I go to Denny's about twice a decade, generally when nobody else
is open. The food is always wretched wretched. This may partially
be a function of when I go, but the fact remains.

When in Singapore and no idea where to go to, check out the Crystal Jade or Imperial Treasure chains - both offer great Chinese food and can be found at major shopping centres.

I have to agree with others who named the Roaring Fork restaurants in the SW that specialize in grilled meats and fish. They have great food, good service and are very attractive places. Similarly I love the Wildfire chain of restaurants owned by Chicago based legend Rich Melman and located throughout the Chicago area as well as in Atlanta, Tyson's Corner,VA, and Eden Prairie,MN. They have great grilled food as well plus excellent wines and a frequent diner program that can't be beat.

As a west coast cheap taqueria snob, I don't get the love for Chipotle. Their salsas are pretty lame, IMO.

http://www.filibertos.com/arizona/menu.asp

Cheap, greasy, AWESOME.

THE best burrito place in the US, IMHO is:

http://www.elbalazo.net/ in the Bay Area.

I have eaten at Denny's twice in my life, both times this year.

The first time was late evening in San Antonio when stranded due to the volcano. It was just awful.

The second time was locally, Sunday early afternoon. Slightly better but bad enough to say never again.

What I don't understand is why were they both packed? Someone must like them, or perhaps the patrons just like cheap food.:confused:

Doesn't Denny's make a lot of money because they're open all the time? I can think of quite a few occasions when getting a table was a problem even though it was after midnight.

I'm sure there are also less complaints during those hours, as many of the patrons have had a fair amount of beer and aren't as demanding about their food at that stage. :)

Wagamama is pretentious pseudo-Japanese that is well past its prime in my view.

And surprise, what you get at PF Chang's isn't Asian food anymore than at Wagamama!

Wagamamas is pretty poor IMO, way too much bland food on the menu. The Chili Prawn noodles are nice though.

Yeah that's good stuf.

You can check out http://www.roosterspiripiri.com/restaurants.html for a cheaper Nandos knock-off, fast-food-type outlet.

This is not a bad UK chain: http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/the-restaurants

Try this also http://www.byronhamburgers.com/find-us/

One of the few "chains" I actually enjoy:

Il Mulino New York

Various locations in larger cities domestically and abroad...

In the UK's there's a pretty nice, family oriented chain called Giraffe.

I also like GBK (Gourmet Burger Kitchen) but never truly enjoy eating burgers - it's the thought of my arteries hardening or something.

One of the best breakfast chains I've found is Le Peep. I've only eaten there about 10 times, and all near Denver, but they have been consistently extremely good, especially their benedicts. They do not seem to get great reviews overall though, mostly due to price.

Dick, for you and others visiting London. Myself and a lot of fellow students used to frequent the Hare & Tortoise at Brunswick Centre near Russel Square tube for Asian food. It's not a big chain but has a few outlets in the London area.

http://www.hareandtortoise.co.uk/

Please, no offense meant, but I tried the Giraffe near the London Eye in central London and found it horrific - even the burgers. But I thought maybe it was just that day/location so I tried it again about a year later in Heathrow. Even worse. I'm not blaming the Giraffe. Kind of think of it, I've rarely found good food in the UK IMHO. Although one of the best meals I can recall WAS in London, it was the rare occasion and it was at L'Atalier de Joel Robuchon in Covent Garden. Fantastic lunch. On par with the same restaurant in Paris and Tokyo in fact. Now, if one considers that place a "chain", it is one amazing "chain" restaurant!

Nobu... their miso black cod has been copied by many higher end Japanese/Asian fusion joints around but is still one of my favorite entrees around.

I like the Grand Lux Cafe owned by The Cheesecake Factory.

In Texas, Mi Cocina and Pappadeaux are two I enjoy (and a Pappadeaux just opened in DFW at Terminal A... I now know where I'm spending my flight delays!)

Yogurtland has become my new dessert stop of choice in towns that have one.