Casual dining restaurant chains (e.g. Applebee's) discussion
 

Hi all. I'm currently visiting family in Florida, and many of the nearby dining options fall into the "casual dining" category...a term which I used Google to identify.

Anyway, the suspects on the list include Applebee's, Ruby Tuesday's, TGIF, O'Charley's, Chilli's, Outback, Hooter's, Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, etc (i.e. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, especially regional chains).

I'm starting this thread because I'm curious to hear opinions about the pros and cons of the various options in this segment. As far as I can tell, they are all more or less the same, but some seem to have a bit of unique character.

If I had to pick one from the above list, and taking value + intra-chain variances into account, I'd probably go with Chilli's because I like their bbq stuff, but it's a narrow preference.

ETA: Here is a list of relevant chains that I will try to keep up to date:

Applebee's
Bertucci's
Bonefish
Carrabba's
Buca di Beppo
Cheesecake Factory
Chilli's
Claim Jumper
Henry J Beans
Hog's Breath
Hooter's
Longhorn
Maggiano's Little Italy
O'Charley's
Olive Garden
Outback
PF Chang's
Red Robin
Ruby Tuesday's
Stanford's
TGIF

I have eaten at all of the mentioned restaurant chains. I would probably throw Long John Silvers out of the mix given the similarities of all the others. Since none are compelling of their own right, I tend to lean toward the one which seems to have the shortest wait. Bottom line would be that unless you have a diet restriction (e.g. allergic to seafood etc), then any one will be more or less the same experience. I have had good luck at Longhorn Steaks on occasion, which I would place in the similar category.

Miss Swede has a few food allergies. The only three on the list we feel comfortable going to are Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday's, and Outback. I go to Chili's about twice a year with friends; it's okay. All of the Applebee's, TGI Friday's, and Claim Jumper restaurants anywhere near my house are gone; and I've never had a desire to go to one while traveling for business. I've heard the Daytona style wings at Hooters are really good (they're non-breaded). Besides Cheesecake Factory, Longhorn, LJS (which should be taken off), and O'Charley's, I haven't heard of the rest of those restaurants.

Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesday's would be my top two choices (really depended on if I wanted pasta or a burger). Then Chili's. Then Cheesecake Factory. Then Applebee's, TGI Friday's, Hooter's, Outback, and Longhorn would all be a vague 5th place.

Thx. I removed if from the list in the OP (wasn't thinking clearly).

Olive Garden has it’s own long lived thread, and I’m sure there are others, too. Not sure if it’s necessary to recreate everything.

No Red Lobster?

Olive Garden is nice. Food is pretty consistent. Weekday lunch is the best deal. $8-10 for most deals, before drinks. Servers are usually the weak point. You’ll get a few solid ones, and then a bad one.

I think there are some Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurants there. Generally better food than Olive Garden, and not badly priced for lunch or weekday dining. They often send out $10-$15 email codes if you sign up. They had a gift card deal recently with a $20 discount when you buy a $75 card.

You almost always get lots of take home there. Often for a couple more meals. Servers are much more consistent. They give you a full take home pasta with most entrees.

Cheesecake Factory is different than all the others, as they make everything from scratch. There is no freezer to fryer there. This means that you can substitute or add most ANYTHING from any dish.

I almost didn't include Cheesecake Factory on the list because it is better and more expensive than the rest of the field, but I figured that since the food is basically the same, comparison is fair game, especially if you take price/value into account.

Separately, I just added Red Lobster, Maggiano's, and Carrabba's to the list in the OP. With respect to Red Lobster, I honestly don't know the difference between it and Long John Silver because I never eat at either, but I suppose the former at least looks more like an Applebee's from the outside. I was tempted to add Legal Seafood and McCormick & Schmick's as long as seafood specialties are okay, but these are starting to push the limits of the category (e.g. it's not hard to top $100 pp at either...though both have great happy hour deals).

In any event, all suggestions are welcome with respect to the list itself, and what parameters should define it.

Threads like this really make me grateful for the quality and variety of independent or micro-chain restaurants you get in major cities.

Nuh uh. The cheesecakes are made off site, and usually frozen.

Maggiano's and Cheesecake should be removed. They are certainly pricier and I wouldn't consider them in the same experience of TGIF, Applebee's etc.

Instead of removing them, I changed their font style to light blue in the list. I figure this approach simultaneously encourages outside of the box thinking, yet still keeps the list on point. If the thread is still around in a few days, I'd be happy to move the list to wikipost so anyone can edit at will; in spite of the fact that I generally regard threads with wikiposts as semi-important, which doesn't exactly apply to this topic, I have seen wikiposts about sillier things.:D

I would take Carrabba's over Olive Garden. The bread is better and comes with an herbed olive oil for dipping that I love. There is less emphasis on pasta and more seafood on the menu.

I like Ruby Tuesday, and not just because BamaVol Jr #2 is a manager for them. The garden bar is a welcome change of pace from most casual dining chain menus. I prefer it over a pre-made salad.

We do Red Lobster maybe once a quarter if I'm in the mood for seafood that isn't local, like salmon. Their lunch portion of grilled trout is reasonable and enjoyable.

We hit Chilis about once a month. It's kind of predictable. The menu doesn't seem to change as often as some of the others. Our local Chili's has a comfortable bar, although the beer choices are not quite up to snuff. But the food is decent.

I dropped Applebees and TGI Fridays from our local repertoire due to service and food quality issues. I will go to TGIF elsewhere. The weekend brunch is okay, many of the others don't offer it, and they usually have a comfortable bar. They keep the temperature of our local Applebees too warm. The servers work up a sweat in no time and I shudder to picture the kitchen.

We will sit at the O'Charley's bar for a lunch. The bartenders got to know us and they have a 2 for 1 prime rib one day a week that works out pretty reasonable. Neither of us is a big steak fan, but on the rare occasion we visit Outback, their pork chop is excellent.

Maggiano’s has some higher end options, but has very reasonable lunch specials, gives you way more food than OG, and has a meal for 2 for $45 that includes 1 app, two meals, and 1 dessert. They almost always have a $10 off $30 coupon or $15 off $50, that brings the price lower than OG.

Good points. As such, I've restored it to "black status". :) I also added Buca di Peppo.

I agree that they're all kind of the same. I'd also add Texas Roadhouse and Cheddar's to the list.

I generally have always liked Chilis. Otherwise, they all seem similar. They all have a "lighter side" menu section that I usually order from with the same salads and stuff-without-sauce.

I agree Cheesecake Factory and Maggianos are nicer than the rest.

Fortunately I live in a town with an excellent restaurant scene and only go to the big chains when I'm visiting in-laws in small town Ohio.