I love:
Famous Dave’s
Panera
Popeye’s
Sonic (I was able to get a green chile cheeseburger there while on vacation in New Mexico last summer!)
Corner Bakery
Maggiano’s
Red Robin (it was the only restaurant I could eat at while I was pregnant for some reason)
Wendy’s, because if I was on death row I’d ask for a spicy chicken sandwich, french fries, and a frosty as my last meal.
Pick up Stix isn’t bad. It’s sort of like a low-rent P.F. Chang’s. The sauces aren’t very authentic, but they do use fresh vegetables. It’s one of the only fast-food places where you can get a reasonably healthy meal other than salad.
El_Kabong: Even if Denny’s did take the Patty Melt off of the menu, try ordering one anyway. I say this because the last time I was at Denny’s, it was with my brother-in-law and sister, who informed us that you can still order the Grand Slam for the original price even though the Slam is no longer on the menu.
Anyway, my favorites:
Quizno’s has, hands down, the best subs. Unfortunately, the nearest one is an hour away, so I have to make do with the local, above-average Subway; where they have the sandwich toaster and they remember that I like to have it toasted after everything’s on it.
When I’m in the Midwest, I like to hit White Castle at least once. In the South, it’s Waffle House (conveniently placed every quarter mile)
To me, the majority of chain restaruants have good tasting food. They’d have to to stay in business.
I’m pretty sure I ate at a Red Robin in New Jersey, unless you mean that the only good Red Robins are on the West Coast.
–Cervaise
Years ago, I took my brother, sister in law, and niece (visiting from Toledo, OH) to the Red Robin in Reno. They liked it and were pleased to get one in Toledo a few years later.
My two favorite chains, right now are Claimjumper and Chevy’s Fresh Mex. (I love Chevy’s “corn pudding”; I found a recipe on line and make it every Thanksgiving.)
Oh…I forgot one…
For breakfast, I love Mimi’s Kind of a western chain, I think.
I seem to recall a taco stand in the local in the 80s, in MD, and it may have been one of those, but I can not recall clearly.
On another topic, I figured that people might apreciate the following link:
Excellent salads, too! And they offer a low-carb bread variety or two, which I appreciate.
You’d think you couldn’t get good food at a gas station. That’s true. But you can get GREAT food at a gas station in Pennsylvania if you stop at a Sheetz. All kinds of subs, wraps, fajita wraps, burgers, salads, and on and on. About a week and a half ago I went to the “home base” store in Altoona and would you believe that it’s a sit down place too. At that one you can get pretty good pizza and some terrific garlic parmesan french fries.
And zenith they have horseradish for the roast beef! 
I agree with others - the quality at the Macaroni Grill isn’t what it used to be. Last time I ate there wasn’t great. The food was meh, the atmosphere was loud, and the whole experience caused me and my husband to think we were just cattle shoved in so the company could make a buck. I don’t mind feeling like a customer, but feeling like livestock is right out.
For Italian, Buca di Beppo (hi, PinkMaribou!) and Biaggi’s can’t be beat. Very good food. Not sure if either have made it all over yet - they’re smaller chains here in the midwest (Buca started in Minneapolis).
We have them in Virginia now, too! But the first one I ate at was in Gettysburg, PA. We went up there for the day and wanted a snack for the ride home. Mr. Winnie got one of their made-to-order subs, and I must say it was GREAT! Very fresh, tasty, the bread was perfect. We gave it 2 thumbs up.
I love the Cheesecake Factory.
Also:
Panera
Melting Pot
Quizno’s
Inn-N-Out Burger
Panera – love the onion soup and the portobello mushroom sandwiches. The carrot bundt cake is also fabulous.
The Cheesecake Factory – best cheeseburger I’ve ever eaten. The chocolate cake I had there was perfect.
Macaroni Grill – I’ve only eaten there once but they had a woman wandering around the tables singing opera. Swoon!
Pizzeria Uno – Basically the best pizza chain.
Olive Garden – I love the fact that the soup and breadsticks are included with the entree. The minestrone is one of my favorite fast food soups ever. The red sauces tend to have too much sugar but everything else is generally quite good. I’m especially fond of the Chicken Castellina entree.
My favs:
Wahoo’s Fish Tacos
In-N-Out
El Pollo Loco
Naugles
Panera makes some tasty stuff. Of course it’s hard NOT to make a better tasting “bagel” when they’re loaded with that much sugar and butter. Those things are closer to a donut than a bagel.
I don’t know what happened to the “bad” thread so maybe this belongs there, but my major complaint with the chain places is not so much the food, but the atmosphere. . .kids, flair, too much lighting, stupid shit on the walls, generic feel. Being in an atmosphere that you like is a big part of dining out.
That was Dignan, actually. Just FTR.
Last night I ate at Rockbottom. I’d been there before; pretty decent for a chain brewpub.
My regional favorites: Beef-A-Roo, Happy Wok, and Maid-Rite. The only thing I miss about my home town is the food. And my family, I guess.
I like Buca di Beppo, too, although I tend to drink so much wine before the food comes that I’d eat anything.
But Chipotle and Noodles and Co. are definitely the best. The food always tastes fresh rather than super processed, and you can eat for around five or six dollars. Mmmm… burrito.
ZJ
What, you mean there really is a restaurant called “Beef-A-Roo”?
All this time I thought it was a gag from Dork Tower…
I have a new choice as well: Too Jay’s. It’s a chain of delicatessens that has several locations around Orlando and elsewhere in Florida, but I’m not sure how far out they spread. I was skeptical at first, after being unimpressed by so-called “delis” like Schlotzky’s. But yesterday I went to Too Jay’s for my first time, and I was blown away! It was like having a New York City/North Miami Beach-style deli right here in central Florida. They had, among other things:
Nova
Kippered salmon
Whitefish salad
Pastrami
Corned beef
Chopped liver
Stuffed cabbage
Beef tongue
Brisket
Liver and onions
Fresh-baked soft rye bread (perhaps the best I’ve ever had) and challah
I love this sort of traditional Jewish deli food, and I’d eat if every day if I could afford to. Now that I know Too Jay’s is like this, I’ll definitely be back more often.
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Chili’s yet. I love their mushroom jack fajitas.
And Cracker Barrel has great hashbrown casserole.
When I lived in NC, I was never a fan of Chick-fil-a. Must’ve been a Southern thing.
[sub]I like Olive Garden.[/sub]