Here in San Antonio there are many good restuarants with the name Taco, but you are their for tacos, which is fast food. It is good in that it tastes good but it is not somewhere you go for the dining experience.

Dito on never eating at a restaurant over 100 feet of the ground with one exception. Before the Ft Worth Tornado took it out, there was a good restaurant on top of a downtown building. I think it was Riatas, but not sure. Fairly decent but I prefer Del Friscos in Ft Worth.

Add to the list with any restaurant that tries to serve everything (BBQ, Mexican Food, steaks, seafood-how can they do it all) which you can tell when they bring you the menu and it is a book.

Chain restaurants that I will not eat in are Applebees, Chilis (unless at an airport with no other choice-stick to burger), Bennigans, TGIF, olive garden, johnny carinos, Macoronis, any all you can eat buffet restaurant. I do not know why people bother to eat at these restaurants unless it is simply to avoid doing the dishes. All they do is heat and reserve, they do not cook-you might as well go to Sams, and buy a TV dinner.

Chain restaurants which are impresive in consistency and quality is anything by the Papa's family out of Houston. It is funny, but in ABQ, it is the best sea food restaurant in a city so far from the ocean, and it is a chain.

The shame is that I had the pleasure at eating at Chilis back in the 70's and early 80's and it was very good. The Burgers were great, chili was excellent (they won the chili cook off), and my favorite thing on the menu was the chili soft tacos. There use to be a line out the door at all times at their Dallas Greenville location. The problem now with chilis is they got way into the southwestern cuisine theme. Everything is so over flavored and they put cumin on everthing so it all tastes the same. They need to take a cue from great restaurants, only one flavor laden food on the plate with everything else complimenting it. They strayed from their roots, and now have canned chili. Wendy's chilis blows it away and that is only adequate but only $.99.

Basically, a good restaurant is easy. Do not over flavor, and start with fresh quality food. If you do not have fresh quality food, there is no way to make it good. You can only screw up a fresh piece of fish or a good steak by over cooking it or drowning out the original flavor.

Last advice, with seafood look for a packed restaurant with high turn over. This equals fresh seafood, because of the high turnover.

When in doubt and on the road, stick with the simplest think on the menu. Prime rib, burger, roasted chicken, chopped steak, and hotel favorite, club sandwich.