When I hit the mall food court, I head straight for the Panda Express. My next choice would have to be Arby’s. Just thinking about those potato cakes is makkkgghh Homeresque gurgle. I like both Burger King and Wendy’s but I think BK gains the win with their breakfast menu.
Chipotle has gained my favor as of late as well.
I pondered in the other thread whether or not this was true for the Olive Garden, since I seem to remember thinking it was pretty good when I first ate there, but it’s more likely that I’ve changed than they have.
I think you’re spot-on regarding the Macaroni Grill, though; I ate there several years ago, and then not again until just recently, and the quality seemed much poorer than before.
I love Baja Fresh, and Moe’s Southwest Grill is good, too (if a bit annoying).
I’ll lose my gourmet card for saying it, but when they’re fresh and properly cooked, McDonald’s french fries kick ass. Easily the best of any of the big national chains.
Fuddrucker’s, for the fresh toppings you can pick out yourself to go on your cheeseburger (and they make pretty good, if very large, burgers), and also for the fact that their milkshakes are actual milkshakes–milk, ice cream, syrup, rather than the gelatinous non-dairy “shakes” you get elsewhere.
I loved them, too, until they got all skinny.
Fuddruckers is the best! I love eating there so much, it fills me with happiness just thinking about it.
I noted my choices in the “other” Best Chain Restaurants thread:
Fuddruckers
Cheesecake Factory
Smokey Bones
Sonny’s Real Pit Barbecue
Quizno’s Subs
Cajun Grill (usually in mall food courts, occasionally called Kelly’s Cajun Grill or Cajun & Grill… I love their Bourbon Chicken!)
Skyline Chili (major guilty pleasure)
It can also be found in Baltimore.
I can’t access it either. I forget who started it, maybe a sock or something?
When I click the OP’s link, it goes the the “you don’t have permission to access this page” page.
Anyway - best chains? For fast food, I love Popeye’s chicken. I’ve only had it a few times, at layovers in the Georgia airport (forget the name), but it was soooo much better than KFC or any other fast food chicken, and I’ve had chick-filet! Crunchy outside, juicy inside, and the buiscuts were nummy.
For actual “restaurant” I like the Longhorn. They always make my steak the way I like it (medium rare) and have really good margaritas.
I’ll admit I don’t eat at chains too often. When my husband and I want “fast food,” we generally order from a local joint that feeds both of us for about $8 (with my husband ordering two sides). I can get lunch there for about $2.50. It rocks!
My favorite chains are most certainly KFC, IHOP (both of which I get to eat at this weekend! Yum!), and Taco John’s. If you’ve never been to a Taco John’s, you should really try it. It kicks Taco Bell’s ass!
Skyline Chili
Cousin’s Subs
LaRosa’s Pizza
Taco John’s
Does anyone remember Taco Viva? There were a few around Miami in the '80s long before Taco Bell became the ubiquitous giant chain it is today. They were mostly in mall food courts, but they had at least one free-standing location. Were there Taco Vivas anywhere else? They were so damn good, and I really miss the chain. By the mid-'90s, they were all gone.
Some of the regional burger chains are pretty good - Whataburger in Texas, Blake’s Lotaburger in New Mexico, Good Times Burgers in Colorado, and Back Yard Burgers in the Southeast and lower Midwest.
Village Inn, a old-people food chain in the midwest and Rocky Mountain region, has a good breakfast.
It’s hard to find decent Mexican food in Upstate New York, but Mighty Taco in western NY has GREAT Mexican fast food.
Did I say Pizzeria Uno already?
The international chains that seem to be creeping into the US, like Jollibee and Pollo Campero get good reviews, but I’ve never been to them. Nando’s is an every-English-speaking-country-except-the-US chain that also has a loyal following.
:dubious:
Western NY hosts Ted’s and Tom Wahl’s, and yet you mention Mighty Taco, where drunken pre-teens go to flirt with botulism?
My favorites:
Buca di Beppo (far better than Macaroni Grill, IMO )
Red Robin
Japanese Steakhouse (might only be columbus though)
Favorite fastfood:
Skyline
Fazoli’s
Schlotzky’s
In the other thread, people ragged on Old Country Buffet, but my wife and I happen to think our local one is good. We’ve never tried them away from the Omaha area.
Perkins Restaurants are good in the Omaha area, but when we tried them in Rapid City, they had slow service and lukewarm food. Ditto the slow service in Ames, IA.
Olive Garden is O.K., but there are a couple of local places we like a lot better.
Subway used to be on my favorites list until they got rid of horseradish. I’ll try Arby’s cold sandwiches next time I don’t feel like making one of my own simply because they still have horseradish. BTW, I love the Arby’s Jamocha shakes.
**Chick-Fil-A (drools)
Taco Bell ( I admit it! I like Taco Bell)
Wendy’s **
I haven’t been to Florida for a while but, there was a chain called Morrison’s Cafeteria. I loved it and always wished we had a Morrison’s up here. Florida dopers can tell me whether or not it they still exist.
All the Morrison’s Cafeterias were absorbed by another chain, Piccadilly Cafeteria, in the '90s. My family used to like visiting Morrison’s at a mall when my brother and I were kids, because they had a variety of foods. It was mostly “old people food,” but I remember trying the liver and onions just to gross out my parents and brother, and ended up becoming a fan.
Seafood: Rockfish. McCormick and Schmick is ok, but they are way too expensive.
Steaks: Ruth’s Chris. Taste of Texas in Houston beats them, but it’s not a chain.
Mexican: Ninfa’s. And Taco Bell. Yes, I like chihuahua tacos 
Fast food in general: Subway and Schlotzky’s.
That makes me sad. My favorite was the roast beef. We used to take some of almost everything and end up with a whole table full of food. Ah, the good old days.
You guys name your Mexican restaraunts “Ted’s” and “Tom Wahl’s”??? You know, I really want to move to New York, but my diet is 80% Mexican food and I don’t know if I could do without my daily cheap burrito fix.