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Do you eat at chain restaurants?

I try to avoid them when I can. Name any chain restaurant and I can name a much better, locally owned alternative.
 
I've yet to have a better salad than the one at Olive Garden. That Italian dressing must have crack in it. I buy bottles of the stuff. I also like anything at P.F. Chang's and California Pizza Kitchen. I will admit to being a salt addict. I'd rather eat a bag if chips than have ice cream any day and no, I'm not 300lbs, good genes 😉

We eat at locals about as much as eating at chains. It really depends on what we're in the mood for. Although, my wife is an amazing cook and baker so we tend to only go out when we're tired or want a change in dining atmosphere, at most twice a month.

I will say that the best food I've ever had while eating out has been at locals.
 
jav6454 said:
Applebees, nukes their food, no doubt.
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Yup. I know that for a fact. I used to work in the restaurant industry and worked with a few servers who had worked at a nearby Applebee's. Everything comes in frozen and basically gets microwaved there. It's terrible.



Olive Garden probably has the worst Italian food on the planet. 😉
 
northernmunky said:
HAA... I had no idea Cheesecake factory was a real restaurant! 🙂
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It is - and it's absolutely NOTHING like the place where Penny works on the Big Bang Theory. They're generally huge, expensively decorated, with a huge menu and usually a long wait to get in if you don't have a reservation. Very popular with young 20-somethings - other age groups too. Their food has more calories and fat than you'd really think possible, although they've launched a "skinnylicious" menu with more reasonable items.

But anyway, what I was going to say is that being locally owned is no guarantee of quality food. All the various pre made nuggets, sauces, soups, etc. you find at the chains are available from foodservice companies for independents. Getting a burger and fries at the local greasy spoon can still mean a frozen patty and frozen fries that are well below the quality you'd find at a Five Guys
 

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I find California Pizza Kitchen to be alright once in a while. The problem with eating out in my area is the choice seems to be between these chains which are affordable but offer questionable food and very high priced local restaurants. There don't seem to be many quality in-between restaurants any more. I guess the chains took care of that.
 
APlotdevice said:
I love the newer, "fresh" chains like Chipotle and The Melt. Occasionally I will eat at El Pollo Loco or Subway too.
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Chipotle should offer an app or touchpad ordering system to simplify the process. There are too many decisions to make on the spot and the preparer doesn't always hear me correctly.
 
puma1552 said:
nothing wrong with chains at all. youre kidding yourself if you think non chains are any better.
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Nothing wrong with chains. Especially if you travel. Knowing what to expect is a godsend.

But none of my favorite restaurants are chains.

Well, except Whataburger.
 
I'm not a picky eater, and eat at chains and locally-owned alike. I am just as satisfied after eating at McDonald's or Chili's as I am eating at a top-notch steak restaurant. Totally depends on my mood at the time, how much time I want to spend eating, if I want to wait for service or eat right away, etc. If I'm standing in front of an Applebee's and a funky local place, I'll probably choose the funky local place to try something new. I love good food, but I'm fine with regular stuff as well.

Case in point...I was in DC for about two weeks a few months ago. I was staying about a half mile north of the White House. There was a plethora of local places to eat, along with a Whole Foods, and a McDonald's. I tried several of the local places, the Whole Foods, McDonald's twice, the hotel restaurant twice. All based on my mood at the time.

I have to say that I'm happy that I'm satisfied with whatever. I have some friends who will only eat at local, organic, celebrity-chef-prepared restaurants. They are never happy with anything less. While the food may be much better, I'd rather have more choice and variety. It also means that while those guys complain every time about the catering at work, I'm happy and fed.

So yeah, a little of both.


senseless said:
Chipotle should offer an app or touchpad ordering system to simplify the process. There are too many decisions to make on the spot and the preparer doesn't always hear me correctly.
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Out of all the burrito places I frequent, Chipotle has the fewest choices of any of them.
 
I'm a fan of Subway. Especially when I'm high. Other than that though, I don't tend to eat out unless its the local fried chicken takeaway. Marston's Chicken is the best. Their chicken wings are to die for.
 
rdowns said:
Five Guys is overrated. I could also do without an order of fries that could feed a small African nation. Doesn't hold a candle to Shake Shack or Smashburger.
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THANK YOU

I thought I was the only one on this planet who thought Five Guys was overrated. Everyone rants and raves about it, and I've never been too impressed.

I have not had Shake Shack as there aren't any in the midwest, hope they come out here sometime or I'm in a city with one. Smashburger is pretty good, but the one location they have in the STL area is nowhere near me so I've only been once.
 
yg17 said:
THANK YOU

I thought I was the only one on this planet who thought Five Guys was overrated. Everyone rants and raves about it, and I've never been too impressed.

I have not had Shake Shack as there aren't any in the midwest, hope they come out here sometime or I'm in a city with one. Smashburger is pretty good, but the one location they have in the STL area is nowhere near me so I've only been once.
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Clearly you guys have never tried In-N-Out. Five Guys has nothing on them. For me, Five Guys is just bloated lard burgers, no taste.
 
jav6454 said:
Clearly you guys have never tried In-N-Out. Five Guys has nothing on them. For me, Five Guys is just bloated lard burgers, no taste.
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I've had In-N-Out before, and they're delicious and I want one to open up in St. Louis, I'd go there. It's one of the best fast food burgers I've had.

It depends what I wanted though. If I wanted a quick, cheap burger, I'll go to the best fast food restaurant around. If I wanted the best burger I could sink my teeth into and didn't mind going to a sit down restaurant, waiting for a bit, and paying more, there are a dozen restaurants in the area I'd go to before In-N-Out (assuming we had one)
 
Hardly ever, to answer the question asked.

Given a choice, I like to eat a small, good quality, locally owned or ethnic restaurants.

In fact, the only chain I used to eat in fairly regularly was Wagamama's, as I like Asian food, and Wagamama's maintained a consistent standard where quality was concerned.
 
I always go for local first, but yes I eat at chains. They're not all bad, y'know 🙂

Five Guys (screw you guys to the above posters 😀), Cheesecake Factory (for the, er, cheesecake), Qdoba (when not in San Francisco), Chipotle (when not in San Francisco AND no Qdoba locally), California Pizza (when not in New York, and only for their BBQ chicken pizza).

And yes, of course, In-n-Out Burger or Shake Shack in their respective states.

And when out on a roadtrip or looking for food when everyone's closed and I only have a choice between fast food joints, I always go for McDonald's. Best of them all, IMO. I heard Wendy has a bit of a resurgence recently, so I will need to give them a try when such a situation pops up.
 
Olive Garden and Panera are the only chains I frequent regularly. We got a Sonic a few years back and I was hugely disappointed.
 
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