Don't know if this has been mentioned. Chipotle and Baja Fresh are good. ^

There were 3 Friendly's within 5 miles of my house as a kid. Interesting you recommend them as the common consensus was that the the "food items" were as bad as the ice cream was great.

Friendly's has improved a LOT over the past few years. Their ice cream was always good (and I will take their prepackaged half gallons over Breyers any day), and now most of their food is better than average.

They have a Crispy Chicken Salad which is amazing!

Friendlys food was good back in the 60's when I was a kid. The tuna salad was well made, a grilled cheese and tomato was cheap and tasty and a Big Beef Cheeseburger Special came on toast which I prefer to a bun. In the 80's, they were my kids' first choice for a meal out - possibly because of the conehead sundae. I do think Hershey's wrecked the concept. Unfortunately, they are few and far between in the South. I have not been in one in 4 years - last was in Myrtle Beach. I did notice they had added beer, but I did not see the Swiss Chocolate Almond Sundae on the menu. I would kill for one right now - a beer or a sundae!

Friendley's all near my home are very dirty. I used to love going there but now I avoid it. If anything I just get ice cream.

The Friendly's near me was very dirty and run down for a good long time and one day closed their doors.

About a month later, it re-opened and the interior was spick and span and the food seemed to have improved. My friends and I were shocked at the changes and actually made bets on how long it would take for the place to look like it did before it re-opened.

To date, we have all losts our bets as the place is still super clean and food has not declined at all.

Dan

I have not been to a Friendly's in several years, so I'll defer to your opinions here. Some further thoughts on this thread topic:

Red Robin is supposed to have "killer" onion rings; I prefer the fries.
Chili's is fine for what it is - at least it is differentiated. Which brings me to ...
Can someone break down the difference among (I know that's gramatically correct, although "between" looks better to me here): Applebees, TGIFridays, Houlihans, Bennigans and Ruby Tuesday?

I haven't tried Chipotle yet for fear of being disappointed if it turns out to have been over-rated (IMHO). One visit to [boring] McCormack & Schmick was enough. Finally, Claim Jumper ... Dan Savage describes a visit there in detail under "Gluttony" in his book "Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America." I came away with the impression that their food is, essentially, tasteless.

And regarding Bob Evans ... let's just say their much-touted Poppyseed Salad Dressing looked a lot like something else to me, although it tasted fine.

I am not one for deep fried foods however, I have to agree that Rob Robbins Fries are good.

Dan

I am surprised that no one has mentioned Trader Vics

http://www.tradervics.com/restaurant-1.html

There are six restaurants in the US, others overseas. (Sadly NOT in NYC because Donald Trump, when he owned the Plaza, evicted them saying the restaurant did not fit the image of a luxury hotel. SO MAD!)

I was introduced to Trader Vics a few years ago from a fellow Flyertalk buddy. I love the way Trader vic's makes steak in the old fashion kettle, great drinks and fun atmosphere. I have been to Vics in Chicago, San Fran, Palo Alto, Beverly Hills, Tokyo, London... hopefully others soon.

Also, Charlies Steakhouse... awesome steaks, right on the grill.

I like Bertuccis. One opened in Jersey City over a year ago. It's nice to go to alone or with friends, decent food and decent prices.

Regarding Palm... I had a horrible time at the Vegas location. came in solo, had a reservation and they made me wait over an hour for a table. The waiter was rude, the steak coooked raw> I left the waiter a 34 cents tip. he came chasing after me in the Caesar's mall saying what was my problem. I pointed to a mirror at the Coach store and said "No me, YOU!" The NYC location was mixed.

In Canada... the legendary Hy's Steakhouse. Go to the Toronto location set in a former big bank. Love the steaks there too.

There's also a decent chain of Italian restaurants in London I think called Zizzi.

Right on Catman! Trader Vics is a very worthy mention. The Mai-Tai's alone do it for me.

Sorry you had a bad time at the Palm in Vegas. I've never been there, but I know the Palm in LA and BH are very good.

ClaimJumpers if it hasn't already been mentioned.

Having eaten at the Outback in Bangkok (in Siam Discovery Center) the menu was only loosely related to the one in the states; the basic sirloin steak was pretty good, if very pricy by Thai standards - I don't rememeber the exact price, but lunch for 1 totalled somewhere around 800-900 baht. The salad was disappointing - small, not very fresh, and weedy.

I do recall the menu having their "bloomin' onion" appetizer, but I don't recall if they had the cheese fries or the "alice springs chicken" (chicken breast w/ cheese + bacon + mushrooms) which is my wife's standby.

I do prefer their steaks out of the moderate-priced US "steakhouse chains, although I suspect many would find them overseasoned.

(While I'm on the subject of American chains in Bangkok, I was very unimpressed with the Tony Roma's on Sukhumvit... the "steak + ribs" combo was expensive, and the steak was tiny, gristly, and overdone while the ribs were pretty good but a very small portion - 4-5 ribs if I recall right)

Chili's two big attractions for me are fairly good baby back ribs, and good burgers; they have various other "southwestern" style entrees as well, the quesadillas or fajitas might be worth trying.

Different strokes everywhere. One common point is that many of the great restaurants lose something as they expand. Chevy's comes to mind. Freshness is their hype and at one time when they had just a few locations, it was fresh, there was serious quality control and we kept going back. Now it is anything but fresh. Olive Garden also falls into this category. It's got to be difficult to maintain the quality when the managers are trained and hired and transferred in just a few months.

Mike Royko did a hilarious piece about this subject years ago, comparing a Midwest family operation run by Greeks.. Father working 18 hours a day, mom inspecting each plate and all the kids involved. This vs the MBA for the chain who was gone in a month.

For a really quick salad or sandwich on a travel day I like to stop at Panera's on the way to/from the airport.

Zankou Chicken recently opened in W. Los Angeles. They have other locations in Southern Ca. Their food is absolutely delicious. My new favorite place to eat :)