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I like to eat locally owned for the most part, but chains have their place. As more and more of them have gone to prepackaged foods though, sometimes it's hard to have a better than mediocre experience.
We had a big family dinner last week at the Cheesecake Factory. My previous experience with them has been OK food, ginormous portions of starches, and pretty decent cheesecake! Well, I'm trying to lose weight and wasn't interested in gigantic plates of pasta, potatoes or rice. I ordered the "Skinnylicious Salmon". It was simple grilled salmon with several veggies on the side. The salmon was actually really good. I was impressed! DH and I also split a stuffed mushroom appetizer and by the time I was done, I didn't have room for the cheesecake (probably a good thing for my waistline!).
So, got me to thinking - where have you had a pretty decent meal lately at a chain restaurant?
They weren't recent, but I have had one or two surprisingly excellent meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. I think the local manager has a lot of discretion in setting the standards.
I had a really good meal at TGIF's, I had ordered the veggie burger and the manager came to tell me that they were completely out of veggie burgers. He said apologized and said he knew that they had no other vegetarian options on the menu, but that their chef was excited to make me any vegetarian entree I could think of, special order.
The Chef made me excellent veggie fajitas. He must have sauted every vegetable they had in the house, and served it with fresh salsas, guacamole, a plate of fresh chopped veggies alongside and a small plate of shredded cheeses.
An excellent meal, and they didn't even charge me. The manager said it was on the house since they didn't have the veggie burger I had originally ordered.
What a nice experience, I sent an email to the company to tell them about the outstanding service at this TGIF.
They weren't recent, but I have had one or two surprisingly excellent meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. I think the local manager has a lot of discretion in setting the standards.
I've never had a bad one at Red Lobster. Texas Roadhouse is another good one. I've never had anything but some of the best chicken at Chick-fil-A either. UNO's Chicago pizza is always top notch too. I have noticed some of those chains that have closed recently though. I have no idea why. I think that is the best pizza I ever had. The deep dish Chicago with a bunch of meat on it.
I don't eat in chain places that much anymore but I would have to say Panera bread. I always get great sandwiches soups and salads there. I go there for lunch once a month with my mom.
They weren't recent, but I have had one or two surprisingly excellent meals at Olive Garden and Red Lobster. I think the local manager has a lot of discretion in setting the standards.
You know that's one of the reasons I said "chains have their place". Sometimes when you're out of town, you need someplace that's reliable and consistent. You do know that OG and RL are owned by the same company right? Some of the items on their menus are the same, but I gotta say that the garlic cheese biscuits at Red Lobster are yummo!
i was pleasantly surprised by a recent visit to bonefish grill. i was disappointed by a visit to carrabas. however, i will say on behalf of carrabas i chose a less fattening entree that had less of a chance of succeeding than if i chose what actually looked tastiest. the fried calamari was mediocre though.
All vegetarian dishes at a local Thai place. The food was so good I didn't even miss the meat.
Last edited by Bulldogdad; 04-06-2012 at 01:05 PM..
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