Thanks for the help - though I've been to the US lots of times, some of those names are new to me! I will keep an eye out for them now though.

Forgot about this thread...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dinin...flowchart.html

I ate at an O'Charley's for my first time this week in Charlotte. Myself, my Father and my Brother were all impressed by it.

The truth is that most Americans have been duped into thinking that chains serve good food, and in many parts of our country there is no choice (big business has driven out the little mom and pop cafes). I do agree that some very small chains do serve acceptable food, but the bigger the chain, and the more advertising a chain does, the food declines in quality. The one chain that seems to be able to maintain a consistent level of mediocrity is McDonalds, IMHO.

Taco Mac is a southern chain but they have an amazing selection of beers. Food is good to accompany beers but not gourmet by any stretch

Capital Grille is a solid choice for a reasonable dinner

5 Guys to me does the best burger of all the chains. Yes, I prefer it to In n Out

^^^ for Taco Mac. Make sure you enroll in Brewniversity.

I enrolled straight away buddy. Only been there once, but sat for about 6 hours and drank 13 pints so I got my TShirt the first visit haha. Had to get the staff to close me out on 3 separate checks so I didn't fall foul of the '6 Beer maximum' rule. I wrote a little article about the day which I will link to once I post it

Chilis.

Famous Dave's.

Giordanos.

You beat me to the point. I feel for some parts of the country (Maine, for example) where the town center is Walmart, Tim Horton's, Applebees, and Burger King. Applebee's of course is "fine dining."

Outback: I was dragged there by a petulant cousin who threw a tantrum. The meal was mediocre. I also suffered from a massive stomach ache soon after.

Friendly's: It's basically a sit-down snack bar with ice cream. Not bad.

Olive Garden: The most overrated crap I have laid eyes upon. I live 20 minutes from JFK. You can get damned good Italian food from any hole-in-the-wall pizzeria (most serve pasta, calzones, calamari etc etc) for $5-12. At a propr restaurant, you can have the gelatto, wine, and veal. Olive Garden is pointless.

Applebees: Too much "antique store" junk on the walls...the sort of garbage that appeals to rubes in flyover country. The one redeeming point: 2 for one draft pints between 3 and 6 pm.

Chili's: Overrated. Appeals to bored, underage college kids. I do not know why. Food is boring.

P.F. Chang's: Again, no reason to frequent this. My area has many mom-and-pop takeout shops and a few proper restaurants. P.F. Chang's commands a higher price per plate than the proper restaurants. However, their food is basically "La Choy" with waiter service. I can get better food from the mom-and-pop take out. Oh, and I get a free egg roll or soup with that $5.95 dinner.

Rainforest Cafe: Cute, but the chicken tasted like it was 40% filler.

Panda Express/Mall/Airport Terminal Chinese: Not bad, really. I will be getting a plate of this in JFK before I board my Virgin Atlantic flight. It delivers what it promises: fast, remotely quasi-Chinese food.


McDonald's seems to be the one chain which lives up to the expectations.

chipotle
macaroni grill

Isn't most (not all) chain food prepared at a central facility, frozen, shipped to the location and reheated/plated at the restaurant?

It's cheaper, healthier (and probably tastier) to buy a couple Lean Cuisines, toss them in the microwave and eat at home.

Also, I wouldn't call Capital Grille "reasonable dining" - way overpriced. I'd rather go to Ruth's Chris or a top-notch local steakhouse, pay the same prices or even slightly less, and get locally prepared fresh food.

Not typically no.
They do typically buy from a central distribution house that carries the same ingredients nation wide. Admittedly some items are shipped in frozen, but IME few, if any are pre-prepared, frozen and sent to the restaurant.

I like Capital Grille as a chain, but reasonable dining it is not...at least not on my budget.

YEAH BUDDY!
My favorite chain!
Not so much...

The Buenos Aires Grill is not a chain... so it's out of the running. It is good though! I feel compelled to point out that BA is an Argentinian steakhouse and Fogo is a Brasilian Churascaria. I'm going to Fogo in Indy next week... I may report back on how that location fares.

^ Chipotle - no franchises, all company stores, HQ in Colorado, strangely, the easiest to prepare of all components, pintos and negroes (the beans, not horeses or people) come fully cooked from a central commisary along with their imitation "barbacoa" (and /"carnitas"/pork, IIRC). Most else purchased, prepped/cooked locally. Satisfying, modestly priced, and I wish they were in airports. Go for the "Bowl", not the burrito.

Macaroni Grill? It's all concept, carefully staged "Sizzle" aimed at a market gradutating from "youth" to the next step on the ladder. It's not Italy, but for those who have not been there, cheap thrills....