What's the best franchise/chain restaurant?

[herbacidal]

I figure it probably won't be a franchise. I have a little more faith in a chain, especially smaller ones. I figure, some owner out there keeps a good enough eye on his places and has trained the staff well enough.

Is it like picking the least of all possible evils?

Preferably not.

There's gotta be one that's worth a B, B- rating overall.

I think Outback does make a quality steak. Better value proposition than the high-end steakhouses, and not just by a little, but a lot.

For me, a dinner at the Palm or Morton's is worth about a third what I pay for it.

I do go to chains every now and again, and they ain't too

[fifi]

I agree with you about Outback. I feel like they give you a pretty good value for the money. When I "grade" chains of any sort, I grade them based on my own expectations. I don't expect a chain to put out sublime haute cuisine. If they do a good job of what they do and the price is fair, I am ok with that and then proceed to enjoy the experience.

My local Blackeyed Pea is pretty good. I stop by there for lunch sometimes when I am out and about shopping and such. They have consistently good "home cookin'". I like their squash casserole, rolls, vegetables in general. I will often order their vegetable plate. I have downgraded them to a C because several years ago they discontinued their signature dish... blackeyed pea salad. Otherwise they would have rated a good B. The salad was blackeyed peas with onion, little pieces of cauliflower, celery (I think), not sure what else. It was all tossed with a vinegrette. The stuff was addictive! I have yet to duplicate it and I WANT SOME NOW!

There are some other smaller scale chains around here that are pretty good. Carrabba's comes to mind. The Red Onion Cafe looks like it is headed for chain-hood. So far, they have some really imaginative "Latin fusion" food that is a lot of fun. It seems to me that when a successful concept starts "chaining" they are pretty good but eventually fall off.

[Holly Moore]

I'm not sure that I understand the question, but that rarely stops me from answering.

In the chain restaurant / quick serve catagory I'd say Waffle House - incredibly buttoned down product wise, service wise, hospitality wise.

[zilla369]

I'm not sure that I understand the question, but that rarely stops me from answering.

In the chain restaurant / quick serve catagory I'd say Waffle House - incredibly buttoned down product wise, service wise, hospitality wise.

I am glad you said this, Holly.

My first chef instructor told us that if we wanted to learn something about how to cook eggs, to spend a couple hours on a stool at Waffle House. Which i did, but i think i creeped the cook out staring. I finally broke down and told him what i was doing, and he graciously explained his methods and philosophies to me.

[branch]

Hands down, The Original Pancake House.

[bloviatrix]

An interesting thing to note is that Outback and Carrabba are owned by the same company.

[Pouncy]

I am a big Quizno's fan - the product is tasty and consistent across the board. Being in SoCal, In N Out burgers (not the fries) are the tastiest thing on the road. As far as sit downs go, I'm not thrilled with Outback, but Cucina Cucina impresses me every time with the goat cheese pasta. Red Robin is something I miss from Seattle, another consistently good lunch spot (they always get a little too noisy at dinner), and their turkey bacon avocado croissants are a regular of mine whenever I'm in close proximity. Bennigan's is another good bet for me and my friends, we walk in and order a large diet coke and bowl of potato soup apiece (this got up to seven people at one point). I generally try to patronize small local shops, but when you're at the mall or on the road, sometimes you just can't spare the time or lose the parking spot.

[Mark Sommelier]

An interesting thing to note is that Outback and Carrabba are owned by the same company.

Darden Restaurants reported that sales were up at their Red Lobster and OLIVE GARDEN stores, recently. Those are 2 restaurants that I have never eaten in. I agree that OutBack gives you what you ask for. The suburban locations always seem to be full of babies. I never thought of Palm and Morton's as chains, but I guess they are. Both restaurants here are cool but really expensive. 2 big chains I eat at occasionally: Burger King and Subway. No comments, no regrets. For 5 or 7 bucks, what do you want? This is embarassing me now.

[fifi]

An interesting thing to note is that Outback and Carrabba are owned by the same company.

Interesting. Carrabba's started here in Houston. Did they sell out or did they aquire Outback?

[Special Ed]

I'll throw a vote in for Quizno's as well.

I'd also like to mention Gordon Biersch is relatively good cuisine for the money.

[fresh_a]

White Castle?

[phaelon56]

For a sit-down non fast-food restaurant I think Houston's is the best I've tried. I'll leave places like Ruth's Chris and Morton's out of the discussion because much like Herb, I just don't see the value proposen I'm proposition. I believe Houston's is a chain, correct? On the fast-food end of the spectrum it's got to be Chik-Fil-A. They make an outstanding chicken sandwich that is reasonably priced and they're very consistent. I can't comment on BK and Mickey D's as I really never eat at them except on rare occasions when on a road trip and have no other choice. I always opt for a grilled chicken sandwich w/tomato and lettuce when I have to eat there. That said.... I tried the grilled chicken at Wendy's this past weekend when I was stuck on a road trip and it was the best of the lot (Chik-Fil-A excepted).

