Finally tried Five Guys. Fantastic hamburger, but totally unimpressed with the fries. Peanuts were a don't care.

Will be going back for the burgers though for sure...

Got to be Cheesecake Factory for a major chain in the US. Although I had Olive Garden the other day and it actually was good...Oh and Margaritaville is solid. (http://www.margaritaville.com/index.php)

Bonefish grill is a very good chain restaurant and it is probably the only one I care to visit a regular basis. For burgers, In N Out, even though they do not have any on the east coast. Capital Grille is also very good for a "chain steakhouse"

J. Alexanders - small chain, great food
Cheesecake Factory
Macaroni Grill (for the most part)

Went there for my first time last night and I was very impressed ^

I like houilhans , Buffalo wild wings, Ruby tuesdays, Joe americans.

I think you misunderstood. It's chain restaurants that are actually good! ;)

Actualy those restaurants are very good.

I will agree with Money card on Buffalo Wild Wings but that's it. Also, Noodles & Co is actually quite tasty, especially for lunch. I like all their Asian noodle dishes.

I started a thread about Buffalo Wild Wings is a while back. Several people agreed with me that it's pretty mediocre (if not bad).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...ild-wings.html

I agree with you about Noodles and Co. - but then it's unique and not a copy cat like Houihan's, Friday's, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday....Even BWW is the same food, except they threw in the wings that aren't very good (IMHO).

But, it takes all kinds. We're each free to enjoy what we like. :)

(My secret vice is Chili's. I think they have great burgers.)

BreadTalk.

I'm not a big chain restaurant person but before I went to on vacation I checked on www.gogobot.com and found some great chain places like Chow http://www.gogobot.com/chow-lafayette-restaurant

In n Out
Carls Jr
El Pollo Loco

IME, Pollo Loco has been extremely hit and miss for the past 5-6 years. Used to be one of my favs, but the inconsistency factor these days usually keeps me away.

That list is pretty much the epitome of why chains suck.

Yeah, speaking of Buca di Beppo, the only thing worse than bad food is three times as much bad food. :D

Nobu- http://www.noburestaurants.com/
Santouka- http://www.santouka.co.jp/en/index.html
Osteria Mozza- http://www.mozzarestaurantgroup.com/
Sushi of Gari -http://www.sushiofgari.com/
Katsuhama/ Menchanko-tei- http://www.katsuhama.com/
Bouchon- http://www.bouchonbistro.com/
Il Mulino- http://www.ilmulino.com/
Scarpetta - http://www.scottconant.com/restaurants

Amici's East Coast Pizza across California..

Stonefire Grill in SoCal (www.stonefiregrill.com). Hands down the best Cesear Salad I've ever had & you can definately make a meal out of it (I certainly do when I'm there!).

Bravo Cucina Italiano (www.bravoitalian.com) is a new favorite for me. Usually Spinach & Artichoke dip does nothing for me, but theirs is wonderful. And the Torta Di Cioccolata-there are simply no words that come close to describing how wonderful it is.

Claim Jumper-their biscuits w/that wonderful honey butter; yum!
Macaroni Grill-love their bread.
Grand Lux Cafe-sister restaurant to Cheesecake Factory, but very different menu.

Cheesecake Factory has not been the same since they took the Pesto Pasta off the menu (boo!)

in-n-out
shake shack

If it's the same restaurant I'm thinking of, there was one in Boston, @ the Prudential Center, years ago & I loved it.

Bon Chon. Best fried chicken ever.

I didn't mention it because I still have bad memories of the heavy slab of chocolate cake I ate two weeks ago on the Autobahn on my way back to Germany. :rolleyes:

It's Mövenpick's fast food/buffet type place and I believe that they are in Toronto as well. I don't have much great to say about them, honestly. I have fond memories of being taken to Mövenpick for special ice cream sundaes but these places although pretty aren't very tasty.

