Thoughts on chain restaurants.

[planteater]

Chain restaurants are almost always terrible and overpriced. Not to be confused with Fast Food chains. Fast food has it's place for the convenience, price, and availability. But chain restaurants - think Applebee's, Panera, Chili's, etc. are usually more money than a mom-and-pop place, significantly worse quality, and you are not supporting a small family business by going there.

The worst of them is Panera - I have a friend that swears by it and I had it with him one time. A small bowl of canned soup, the most basic sandwich I could make at home, and a coffee for $12. No thanks.

A single McD Quarter pounder meal, with bottled water instead of soda cost me $14 and change the other day where I'm at. No thanks, won't be doing that again soon.

 

[rhett7660]

A single McD Quarter pounder meal, with bottled water instead of soda cost me $14 and change the other day where I'm at. No thanks, won't be doing that again soon.

Holy smokes... are you serious! I heard prices are going up in my general area, Los Angeles County, but I haven't seen it first hand. Taco Bell on the other hand... the prices have jumped there...

 

[planteater]

Holy smokes... are you serious! I heard prices are going up in my general area, Los Angeles County, but I haven't seen it first hand. Taco Bell on the other hand... the prices have jumped there...

I was shocked too. I was thinking at the time it was a good thing I wasn’t taking a family there. If so, for that I price I’d rather take them to proper sit down and order at the table place.

 

[Huntn]

Not to hijack the thread, but since people on here seem to have strong preferences for coffee, can I ask what a couple of good Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts flavors are? We don't drink coffee at all, but my family does. We have a Keurig & keep a box of decaf and a box of regular K cups (both Starbucks brand currently-I know the regular is Pike's Peak or something like that, don't recall what the Decaf is).

I have no idea if those flavors are any good & would appreciate any advice on what a good flavor of Coffee K cups would be for general coffee drinking (regular and Decaf),

Thanks,

As a general flavor I love Columbian coffee. When visiting friends I often have coffee from a Keurig and imo it just does not taste as good as regular brewed coffee. This if from the person who has a French press, but frequently drinks instant coffee cause I'm lazy. I can still judge coffee relatively. 😉

 

[rhett7660]

Not to hijack the thread, but since people on here seem to have strong preferences for coffee, can I ask what a couple of good Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts flavors are? We don't drink coffee at all, but my family does. We have a Keurig & keep a box of decaf and a box of regular K cups (both Starbucks brand currently-I know the regular is Pike's Peak or something like that, don't recall what the Decaf is).

I have no idea if those flavors are any good & would appreciate any advice on what a good flavor of Coffee K cups would be for general coffee drinking (regular and Decaf),

Thanks,

Might I suggest you take a look at the following thread in this forum:

Espresso - All Things!

Be prepared to go down the rabbit hole when it comes to coffee, how to select your beans, grinding them, brewing them, and enjoying them!

For me, I am partial to a good Ethiopian bean. I don't use K-Cups as I have a grinder and modest setup.

 

[Gregg2]

First time in a long time yesterday, my wife and I got lunch at a fast food joint. For 6 tacos, two 20 oz. soft drinks, and 2 sides (rice, fries) the bill was over $33. I remember when the kids were little, we paid less than that for the four of us. But even back in 2019 the prices were not nearly so high.

 

[Huntn]

First time in a long time yesterday, my wife and I got lunch at a fast food joint. For 6 tacos, two 20 oz. soft drinks, and 2 sides (rice, fries) the bill was over $33. I remember when the kids were little, we paid less than that for the four of us. But even back in 2019 the prices were not nearly so high.

This sounds overpriced for 3 tacos and the rest $16 each? We go to Chuy’s often, and their best meals are the light ones, leave off the beans and rice (calorie bloaters) and give me either a tostada and a soft taco (about $8) or I’ll split a plate of nachos (called Panchos there) with the wife for $12.

 

[Macky-Mac]

We have a gourmet donut place a few cities over from us and boy, while they are expensive, the donuts are insane. They have a bacon maple bar that is to die for. It has a real slice of bacon on the top of it, melted into the maple. Amazing.

