had just moved to a place that was 3 blocks from a Domino’s and out of desperation one night I ordered. They were close so they came really fast, and to my surprise the pizza was decent. It still wasn’t great, but it was definitely edible. And they have what appears to be a permanent “$5.99 medium 2-topping pizza, sandwich, chicken, etc.” coupon, so it’s dirt cheap too. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/47 "2020-01-15T13:00:33Z")
> [@syncrolecyne](#): > > … coffee at a fast food place or a convenience store… Yes coffee is certainly improved all around. Practically gone are the days of the stale brown water, most is at least decent to good, some is great. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/48 "2020-01-15T13:58:28Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Fiction from the 1920s-1950s would include scenes where characters stopped at the diner for “a couple of hamburgers.” You never see that any more. At Dick’s in Seattle, two or three burgers for one person wouldn’t be an unusual order, but their menu literally hasn’t changed since 1971 and their burgers are basically the size of a regular McDonald’s burger, with their largest burger, the “Deluxe”, consisting entirely of two 1/8 lb. patties with cheese, tartar sauce, and shredded lettuce. More to the topic of the thread itself, Del Taco seems to have improved between when I left southern CA in 2004 and when it made its way up here last year. I remember them being below Taco Bell in quality back then, but now they’ve got some pretty good carne asada, and queso, and wet burritos, and fish tacos, and salsa that’s considerably spicier than most chains, and probably the best breakfast burrito I’ve ever gotten from a fast food place. ---
**Author:** ![Rough\_Draft](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@Rough\_Draft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rough_Draft)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/49 "2020-01-15T15:15:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > More to the topic of the thread itself, Del Taco seems to have improved between when I left southern CA in 2004 and when it made its way up here last year. I remember them being below Taco Bell in quality back then, but now they’ve got some pretty good carne asada, and queso, and wet burritos, and fish tacos, and salsa that’s considerably spicier than most chains, and probably the best breakfast burrito I’ve ever gotten from a fast food place. Del Taco’s fish tacos are outstanding considering their price. They also used to offer a bean burrito with chopped green chile that was much better than the Taco Bell equivalent. But nowadays their bean burritos are pretty ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/50 "2020-01-15T15:15:51Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > At Dick’s in Seattle, two or three burgers for one person wouldn’t be an unusual order, but their menu literally hasn’t changed since 1971 and their burgers are basically the size of a regular McDonald’s burger, with their largest burger, the “Deluxe”, consisting entirely of two 1/8 lb. patties with cheese, tartar sauce, and shredded lettuce. > > More to the topic of the thread itself, Del Taco seems to have improved between when I left southern CA in 2004 and when it made its way up here last year. I remember them being below Taco Bell in quality back then, but now they’ve got some pretty good carne asada, and queso, and wet burritos, and fish tacos, and salsa that’s considerably spicier than most chains, and probably the best breakfast burrito I’ve ever gotten from a fast food place. I’ve only been to Del Taco a handful of times (they only very briefly existed here in Chicago c. late 2000s or possibly early 2010s) but they always seemed to me to be much better than Taco Bell (which is probably my least favorite fast food chain; I tried it last year to see if my impressions of it had changed; they did not. And, no, I’m not comparing it to real Mexican food or anything like that–just on being fast food.) I really do enjoy Del Taco’s fish taco and their burgers tasted unexpectedly good to me, as well. I pop in from time to time when visiting my in-laws in Phoenix. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/51 "2020-01-15T23:29:28Z")
About the only chain store we can stand is the local Burger Thing, with Subway as a backup - but few chains infest our county. McD’s just stinks. Crap-in-the-Box aka Scarf-n-Barf made us puke. KFC/TacoSmell is grease-a-rama. Mountain Mike’s Pizza isn’t revolting. We haven’t tried the Togo’s or Jimbo’s. But we much prefer deli sandwiches, taco trucks, and mom-n-pop sit-downs. I’ll judge Burger Thing as better than it was. Subway varies with franchise. The rest - why bother? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/52 "2020-01-16T00:46:59Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > About the only chain store we can stand is the local Burger Thing, with Subway as a backup […]We haven’t tried the Togo’s or Jimbo’s. Togos bread (and IMO all their sandwiches) are better than Subway. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/53 "2020-01-16T00:48:29Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Applebee’s has improved greatly in my opinion. That’s an _awfully_ low bar IMO. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/54 "2020-01-16T01:50:29Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Togos bread (and IMO all their sandwiches) are better than Subway. I can’t speak to whether Subway has improved or not, but as a customer of Togo’s in early 70s (a converted house a couple of blocks from San Jose State), their sandwiches have _not_ gone up in quality. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/55 "2020-01-16T01:57:20Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Togos bread (and IMO all their sandwiches) are better than Subway. I would say it’s pretty much impossible not to have a better sandwich than Subway. But I’ll still eat at it in a pinch, as it’s one of the few non-burger places around me open 24 hrs. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/56 "2020-01-16T02:17:38Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I can’t speak to whether Subway has improved or not, but as a customer of Togo’s in early 70s (a converted house a couple of blocks from San Jose State), their sandwiches have _not_ gone up in quality. I first sampled them in 1987, and I agree they’re about the same and better than Subway. I’d much prefer a real deli, but the choices were limited near San Jose. Perhaps this has changed – I live near Santa Cruz now and wouldn’t know. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/57 "2020-01-16T02:57:55Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I first sampled them in 1987, and I agree they’re about the same and better than Subway. I’d much prefer a real deli, but the choices were limited near San Jose. Perhaps this has changed – I live near Santa Cruz now and wouldn’t know. My first exposure to Togo’s was in Santa Cruz - they were a ritzy sandwich shop in 1978. Now our local mountain grocery, and the upscale Raley’s supermarkup down in the county seat, make great deli sandwiches, so we rarely bother with sub specialists. I can’t comment on most chains because either they’re not around here, or I’ve not tried them in decades, if ever. When nearby, we stick with locals we know. When traveling, we look for something local THERE, not nationwide chains. Why eat at Taco Smell in El Paso? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/58 "2020-01-16T03:03:10Z")
Togo’s is local to San Jose’s area. Erik’s Delicafe is also local, born in Scott’s Valley. You eat there, you’re eating local. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/59 "2020-01-16T05:12:18Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Togo’s is local to San Jose’s area. Erik’s Delicafe is also local, born in Scott’s Valley. You eat there, you’re eating local. We’re a couple hundred kicks east of SJ now. The [Togo’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togo%27s) down in the country seat was disappointing when we tried it. They’re a 200-store chain now so expectations diminish. Meanwhile, we need judgments of eatery slogans. My nomination: “I live with pain and terror every day; Then I take her to Perko’s Cafe.” ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375/60 "2020-01-16T05:34:03Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > We haven’t tried the Togo’s or Jimbo’s. > [@RioRico](#): > > The Togo’s down in the country seat was disappointing when we tried it :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-chains-that-have-improved-over-time/846375.md?page=4)