When I'm stuck in a strange location with few options and trying to work on a budget I just find a Chinese take-out place and get a pint of hot sour soup and a pint of rice. generally comes in at under $3 with tax and is invriably more satisfying and tastier than any fast-food meal I can think of.

[dscott]

I agree with phaelon56 about Houston's. Consistently decent food that's a cut above other moderately price sit-down chains.

I also think that California Pizza Kitchen is an easy fix and generally pretty decent when one is stuck in a mall dining atmosphere.

[malcolmjolley]

Starbucks. How else can you get a decent cup of coffee in an airport?

[mcdowell]

Starbucks. How else can you get a decent cup of coffee in an airport?

Starbucks? Peet's.

[herbacidal]

An interesting thing to note is that Outback and Carrabba are owned by the same company.

Darden Restaurants reported that sales were up at their Red Lobster and OLIVE GARDEN stores, recently. Those are 2 restaurants that I have never eaten in. I agree that OutBack gives you what you ask for. The suburban locations always seem to be full of babies. I never thought of Palm and Morton's as chains, but I guess they are. Both restaurants here are cool but really expensive. 2 big chains I eat at occasionally: Burger King and Subway. No comments, no regrets. For 5 or 7 bucks, what do you want? This is embarassing me now.

palm and morton's don't meet the >50 locations criteria, but they were only mentioned as compared to outback on that tangent.

[elfin]

Steak N Shake.

[herbacidal]

An interesting thing to note is that Outback and Carrabba are owned by the same company.

yes, forgot about that.

i like carraba's better than any of the other italian-like chains.

they don't seem to go overboard, which is nice.

the fact that run by same parent as outback may be a reason why i like them both, IE management that understands their brand positioning and does just enough to stay there, not go overboard.

[herbacidal]

Starbucks. How else can you get a decent cup of coffee in an airport?

i actually hate starbucks.

will go to significant lengths to avoid getting anything there.

but what they actually provide ain't half bad, as it were.

but i do believe coffee purveyors in the airports before

were decent enough.

(Are there still non-starbucks coffee joints in US airports ?)

I hope so.

[tryska]

Pappadeaux's.

doh - sorry - didn't realize it was greater than 50, and i'm not sure pappadeaux's qualifies.

if not, then Outback.

Edited August 8, 2003 by tryska (log)

[richw]

For a sit-down non fast-food restaurant I think Houston's is the best I've tried.  I believe Houston's is a chain, correct?   

I totally agree. Houston's is an excellent establishment. I love it. Simple, straightforward food and the service is soooo good.

[tryska]

houstons is also very good.

i don't liek that you can't get a baked potato at lunch time tho. but there's blue cheese dressing almost makes up for that.

[luckyzoe]

Starbucks. How else can you get a decent cup of coffee in an airport?

i actually hate starbucks.

will go to significant lengths to avoid getting anything there.

but what they actually provide ain't half bad, as it were.

but i do believe coffee purveyors in the airports before

were decent enough.

(Are there still non-starbucks coffee joints in US airports ?)

I hope so.

There's a great coffee company located in the Minneapolis airport called Caribou Coffee. They have stores throughout MN and also in Chicago, Ohio, MI and GA (and maybe a few other cities as well). I think they're the only semi-national coffee company that's been able to compete against Starbucks in some markets. It's a great product.

[fifi]

Pappadeaux's.

doh - sorry - didn't realize it was greater than 50, and i'm not sure pappadeaux's qualifies.

I just went here...

http://www.pappas.com/index.html

I had no idea they had expanded so far. Since I am in Houston, I guess I have a rather parochial view of the Pappas family of restaurants. If you count all of them there are over fifty, according to their write up in "history". Even though the restaurants focus on differing cuisines, there are definitely common themes so I could make a case for lumping them together. All in all, they do a creditable job. I would put them in the same league as Houston's. The only gripe I have is that some of the restaurants seem to subscribe to the notion that louder is better. Pappasitos consistently gets the "best fajita" vote here but I can't go there. The noise level is actually painful.

[tryska]

well alright then! pappadeaux's it is. LOVE that place and will enver turn down an invitation to go. :D

i understand what you mean abotu the noise tho - i've never been to pappasito's, but the size and amount of table space in pappadeaux's can be intimidating, so i can only imagine the clamor when there is a full house.