Worst Chain Menu
 

Two of my kids and a number of their friends have worked at Ruby Tuesdays in the past. As a result, I have patronized their restaurants more than I would have otherwise cared to.

I think I was last in a Ruby Tuesdays a couple months ago and walked out when I was told they no longer (this specific location) carried Sam Adams on tap.

I did look at the menu though, and was astonished at how spare it was. This place is like a pricy Burger King. Is there a chain with a skimpier, more limited, more unappetizing menu?

I've always hated the menu at Crackerbarrel's.

Limited options - putrid cuisine.

I go to Ruby Tues for mostly the salad bar and ribs. Occasionally the salad bar and the big burger and dont do booze in chains. Basically I never read their menu. Watching the better built waitresses hustle about is often a free plus never seen in a BK.

MisterNice

I can honestly say I've never been to a Ruby Tuesday's.

I had never been to an In-N-Out Burger till my recent trip to San Francisco and have to say I loved the fact that there were only a few things on the menu. What do you go to a burger place for? A burger. There is no need for chicken sandwiches, wraps, etc. or even twenty different kinds of burgers... Just give me a burger, some fries, and a drink and I'll be on my way ;)

This might strike some of you as sad, but this winter MrLapLap and I passed many Howard Johnsons (EDIT: WRONG NAME - it was supposed to be Tim Hortons) between YYZ and Minden out in the Ontario country. I'd never been to one, but they were obviously very popular. I couldn't wait to find out what it would be like to eat at one.

Good grief, what a non-event that was...:(

Most unappetising menu (and food) of any place I've ever dined at. Anywhere. Ever. (And I'm including 70s London here)

All the HoJo restaurants in the US must have moved to Canada. I have no idea where one is located at anymore.

MisterNice

Having lived in Ontario all my life I can't remember the last time I ever saw a HoJo's...many years ago they used to be at the rest stops located on the 400 series of major highways.

The worst chain experience I ever endured was a Perkins off of I-75 somewhere in Kentucky last year...the grossest chicken dish I have ever eaten. Made the Colonel seem positively gourmet...

I have never been a fan of Church's chicken. The menu is lame and the food lamer.:td:

Perkins and Cracker Barrel.

I went to Ruby Tuesday's once, and swore never again. Anytime you find a RT, there's an Outback, Uno, or Chili's nearby.

It's been over 20 years since I've eaten at either, but Red Lobster and Long John Silver's both had menus full of deep fried everything.

My vote goes to Shakey's Pizza. :td:

My vote goes to Bertucci's. Menu too child friendly :td:

I absolutely agree.

I went into one somewhere in Florida recently and was mightily impressed by the care this chain had taken in it design - until I had the meal which I have to say is probably the worst I've ever had in my life.

Okay, sure, the menu is pretty basic. But then there's the official Secret Menu, and then the unofficial items... plenty of options. ;)

Big mouth. :D

Thanks for ruining it for me ;) :p

Actually, there aren't many options on those menus that aren't on the original menu. It's just the way they're made. Fries with that sauce? Oh, now that sounds good.... Where's a drool smiley when you need one?

A North of the Border Entry
 

My vote goes to Swiss Chalet, Canada's woeful attempt to emulate Boston Market. I once tried their quarter chicken meal. What was preseneted on my plate looked like it was once a diseased hummingbird. Then I tried dipping it in the sauce. The sauce tasted like a bad form of liquid toothpaste.

To Me ...
 

Dupe Post- Sorry!

To Me ...
 

