Hard to believe, but the UK chain restaurant scene is not looking too bad as long as you stick to the ethnic chains. The price to food quality at Pizza Express is exceptional, and Ask / Strada / Zizzi / Wagamama are all places where I would happily show my face.

Although if you go a Pizza Hut / TGI's / Frankie & Bennys / Aberdeen Angus Steak House / Garfunkels then on your own head be it .....

Thanks! And to you Beermonger!

That's the one. What a pointless chain!

Crapplebee's is at the top of my list.

<hangs head in shame> I rather like Cracker Barrel. They make a good breakfast, and it isn't easy to find grits on the road in the Midwest. I like the corn muffins, too.

The Old Country Buffet chain dont do menus but they have over 100 different foods on the many islands steaming away. You can shovel as much calorie-laden overcooked grub as you want, return after gorging and do it again and again. The places are packed, lines to get in all the time, most patrons are 240+ lb. Ninety per cent of the food is starch laden, fried, deep fried, pre-sauced etc. Gallons of gravy are availabe too. They even have the most handicapped parking slots I have ever seen at a restaurant.

MisterNice

Disclaimer: I walk in only to observe and I never ate there

Mine also.My folks live in a medium sized(40k pop.)town near Sacramento that has NO non-ethnic independant places for weekend breakfast/brunch.We have to get on the freeway and travel 10 miles into Davis or 20 miles into Sacramento.
They have a Ruby Tuesdays-which used to be a Lyons we went once,never ever again.Even the eggs tasted/looked prefab

It all just depends on what you order at most of these places. You have to understand what they're likely to be good at and avoid the other items. I overheard somebody at Red Lobster one time complaining and complaining over and over again about their steak. Good grief, learn what to order! When I want a huge plate of crab legs for cheap, its outstanding there. If I want a steak, I'm definitely not going to Red Lobster (or most chains, for that matter). The chains tend to do well with salad and salad bars. TGI Fridays has an awesome bistro steak salad. Ruby Tuesdays has a yummy salad with fried chicken and avocado on it. Chains make eating on the road easy and its nice to go to a place and already know what's going to be on the menu and what it will taste like ahead of time... can help with homesickness and stuff... and those places are usually cheap and fast... but I would never go to one looking for fine cuisine.

Fridays

I like TGIF better than Applebee's, Ruby Tuesdays. Atleast the food is cooked fresh and not just microwaved. Now don't get me wrong I've had some bad service experiences there, but I've also had bad experiences at Ruth Chris and Sullivans.

^^^ My one time in an OCB, I observed a family of 4 (Dad looked like a planet, Mom and the kids were huge moons) attempting to make several trips back and forth to the buffet.
Nothing was more painful than watching this group attempt to squeeze into and out of a booth...until I saw their plates laden with literally a sample of everything on the buffet. They had the meatloaf, the fried chicken, the roast beef, the fried fish, the mashed potatos, the rice....everything. All with gravy on top.
After their 3rd trip up....I began to feel ill. So we left...
BTW - My vote goes to Bennigans/Houlihans/Chili's/Fridays. I can not tell the difference when eating at any of the above. Each attempts to go beyond burgers...and each fails miserably. So, I stick with burgers at these places.

I second that and also call it the same. Houlihan's comes in as a close second.

Maybe I wasn't clear. I know I wasn't specific enough. I'll clarify and repeat.

I meant to include only "casual dining" chains. I did not mean to include "quick service (fast food)". No sane person goes to Burger King and complains that there's no french onion soup on the menu.

I know some people don't like the food at various chain restaurants and getting 100% agreement here on which one makes for the worst dining experience is impossible. We've covered this ground before. Many times.

I think Ruby Tuesdays has the most limited menu of all the common casual dining chains. It has been pared down, from a selection comparable to its competitors, to a dozen burgers and chicken sandwiches. Assuming I'm willing to eat the quality food represented by this market segment, why would I go to one that offers such limited variety?

I have to agree on Ruby Tuesday's. Yet I keep going back for one little thing. The pumpernickel croutons. Those little nuggets of grease soaked bread are my "casual dining" Achiles heel. So basically for me Ruby Tuesday's is a salad bar chain. I have noticed that the menu is more limited than in the past.

I'd definitely agree with you on Zizi and Wagamama, never been to Ask or Strada. Pizza Express? I'd rate these as good....but not exceptional. On the negative side, I'd also agree on Aberdeen Angus. These places always seem busy, and I can never understand why!

As for Canada and Tim Horton's, I agree that the menu can be pretty boring....but hey, its a donut shop. And their donuts are pretty good.

Finally, closer to home for me, yes, we have Steak & Shake. Some people think this place "is to die for". I've always thought of it as unremarkable in any way. Dry, bland, burgers, greasy nondescript skinny fries, slow service etc. But they do serve a decent milkshake.

- Bennigans
- Chili's
- TGI Fridays
- Applebees
- Ruby Tuesdays
- Outback
- O'Charleys

To me these places offer decent bar food at decent prices. Of the group I would take Ruby Tuesdays due to the salad bar. Number one choice is to find a local bar and grill. Same type food (usually better), better service, no kids and no waiting.

Perkins and Cracker Barrel good only for Breakfast.

I dislike Chili's menu selection, but many of my friends love the place so I generally go with them but get something basic that I know is going to be decent.

Other than that, nothing else really comes to mind. I generally don't have very high expectations for most chain restaurants in terms of selection and I certainly don't complain when my steak at Red Lobster isn't very good. Red lobster is good for cheap seafood, Outback for a cheap steak, and so on...@:-)