I tend to judge restaurants based on my favorite dish on their menu and how tasty it is, rather than how well the chain performs overall. I know that's not fair to the restaurant, but when I go out to a chain I usually just like to eat, not judge.

That said, I think certain chains are overrated, way too unhealthy, and/or too dumpy, regardless of the dish you eat. For instance, Denny's is consistently greasy, but I respect their hash browns when done well and if someone else insists on eating there I'll bite my tongue and make sure hash browns figure prominently in my order. I like 'em crispy.

Since moving to Minneapolis we've unfortunately become slaves to national chains. Some of the more successful for us (our three kids are 8, 5, and 3 and influence our choice of dining to a scary degree) are:

- Macaroni Grill (I've been to the original outside of Austin, TX many times and while this isn't as good, it's fine for a Tuesday night) and Don Pablo's are near us. What can I say? They're a BATH if I'm tired. (Better Alternative Than Home.)

- Noodles and Company : YUM! The new Bangkok Curry is scrumptious and has perfectly tender-crisp carrots and sugar snap peas underneath. All of their noodles are made separately from the sauces, so you can mix and match if you're sweet to the cashier. And I'm always sweet. ;)

- Chipotle : Wow, that chicken burrito rocks! Although Chipotle doesn't have the variety that a lot of burrito places have (Choices: 3-4 meats, rice, 2 beans, lettuce, tomato, 4 salsas including a great corn salsa with diced chilis, guac, sour cream, served in a tortilla or in a bowl... and that's IT, no sides), it's consistently excellent. The flavors are so bright and the chicken is such high quality (it's some kind of organic, I think) that I can overlook the rest. Tip: Ask for less rice. There's usually too much and while it's really good, you want a higher chicken-to-rice ratio.

- I love PF Chang's (my husband's not a huge fan, though) and we both like Cheesecake Factory. Try CF's Navajo Chicken Sandwich followed by a Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake for a decadent treat.

- We also love Maggiano's. Big portions but well-made. Not something we have often or we'd be the brunt of "person of size" complaints in coach.

A couple local chains have made us very happy, indeed.

- D'Amico & Sons : Get yourself there! Great counter-order service that's delivered to the table. These are small but VERY good. Excellent cold pasta salads (turkey salad with dried cherries, anyone?), sandwiches (the grilled chicken with garlic aioli, real mozzarella and roasted red bell peppers on an onion focaccia will make you swoon), pizza (mixed luck here), and entrees (terrific no-meat lasagne with a remarkably good marinara, optionally with sausage). The deli-style branch (no hot stuff) at the airport has wonderful take-on food. I recommend that chicken sandwich. The service at the airport branch sucks, though, so don't bother writing me about it... I know. I know. Anyway, there are other local restaurants under the D'Amico umbrella. Most are very upscale (entree = $18-$40) and all are terrific.

- Famous Dave's Barbeque : My brother, also a Texan, swore it was better than Coulter's BBQ in Texas, and I think it's better than Red Hot & Blue. (Some insult RH&B, but I gotta say that pulled chicken sandwich rocks my boat. And their potato salad is the only version I will eat, period.)

- Good Earth (2-3 locations here) and other Parasole restaurants: Terrific quality healthy food served in medium-large portions. I love whole grains, but I'm not a vegetarian. (I eat poultry and some fish but no mammals or shellfish.) Their foods are almost completely veg-friendly, but they also have fish/meat options with the same level of "healthy" food on the plate, too. All the restaurants I've gone to in this chain are excellent. A cut above Cheesecake Factory (I'm not dissing CF, just comparing it!) and light-years past Chili's and TGI Friday's, which we've given up on.

Dyanne

Seeing MSP in the post above reminded me that the Redstone American Grill has opened a third location, this one in the western suburbs of Chicago (Oakbrook Terrace). I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised. The prime rib was surprisingly good, and the cornbread was excellent.

For a personal bonus, the owner shares our last name, which is definitely not a common one; the server who was excellent all meal was a little freaked out when she saw my credit card and asked if we were related.


And I just found out that there's a Baja Fresh three minutes from my parents. It's been there for almost a year but they had terrible signage. I still like it, but not compared to most decent Chicagoland taquerias, much less something in a city with an even larger percentage of Mexican population.

I'm allergic to three common food preservatives, so I usually stay far away from chain restaurants. I've had too many times where friends dragged me to one, I asked the waitress if there were any preservatives in, say, their alfredo sauce, and found out that they had no idea what they were talking about when they told me "Oh no, it's very fresh and we make it ourselves." :rolleyes:

Il Fornaio is ok- not great, but I can at least eat most of their food. My favorite "chain" is Macrina Bakery, which has a bakery in Belltown and another one up on Queen Anne Hill. I love their salads and breads and incredible desserts. Mmmmmmmmm.

Le Pain Quotidien
 

Le Pain Quotidien is a lovely concept and a great favorite in my Southern California neighborhood. I particularly like the big and rustic communal table, the pots of jam, the large steaming cups of cappucino. This is a breakfast and lunch place and great for solo diners. A great place to spread out your newspaper and eat a fine croissant, perhaps some yogurt, granola and berries or a great ham and cheese omelet for breakfast. I can only speak about the Brentwood location which serves breakfast until noon on weekedays and until 3 on weekends. They open at 7:00AM. Lunch is excellent. Sandwiches are served open face and come with a fresh green salad. The curried chicken salad, served with chutneyis outstanding. As this is a chain and a franchise, I believe they do an admirable job (at least, in my neighborhood).
http://www.lepainquotidien.com/
http://www.lepainquotidien.com/Inter...6-18cd596cbb09

Mmmmm... agree with you on Noodles & Co.... that is a new favorite as of late. I'm fond of their Mushroom Stroganoff (add sliced beef) and their Thai Caesar Salad.

