Do you mean Pret a Manger?

No, I think that's just "Paul," a chain of boulangeries, some of which are cafes, as well.

I think you're right. I'd only seen Paul boulangeries in Paris, but apparently they're in the U.K. and U.S., too.

http://www.paul.fr/

Thanks for the link - according to the website:

PAUL has a network of over 250 sales outlets throughout France: in city centers, shopping-malls; railway stations; airports ; exhibition centers or parks; and motorway service areas.

PAUL has more than 34 shops outwith France. These mini-embassies of PAUL French-style culture can be found in Spain, England (Britain ?), Holland, Turkey, Morocco, Lebanon, Kuwait, Dubai and Japan.

There is also at least one at Heathrow - don't recall which terminal I saw it in. At any rate, good stuff! Why do I suddenly want a ham and cheese on a baguette with LOTS of beurre!

I'd have to say Craft in NYC. Same guy as Gramercy Tavern, but the food was bland and uninspired.

I found the portions far too small, the mains incredibly boring (3 scallops in a complete lack of sauce), and the sides too overdone.

However, the service was impeccable and the desserts were simply wonderful. Go for coffee and dessert, but skip the main meal.

And probably a big check to boot :eek:

Avoid "Matsukaze" at Hilton Narita!
 

The presumably top-notch Matsukaze Japanese restaurant in the Hilton Narita - stark, bare, slow service (though the usual deferential stuff) and at the very best, the epitome of mediocrity in Japanese food :confused: . You can get better food almost anywhere on Omotesando between Narita san and the temple, at much better prices.

Moe's in CVG C-Concourse
 

Ate there during long layover. Menu and ambiance looked reasonably good.

However, was served my burger on an obviously dirty plate. As I lifted the top of the bun to assemble the sandwich, I noticed the plate was caked with some dried-on yellow matter. Lot's of it. Smeared all over the place. There was absolutely nothing yellow involved with the fresh food I had ordered.

I called over the waitress, explained the problem, and asked to send the food back. She asked if I wanted a new meal prepared, or if it would just be OK to put it on a new plate.

Amazing.

Got a fresh meal. They did nothing to make up for it. No offer to comp, or comp drink/dessert. Nothing. Not going back.

Ben's in montreal, on maisonneuve between peel and mctavish. It's an overpriced tourist trap that hasn't been popular with montrealers in decades. Go to schwartz's on st-laurent for an authentic smoked meat experience.

There is a branch at the western edge of Covent Garden as well as one in Marylebone..... there even is a branch of Poilane near Victoria Station, Ebury Street I believe for some of the priciest bread in London!!!

While Ben's IS overpriced, if you like you smoked meat leaner Ben's is a better choice than Schwartz's which serve the artery clogging variety. Not cheap but very very good!! Of course, why would some eat smoked meat if is NOT the artery clogging variety??? :D There are extensive threads on this topic throughout FT for those interested. A search should reveal these quickly.

Had dinner at Chez Omar in the Paris (3rd) last night. Great local place for couscous. Mmmm merguez!

fduvall

super size me
 

I totally agree with you. That movie scarred me for life, but in a good way of course! I will never eat any meat or fries at a fast food place again. If i have any i'll stick to a salad w/out dressing! I knew it was bad in the first place, but that movie really impacted me.

Me too. I like Ben's. Like a trip back in time and the meat is great.

I used to live about 3 blocks away from Ben's so when the "burning the midnight hour frantically trying to finish a research paper/presentation" munchies hit, a quick stroll to Ben's (even quicker in the -30 C wintertime) would satiate the cravings.....

I like Schwartz's too but for my tastes, and for dietary necessity, I prefer Ben's.

About 4 years ago my family and I went to disney world and went to Emeril's restaurant on either Orlando or Universal Walk, can't remember which but we were very pleased. The service was exceptional, the atmosphere was great and we were very impressed with the food. Of course it was overpriced ($30-40 average entree price) but we just figured everything was that was apart of Disney or Universal would be.

Agree! It's full of over-rated pastas and watered down wine. The only thing I enjoyed was the cabaitta ( :confused: ) bread and oil/garlic dip which was free.

We went to the Universal one about 1 year ago. Ordered the prix fixe menu degustation. We were so unimpressed with the items, each lacking something, that we left half-way through--paying our bill, of course.

That was only the second time ever in my life I did that.

You might change your mind if you received a salad like the one I received at a certain McDonald's in Calgary. Opened the top of the plastic container: Long, long hair draped from one side of the container to the other. Hard to have missed, since it was dark against the greenery. I guess on the positive side, the salad was obviously prepared in-store, but why couldn't the food handlers have worn hair nets? :confused:

That is so gross! Every wednesday my work eats at Mexico, a mexican (duh) restaurant for lunch and I found a fingernail in my water! :mad: I can no longer join them for lunch because I was so disgusted by it. I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it. So avoid MEXICO restaurants around the Virginia area.

No Chains!
 

Town to town state to state, they're all the same - TGI McBennichilabeeGardenHut.