I mentioned earlier, the mom and pop shops by my house are amazing. Their donuts are always fresh and are always tasty. It even seems like the ones at the end of the day, the ones by me usually close around 2ish, also seem fresh even though they have probably been in the case since the morning.

When I moved to Los Angeles, mom and pop donut shops were everywhere, so finding really good donuts was easy...and hard to resist. It seemed like nearly every mini-mall had one of these shops (and a superior Thai restaurant too).

Times change and there aren't as many as there used to be, but they can still be found

 

[Herdfan]

This sounds overpriced for 3 tacos and the rest $16 each? We go to Chuy’s often, and theit best meals are the light ones, leave off the beans and rice (calorie bloaters) and give me either a tostada and a soft taco (about $8) or I’ll split a plate of nachos (called Panchos there) with the wife for $12.

Love Chuy's. And one reason is the wife likes it as opposed to On The Border, which she doesn't. So she will go to Chuy's about anytime we are near one. Which was yesterday. Friday night Anniversary dinner at Ruth's Chris, shopping at Easton yesterday and a late lunch at Chuy's before heading home. 🙂

 

[Herdfan]

When I moved to Los Angeles, mom and pop donut shops were everywhere, so finding really good donuts was easy...and hard to resist. It seemed like nearly every mini-mall had one of these shops (and a superior Thai restaurant too).

Times change and there aren't as many as there used to be, but they can still be found

In college there was a mom & pop donut shop on the edge of campus. After 8pm, you could buy what was left for like $3/dozen. We were there a lot. 🙂

 

[Abstract]

Canada is filled with chain restaurants. I was born and raised there, but didn’t notice how bad the food options were until moving to Australia, where independent restaurants and takeaway places are far, far more prevalent. Most chains in Australia are fast food outlets found in food courts. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Family restaurant chains are few and far between. There used to be Sizzlers, but I think they’re all gone now.

The inescapability of chains in North America really hits me when I go back to Canada to visit my parents.

Back in 2019, we went to Niagara Falls (Canadian side) and swore to eat at a non-chain restaurant for once. We walked for over 90 minutes and ended up eating takeaway from a Chinese fast food shop we found in a hotel food court (and not our hotel, either!!). Pretty good!! 😂

 

[Gregg2]

This sounds overpriced for 3 tacos and the rest $16 each? We go to Chuy’s often, and theit best meals are the light ones, leave off the beans and rice (calorie bloaters) and give me either a tostada and a soft taco (about $8) or I’ll split a plate of nachos (called Panchos there) with the wife for $12.

It was $12 for 3 tacos and 1 side. So for two, we're up to $24 and the rest was for the 2 soft drinks.

 

[Macky-Mac]

In college there was a mom & pop donut shop on the edge of campus. After 8pm, you could buy what was left for like $3/dozen. We were there a lot. 🙂

That reminds me of Stan's Donuts which existed for 55 years in Westwood, adjacent to the UCLA campus.

 

[compwiz1202]

Really the only one we eat at locally. Wife likes Carraba's but we don't have one.

The nice thing about Texas Roadhouse is their app actually works. Open it and see how long the wait is, put your name in and show up at the designated time, tell it you are there and wait in the car. Never more than 5 minutes.

Longhorn's app will say no wait while you are in the parking lot, walk in and there is a 20-30 minute wait. 🙁

I wont even go to the places that pull that anymore. Outback does that sometimes too. And the hair places

 

[compwiz1202]

When I was a kid, my dad cleaned office buildings in the evening and I would go with him sometimes because we always stopped at DD on the way home. Waaaay back then, we'd sit at the counter and enjoy a big, fresh donut and watch the overnight crew come in to start making the donuts for the morning rush. Fast forward a few decades, and now they're made in a factory two hours north of that location, frozen and shipped. Oh, and with less than half of the filling they once had...

Back to the topic: We'll occasionally grab fast food (mostly Chick-fil-A...my wife is an addict haha), but typically gravitate towards local eateries for sit-downs to both support small business, and because the price-to-quality ratio is way better than at chains, IMO.