I've forgotten about Krispy Kreme too. Not the mass-produced crap they sell in every Target and grocery store and gas station near me but the good "Hot Doughnuts Now" stuff you can get at the original stores. Nothing quites beats a KK when the sugar icing has yet to harden on a hot doughnut.

Around here, I also like La Madeline... somewhat liberally interpreted French bistro fare, but the original is in Dallas and they make a mean tomato basil soup and caesar salad. I've got an outpost around the corner from my house and that works in a pinch.

Speaking of soup and salad, my favorite "fast" dinner as of late is at Panera Bread. I am addicted to their broccoli cheese soup and turkey artichoke panini combo.

I am a big fan of Panera's food, except I don't particularly like their bread and sweets! But I am a big fan of their interpretation of a Cuban sandwich (I think it has rotated off their menu, however :( ), and most of their soups and paninis are above average. I'm gong to have to try the Turkey Artichoke one some night this week because I love artichokes!

They also have free wireless at their locations, which I think is a very smart business decision.

I forgot to add another of our favorite national chains, Red Robin. The atmosphere is MUCH nicer than Fuddrucker's, and since I would only be getting a chicken sandwich anyway (see my post above for the reason if you have nothing better to do), it's better quality food, too. My favorites: onion rings (mmm... the best around) and the Cajun Chicken sandwich (misnamed, since it's actually a buffalo chicken sandwich: fried chicken breast with buffalo sauce, then put on a bun with some other stuff that I never get).

Yes, the original location of Redstone is located about two miles from us, so my husband and I go often, especially since friends of ours are original investors so we don't have to wait an hour on a weeknight for a table. (We take whatever help we can get. We're paying the sitter whether we're waiting in line or sitting at a table enjoying our meal.) This is NOT a place for children, unless yours are perfectly behaved and/or heavily sedated. The service is fairly fast for a very nice sit-down place, but it's still real food and therefore unpredictable.

Tip: Get the rotiserrie chicken. It's better than ANY you've ever had before, and if you ask for all white meat (rather than half a chicken split half white and half dark) they only add $1, but you get two HUGE dinners. Ask for extra "good juice" on the side. The mashed potatoes are good and the winter root veggies are, too, but their summer "green" sides never taste as good.

Another great item there is the rotisserie chicken salad, and don't forget some Lodge Cornbread on the side. Don't be fooled by the cornbread croutons on the salad itself -- they will not sate your cornbread desire, good as they are.

Of course, if you're there on a tortilla soup day (Tuesdays, if memory serves), make sure you get it. It's better than the Chili's version mentioned above.

Chevy's Fresh Mex. Not the best Mexican food you'll ever have, but very good.

Another vote for Panera. I forget it's a chain.
Asaigio Beef Sandwich, ^ ^ ^

Atlanta Bread Company gets a ^ .

As for Outback, I guess I've been on the road too many years, as I hopefully will never eat at one again. When one opened up nearby, my wife and kids wanted to give it a try. I told them to try it next time I was out of town. They weren't impressed either. I find them incosistent from store to store and in most places I travel, I can dine at a high end restaurant or as I ask the kid at hotel reception "where do you eat on Prom Nite around here" for about the same cost.

Yours must have better food than ours. ;) I agree the atmosphere is great - we just had our office-wide Christmas party there and everyone had a great time - but the food reminded me of an Italian Taco Bell. You know...how they make different stuff out of the same four ingredients and it all tastes the same but it looks different?

The best thing on the menu we had was the Lemon Chicken and the desserts. The other five entrees tasted exactly alike. Not terrible by any stretch of the imagination, but not very exciting either. I definitely did not get the feeling that someone's Italian mama was cooking in the kitchen. ;)

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

The Landry's chains are pretty decent for the price. Myself, I prefer Joe's Crab shack for decent crab. Salt Grass is decent for steaks.

Another chain I like are the Pappas restaurants, C&H is an awesome steak house where you can dress casual and get fine dining and service. Pappadeux does great cajun dishes and the Tex-mex at Pappasito's is pretty good.

Both places serve good sized portions (well, in Texas they do).

Agree with Bucca di Beppo, those are pretty good when you want a lot of food for a group.

I am surprised not to see Capital Grille mentioned. In Dallas, anyway, I prefer it over Del Frisco's hands down. And I agree on Palomino -- absolutely first rate place.

Also, in Western Canada, Earl's has consistently great food, in a Houston's kind of atmosphere but waaaay more imagination and variety. They are also in CO and AZ, but failed in Dallas this past year.

Actually, I wish we had more chain restaurants out here on our mid-Pacific rock. We have tourist restaurants, a few high-end places and a lot of cheap local style places. Not a lot in the middle ground.

Palomino is one of the few nicer restaurants downtown in our business district. It's ok, and I'm glad we have it, but it always leaves me a bit nonplussed.

I actually like Chili's. There's a real dearth of decent Mexican places out here and their fajitas help to satisfy my Mexican jones when I don't have the patience to cook them for myself. Plus they'll give you extra guacamole instead of sour cream and cheese. :)

But the Ivy isn't exactly known for it's food - more for celeb sighting & high prices (although I like the scones!)