I find Cheesecake Factory to be a solid choice when I'm in a less adventurous state of mind on a business trip and want either a 4pm meal before a flight home or a late night dinner after a long day. I don't look out of place sitting at the bar in a suit, and they do have some marginally healthy options. I also end up there with my parents about 4x/year when we all have wildly divergent ideas about what type of cuisine we want for dinner.

I have stretches of liking Panera followed by stretches of really staying away. Part of the problem is that I think that their bread is awful. I pretty much eat either their french toast bagel with the honey walnut cream cheese, or some soup. But really, I go to Panera to work on things when it's too quiet at home, and I pay for some food as a tax.

I really like Amy's Ice Cream, although I guess that's not technically a restaurant.