I used to frequent the one in Pittsburgh occasionally, before they closed. Very good food, service was always great, and they always seemed to be running promos of some sort, so I don't think I ever paid full price. :)
Mr. Kipper and I went to Seasons 52 once for dinner. After we left, he asked what we were having for dinner. :)

Longhorn has been pretty hit or miss for me. I've had incredibly lousy food and/or service, and then have had great food and/or service on the next visit.
I love Cracker Barrel's Country Boy Breakfast. Tons of food, and if I eat that at 11 AM, I'm just starting to consider having my next meal about 8 or 9 PM.
I usually have a great meal at Texas Roadhouse. The steaks are usually very good, and I always opt to select my own. :)

ha ha I enjoyed it. I probably don't know as much about guacamole as you do...

Slightly better if you order cajun fries. But the burger is the predominant reason to go there.

My favorites:

$
Panera Bread Company
Five Guys
In and Out Burger
La Salsa
Pei Wei
Baja Fresh/Moe's/insert any burrito place

$$
Bonefish Grill
Ruths Chris
Capital Grill
Doe's Steakhouse

I wouldn't say Ruth's Chris "sucks," I think it's predictably pretty good. But there's always someone who feels the need to slam any chain anyone's ever heard of. In a separate thread on US steakhouses, people were claiming there are no good ones anywhere in America, they all suck, everything is disgusting. I mean, for goodness' sake.

Buca di Beppo is bland but inoffensive, unless you consider obscene portion sizes nobody can finish.

Olive Garden I don't like at all, but its sister chain Red Lobster can produce good, unadorned, unfancy grilled fish. Stay away from the chef's creations with mystery sauces and you'll do fine. But, again, there's a whole column of people who refuse to belief anything good can come from a mainstream chain.

Note that the Palomino in Las Vegas is a very different sort of eatery....

99 restaurant?
 

Anyone knows 99 Restaurant? Seems it only exists in MA and the surrounding states. My steak was really good and my parents were very satisfied. Drank a bottle of the excellent (diet) IBC root beer with that. Service was excellent, and it's not so expensive.

It shouldn't come as a surprise to me for the responses here since after all, the majority of FTers are difficult picky eaters. :rolleyes:

But don't many of the chains mentioned here such as Chili's, Applebees, Outback, etc cater exactly to the unadventurous, 'picky' eater?

Swiss Chalet. Unpretentious rotisserie chicken, always good.

I've eaten there once. My S/O likes their bbq turkey tips.


As for me:

Panera Bread - LOVE their tomato soup and cuban chicken sandwiches, and if there is one within sight of a starbucks, I'll go to Panera for my iced tea instead, since its cheaper and bigger.

Cheesecake Factory - Yes, I know its not PC to admit, but I enjoy their French Market Salad, the soft brown bread, and giant beverages. And they've occasionally satisfied a late night pasta craving. Never had the cheesecake.

Old Spaghetti Factory - I'm not sure if its because it brings back fun high school memories, but I lurves me their browned butter and mizithra spaghetti. And the hot bread.

Boston Market - We don't have them here in WA, but if I spot one while I'm traveling, I start craving creamed spinach :)

Just had the tomato soup at Panera a couple of days ago. It was the first time - usually I get the broccoli cheddar. Every soup I've had there has been good.

Years ago, I thought Boston Chicken was great. After it became Boston Market, and expanded their menu, I thought it became rather mediocre.

Can't say I really like any of these. All personal preference I guess.

Marche & Movenpick are decent choices when in Europe, however the Canadian ones (and the Hong Kong ones) have been bought by a Chinese company and rebranded under the name of RichTree. The decor and menu are mostly the same and some of their locations are too, but the recent movement to Mega-market food courts and shopping mall food courts :td: leaves a lot to be desired :(

I remember the original Movenpick in Yorkville (Toronto) had 4 restaurants under one roof and one of them had that wonderful steak tartare. There was of course their famous ice creams and fresh wafflecones. :D Sadly this high-rent but centrally-located outlet was the first to go after the transfer.

I did stay at a few Movenpick hotels in Germany and enjoyed their full breakfast buffets immensely. :D

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.