DD annoys me but my wife loves them. Why are there 455,000 DD in a mile radius but far superior KK is 50 miles minimum in any direction. Same thing with LJS. You can get burgers or chicken anywhere because most of them are cookie cutter except CFA, but no good fast food fish nearby anymore.

 

[compwiz1202]

Never been to a Texas Roadhouse but when it comes to bread/rolls/biscuits I'd have to hand it to Red Lobster. Those damn cheddar biscuits almost made the visit tolerable.

Definitely. RL and OG are my favorite breads. And a local place has the best regular rolls. Soft on the inside crispy on the outside.

 

[compwiz1202]

I dont use their app, but this is one if the few chains that is still good

Agree. A little more expensive but always good. I just don't like those onion petals. Prefer the bloomin onions. And TR is the best because they have a smaller one.

 

[compwiz1202]

If I see a "hot donuts" sign lit up at a Krispy Kreme I'm pulling in!

But why are there 655,000 DDs in a mile radius of us, but the closest KKs are FIFTY miles away???? KK destroys, especially when the Sign is on!

 

[compwiz1202]

Holy smokes... are you serious! I heard prices are going up in my general area, Los Angeles County, but I haven't seen it first hand. Taco Bell on the other hand... the prices have jumped there...

The one diner we used to go to is ridiculous. They shouldn't even have the word diner in their name anymore. The other diner is still reasonable and is better. Their Chicken Orzo is the best. But the issue with the first one is people still are out the door waiting.

 

[compwiz1202]

When I moved to Los Angeles, mom and pop donut shops were everywhere, so finding really good donuts was easy...and hard to resist. It seemed like nearly every mini-mall had one of these shops (and a superior Thai restaurant too).

Times change and there aren't as many as there used to be, but they can still be found

Duck Donuts is my favorite. Made to order so they're always fresh. I was rolling my eyes at people complaining when they first opened. MTO is so the food is fresh not speed. Wish more did MTO. "Fast" food is so annoying anymore. You can wait 20m but you can tell they left it sit. I can at least accept a wait if it's fresh. I remember when I worked McD 40 years ago, our location had under a minute drive thru time averages. Now it can take FIVE MINUTES for someone to address you. At least say one moment please so the customer knows you are aware they are there!

 

[compwiz1202]

First time in a long time yesterday, my wife and I got lunch at a fast food joint. For 6 tacos, two 20 oz. soft drinks, and 2 sides (rice, fries) the bill was over $33. I remember when the kids were little, we paid less than that for the four of us. But even back in 2019 the prices were not nearly so high.

I remember when I was a kid, our family of four could eat McD for <$10. Now one sandwich can break that

 

[NoBoMac]

I remember when I was a kid, our family of four could eat McD for <$10. Now one sandwich can break that

For curiosity sake, went to a White Castle recently, first time in decades. $9.99 for two double with cheese sliders, fries, drink. Old days, most of those items were $0.25-$0.75 each.

 

[Herdfan]

For curiosity sake, went to a White Castle recently, first time in decades. $9.99 for two double with cheese sliders, fries, drink. Old days, most of those items were $0.25-$0.75 each.

In college in the 80's a local bar had 25 cent Peel & Eat Shrimp at Happy Hour. A beer and a dozen shrimp for under $5 was living well in college. 🙂

 

[rhett7660]

For curiosity sake, went to a White Castle recently, first time in decades. $9.99 for two double with cheese sliders, fries, drink. Old days, most of those items were $0.25-$0.75 each.

I know a lot of folks don't like or care for them, but man there is something about their little burgers that I freaking love. I know they are not at that price, but the closets one to me is in a movie theater, so the price is a little "high", but man are they good.

 

[cardfan]

I know a lot of folks don't like or care for them, but man there is something about their little burgers that I freaking love. I know they are not at that price, but the closets one to me is in a movie theater, so the price is a little "high", but man are they good.

White Castle app helps. 20% off all month.