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Cook Out is probably the best regional burger chain in this area.
I'm honestly not really a fan. They replaced all the Checkers around here and.. I preferred Checkers. Now, everyone tells me that the milkshakes are really good at Cook Out, but.. I'm not a milkshake person. The first time I ate there.. The burger tasted like a salt shaker had come apart over it.. The second time wasn't as bad but.. Wasn't good enough to make me want to go back. I wouldn't AVOID them, but i'm not going out of my way to go to them, either.
The consistently good list for me is pretty small.. Chick-Fil-A and Sonic are the two I can think of off the top of my head. Sonic isn't great, but it's good and I haven't had a horrible experience ever at one. Chick-Fil-A is always good.. A touch on the expensive side.. I tend to get a salad for dinner from there once a week or so
Moe's Southwest Grill is normally pretty good.. I still consider it in the 'fast food' category.
We used to have, I think it was Philly Connection around here that I really enjoyed.. They all closed up.. They weren't really close to authentic but they were a good steak sandwich.
I'll take "Arbitrary and Subjective Distinctions" for 800 Alex.
I've eaten at local restaurants that were good and bad experiences, and chain restaurants that were good and bad experiences. I know it's fun to romanticize the local restaurant as being something better just by virtue of not being a chain, but that isn't the case. It depends.
Fun to romanticize? What a condescending comment. People's observations have nothing to do with romanticizing anything. It's just plain fact that family restaurants are over glorified fast food restaurants and local chains are not. That's not to say that the food is bad but people are literally buying cheap McDonald's/frozen food-quality meals at premium dine in prices when they could be putting that money towards better food, ambience and service at a local place.
So get over yourself with your "fun to romanticize" nonsense. You seem to think that people who share this view were born yesterday and have only "dabbled" in both experiences recently, but you're talking to people who go to both regularly and have been for decades already.
We're definitely not the norm here but we don't patronize chain restaurants (unless there is absolutely NO other option). We NEVER go to fast food restaurants either. We love local restaurants wherever we are - better to support small businesses and have almost always had better food/service. That is OUR opinion...yours may differ!
We're definitely not the norm here but we don't patronize chain restaurants (unless there is absolutely NO other option). We NEVER go to fast food restaurants either. We love local restaurants wherever we are - better to support small businesses and have almost always had better food/service. That is OUR opinion...yours may differ!
I tend to do the same
I think the odds are in the patrons favor using that philosophy.
it's getting harder for some of these places. I have seen places like BWW and Applebee's say they are struggling a bit due to the younger crowds not wanting to sit down as much anymore. And with companies like GrubHUb and Ubereats blowing up in popularity makes things harder. The resturant scene is already deadly cutthroat. Cheesecake Factory had to contract out to a 3rd party delivery service as well. I see Chili's did the same and possibly Outback. Some can keep up but not all will.
We use to eat at a fair amount of chain restaurants back in California. I stuck to the mid-price range restaurants and not fast food establishments.
We loved:
Tahoe Joe's (We enjoy everything here. Apps, main, and the best cheesecake! Drool)
Texas Roadhouse ( fresh made rolls with honey butter need I say more?)
We liked:
Red Robins (Hubs likes the peppercorn burger, I like their Hawaiian chicken burger and fries)
Chilis (Love their chips and salsa, their burgers are food too, and their other appetizers)
Sweet Tomatoes ( breakfast was our favorite the chilaquiles were so good, I liked their french toast, the cinnamon buns, I also loved their soup and salad bar)
We disliked/hated:
Olive Garden (Overpriced, mediocre food. Not everyone wants Italian dressing on their salad)
Applebees ( Just meh. Overpriced and nothing excellent on the menu)
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