But, the be all end all most annoying place on the face of the planet has got to be Joe's Crab Shack. "Hi!! Welcome to Joe's Crab Shack!!! May I sing along with the songs being blared over the PA, make sort of weird hand gestures for no apparent reason in an attempt to be jovial and annoy the living s--t out of you today?!!!!" I'd rather gnaw on my own finger than eat there. I wandered in once because it was the only restaurant within walking distance of my hotel and walked out... changed somehow.

I hate to admit that I often gravitate to familar chains when I'm in unfamilliar surroundings. Unfortunately, the ones I personally am familliar enough to avoid include these....

Applebee's: Usually not "bad" in the classic sense, although you can definitely get a bad meal here. More often they're just "undistinguished" and "boring".

Carrabas: Arrogance meets blandness.

Ruby Tuesdays: On balance everthing that's bad about Applebee's, although they sometimes do have a decent salad bar.

Casey's (Canada): The weather outside isn't the only thing that's usually frozen! The clincher came a few year's ago when they were touting "USDA certified SELECT grade steaks" (that's a notch below the "Choice" usually found in chain supermarkets)

Olive Garden: "Better living through chemistry"

Houlihan's: I think they're trying to pass themselves off as an upscale version of TGI Friday's....which, to me anyway, is ridiculous.

Garfunkel's (UK): They seem to be on a mission to serve meals bereft of any flavor (or flavour) whatsoever.

Outback: Occasionally you can get a good meal here. But all too often it's just overpriced and overcooked. I usually just order a burger and tell them EXACTLY how I'd like it. Usually that approach produces a good result.

For whatever its worth, a few I DO like....

Logan's Road House: The atmosphere gets a little annoying, but the food's usually pretty good. I think they're exclusive to the Southeast.

Ryan's Steak House: Also in the southeast. These can get a little frantic and messy, but they have the best cheap salad bar/comfort food buffet on the planet!

East Side Mario's (Canada): Casual basic Italian. Similar atmosphere to TGIF, but better food. As one manager told me, "You may not get a great meal in here, but you'll usually get a pretty damned good one". How true. Minestrone, salad, and hot loaf is always a good choice here when you're in a hurry at lunch time.

Bonefish: Not many of 'em, but good, creatively prepared seafood...cheap!

On the Border: Best of the tex-mex chains isn't saying much, but these folks seem to usually do a pretty decent job.

One man's humble opinions.

OMG, so true! I got suckered into dining here once in the suburbs of Dallas while on assignment. Unfortunately, unlike you, I didn't have the time to walk out and find another option, so I ended up suffering through dinner. I had to have a short conference call on my cell - which due to the loud blasting music, only lasted a few moments before everyone hung up on me.

At least it wasn't like Bubba Gump's - good grief. Stop asking me stupid questions about a movie I saw once 10 years ago and just bring me my damn soup!

I agree with most of what you have to say, but I can't imagine that you prefer Ryan's to Outback. If you're referring to the Ryan's I think you are, it is a cafeteria with the steam tables and bad self serve ice milk and the pudding with the "whipped topping." They are at least as far north as Springfield, IL. At Outback, you can at least get a real steak that hasn't been "seasoned" with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer.

Your comments about Applebee's, Olive Garden and On the Border are exactly on target IMO.

If I'm alone I'll go to a place that has a good chance of being awful
rather than visit a chain, but I have enough friends who like chain
food so I've experienced most of the ones that cyberdad describes.
I agree with his characterizations except would reverse his judgments
on Carrabba's (I've always had nice folks and garlicky if uninspired
food) and Ruby's (just horrendous).

I should clarify....

I confess Ryan's is a guilty pleasure...my comfort food fix! I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I get there in a typical year. I also admit I'm a sucker for their bannana pudding/vanilla wafers. And I do agree they can be gross...at least some of the older ones. The newer ones usually aren't bad, however. I've found them as far north as Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Rockford, IL (and yes, I've been to the one in Springfield, IL).

I also wouldn't say I like Ryan's "better" than Outback....its an apples and oranges comparison. Its just that I've had more than a few bad steaks at Outback, and I find them a tad overpriced.

That said, I admit Outback is a nice place to unwind after a day on the road. I've also discovered that I can go away satisfied if I "build my own burger" there, which they're usually glad to do. I'm not much of a burger guy....but one of those built to my own specs with an ice cold "big bloke" and a good game on the tube can make for a pleasant way to end a long day on the road.

True story.... My first trip to London several years ago and my wife insisted on me taking her to Sunday tea at the Ritz. As I suspected upfront, this is an excersize strictly for tourists. I think 100% of the customers were tourists. And if we want to talk about "overpriced".....

Anyway, the Lady at the table next to me was from Boston. She leaned over to me and said, "I don't know about you, but I'd rather be at an Outback Steakhouse".

Okay, I hereby revise my list to replace "Outback" with "Lone Star", which tends to offer pedestrian fare with indifferent, if not surly, service.

There.

I agree that Logan's is one of the better chains out there. I attend a meeting at our local Logan's once a month, and we reserve the back room. We get the good food and service, without the "peanuts on the floor" atmosphere of the regular dining room.