Sitting in any of the following are interchangeable for mediocre food, weak drinks and bad service by a ditsy teenage girl:

- Bennigans
- Chili's
- TGI Fridays
- Applebees
- Ruby Tuesdays

Hi guys,

I understand that RT, TGI etc. may not look very favourable once you have gotten used to dine at high class restaurants all along. However I wonder if this disgust aims at the entire kind of restaurant, or if there are brands that range in the same price class but would be considered better?
Outback seems to be one of these places and I agree on that, but what other places do you recommend?
Personally I find it sort of hard to find new good restaurants in the US (while restricted by budget and not in larger cities). Somehow I find it less hard in Germany, which makes sense as I can simply judge better what a place will be like, it also is much easier to just walk around and find a place - in the US you usually need to plan a ahead and go by car. I have had bad experiences with "family" restaurants - these usually stand for meshed potatoes out of the bag, hamburger patties from K-Mart and mediocre service. Actually I just had breakfast at Grandma Something's Pancake House - there was nothing there I couldn't have had at Denny's.

So, are you just glad you are able to avoid dining at any place that comes at less than 20$ for dinner or do you actually have recommendations (if important: northern Chicagoland)?

Tossup for me between Applebee's and Bennigans's for BORING menu and so-so food (at best). I'd put Ruby Tuesday's there as well, but for the fairly decent salad bar. O'Charleys might also be there for me as a regional "bore", but my last couple of times there, I've been pleasantly surprised...at least to a mild degree.

And yes, Swiss Chalet, north of the border would also make my personal "BORING" hall of fame. Some of the Canadian chains are pretty good...at least for chains. But I've always wondered what the appeal of Swiss Chalet is. And if we're going international....lets not forget Garfunkel's in the UK.

I fully agree - wretched food, bovine service and they all reek of that sickly sweet potpourri stuff they sell in their tchotchke shop. YUCK! Grand MIL loves it so we go on occasion when traveling with her.

Funny, upon running across this thread the first one that came to mind was Ruby Tuesday. Used to be a more varied menu, but last time I was in there (not much other choice at that location) I was really pretty surprised to see how sparse it was. If you want a burger it's fine, lots of burgers. But that's about it.

A lot of similar casual chains have pretty lame food, but they do have a slightly more varied menu at least. I avoid most of 'em.

I think Ruby Tuesdays tops my list.

Non-worst ones
 

I can't help out much with northern Chicagoland (although my in-laws there would probably say something about Steak 'n' Shake, I don't think it competes with Ruby Tuesday's). If you find yourself in New England or the Mid-Atlantic states, though, Friendly's has a reasonably broad menu and good ice cream and should be doable for under $20 a person.

Have to agree with Swiss Chalet. As a kid, i loved the place to go with family. Now, my wife can make a better chicken anyday and I wonder why I go there. I always get nostolgic and go once every couple of years and I ALWAYS wonder, why I go and why the menu has never changed.

Quite right. It isn't Howard Johnson, I don't know why I mutated the name into this.

Problem is I can't for the life of me remember the real one.

Can anyone help? It's a ubiquitous chain. They are everywhere. Have red lettering, serve sandwiches (some hot, some cold), donuts and coffee.

I ate an insipid tuna mayo sandwich there. It was a wretched experience necessitating far too many napkins as the sandwich sprang a leak and continuously dripped water. Now I finally understand why North Americans call them subs... :(

Donuts and coffee plus red lettering - sounds like Tim Horton's. Ads for Tim Horton's are on the dasher boards of most NHL rinks north of Chicago. Just a WAG, as I have never eaten at a Tim Horton's.

That would be Tim Horton's...Canadians are crazy for that particular coffee (our "crack" of coffee)-the rest of the "menu" is incidental to most. A visit to Tim Hortons is similar to McDonalds in this way, you always know what you are getting. Trust me on this, you wish you owned a Tim Hortons outlet in Canada or the northern U.S.=big moneymaker.

Regarding the comment of Swiss Chalet emulating Boston Market...I'm willing to bet that Swiss Chalet has been around a lot longer than BM. I don't think they are similar.

I'm not fond of SC either but you can get a ful sized meal for a reasonable price...and its fast. I think that is the draw...particulalrly with the older folk.

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 :eek:

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
 

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.