Now the not-so good. I attempted to go to Logan's the other night, but the wait was an hour, and we were hungry, so we decided to try Smokey Bones' BBQ. While the food was about what I expcected for a chain BBQ place (expectations aren't that high, being from the South, where real BBQ is readily available), I found the pricing to be enough of a turnoff that I won't return. It's not that the food was expensive, but the "substite this for that costs extra" routine really made the meal become unenjoyable. It took three tries to get the bill correct. Perhaps this restaurant's location is just a bad-luck spot. One of the previous tenants was Joe's Crab shack. It didn't last long, and I would agree with the previous comments on it in this thread.

Thinking about the previous tenants of this restaurant's location has reminded me of a question I've been meaining to ask here on FT. Several people have mentioned an airport restaurant called Cheers. We used to have a chain by that name in the Smokey Bones/Joes Crab shack building. This Cheers had a red and white logo and served really good burgers/fries/shakes type food. Both of its local locations closed about 10 years ago, but I still miss it. Is this the same chain people make reference to in airports here on FT?

Great thread.

I would say Oya! in DC (http://www.oyadc.com) is the worst restaurant experience I have had in years. Maybe it's perfect for people who like sugar in everything.

When the wine guy arrived (normally I would say sommelier, but here it's a wine guy), he shows me the bottle, then proceeds to break the cork. In a restaurant concerned with establishing a reputation, this would be a sign to get another bottle (especially since this was not a wine that is expensive in retail outlets). No, he visits his boss and they uncork the rest of it. He pours me a taste, no cork in it. Ok fine, they got lucky. Then he pours everyone else some wine, when he comes back to fill my glass he pours a good chunk of it on the table. :eek:

My soup arrives, and they did say this was how it was served, not cold, but room temperature. Some horribly sweet, tepid squash soup thing with lobster. Not good, but I was trying something new. Previously, I had asked the waitress if the duck was a breast or if it was boney...she told me with bones so I ordered something else. Indeed, when my friends received their duck, no bones. Instead, I got the beef ribs, which were INCREDIBLY SWEET served on a bed of garlic-infused mashed something...OMG YUK! I cannot imagine a worse combination than sweet and garlicky. I had to conclude that this chef had no palate. Get Gordon Ramsay to visit and see what happens :D .

The whole time the service was incredibly intrusive, they would always ask you before doing the expected. "Would you like some more wine?" "Would you like a spoon for your soup?" "Would you like some more water?"

This is by far the worst restaurant I have been to in years. I can only imagine it will be frequented by twenty-somethings trying to impress their dates with sweet drinks, fancy decor, obsequious service and funny-tasting menu items that they can pretend to be impressed with.

Sugar in anything except dessert is a sign of a chef who isn't. But if they put a fancy name on it, as you indicate, why, then, that makes it ALL RIGHT!
:rolleyes:

Not even sure it just works for the desserts. "Sugar," the restaurant in Chicago closed. They only did drinks and desserts. :)

Was that the place on Belmont?

No, sugar, it was on Kinzie. ;)

Gosh. I didn't know you cared. ;)

Stay Away from Red Lion Diner in NJ at all costs!!!
 

[FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=4][COLOR=Magenta] :td: :td: :td: :td: :td:
We went to eat at this Red Lion Diner and as we sat down my chair broke from underneath me and I fell backwards hit my head and hurt my back.So as I was getting up after this totally embarassing fall the hostess said to me maybe you would prefer a booth!!!!!!!!! What???? Do you really think I want to stay and eat here. No Thanks, The manager and the owner did nothing to see if I was injured or to even offer an appology.So when we got home I informed my daughter of what happened and so she called the Diner and spoke with the owner (Larry) My Daughter explained what happened and (Larry) said "Yeah and what do you want from me?" :confused: How about an appology for you crappy chair breaking under me. :mad: So my daughter hung up in shock and told me what he said and so we notified the BBB and we want everyone to know that RED LION DINER DOES NOT CARE OF THERE PATRONS SAFETY WHILE IN THERE PLACE OF BUSINESS!!!!!!!!! The only way this Diner stay's in business is because of us the consumer. Am I right we are the ones who are spending our money for good food and good service!!!!!! :( :( :(

What would you do???

Tavern on the Green.

If you're a tourist visiting NY, stay away from this tacky, overpriced & disgusting place.

Torch the place.

Carl's Jr. I unfortunately stumbled upon my first one last year in Solvang, CA, and have to say that they serve the worst food I've ever tasted from a commercial establishment. The Mexican "Green Burrito" items were particularly atrocious, and I recall thinking at the time that I could've used the refried beans to fix the stucco on my house. I simply cannot understand why this chain is so popular with the public. :td:

Ah - I disagree - Chez Paul on Maui -- is a great French Restaurant

Chez Paul Maui

We visit this place on every visit and have never been disappointed.

Interesting. That place has been there since the beginning of time.

I've been there twice and don't particularly care for it -- there are much better French places in Chicago and San Fran -- but to each their own.

I miss this place.