Do the national casual dining chains get an unfair bad reputation? (beer, appetizers)

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I've been dating someone new over the past few months, and she's a fairly picky eater. I'll go for pretty much anything, but she likes to stick to a lot of well-known chains. I haven't been to many in years.

1) She loves Outback. It's overpriced, but OK.

2) She also likes Logan. It's a little more reasonable than Outback

3) Olive Garden. I've always liked OG and never understood why people hated it so much. It doesn't compete with local restaurants, but it's by no means.

4) Applebees. She likes it, I really don't aside from the bourbon street steak/chicken. We can go there for about the price of one at Outback though.

I probably wouldn't go to these places on my own, but OG and Applebee's in particular seem to get a bad rap. Do you think the chains are unfairly beaten down?

I have a friend that works at Olive Garden. They get a lot of their entrees frozen in pre-portioned containers. Of course the salads are fresh, but I am not crazy about paying good money for glorified TV dinners.

I have never liked the food at Applebees, Chili's or many of the other chains. There are so many good independent restaurants I would much rather patronize.

[kokonutty]

If only the food at these chains was half as good in reality as it looks in the closeups in their advertising...

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Army_Guy

I think a lot of it has to do with people being snobby.

Is it the highest food quality? No but I don't think people go there for that. They go for consistency. Some people are just afraid of "different" food. I have a friend like that. He's the type of guy who will stick with Pizza Hut no matter where he is because it's what he knows. He knows it's consistent. Whether it's consistently good or not depends on your perspective.

I enjoy a great meal, I also enjoy the unique food experience of where I'm at.

I think that the first point is highly accurate.

I through a get together in Chicago. I purchased the same items from the local BBQ joint that they all seemed to like as their reviews were glowing. Personally, I despised the place as they screwed up two catering functions at the plant that I organized. And I brought in the same items from Famous Dave's. I disposed of all containers and used my own china. On two of the three items, Famous Dave's got the nod. After the meal was served under the pretext that I was looking for a new caterer and all the voted were tallied, i showed the reveal.

I eat at chains and I eat at local places. I have some great meals at both and some real disasters.

What I get tired of which is almost a constant among CERTAIN City-data posters is the, "I haven't eaten there in 30 years and the food there sucks." Or the "it is a chain and therefore, it sucks." At least the food critics on-line might actually visit the place before posting a review. However, some CD posters are psychic.

[Mikala43]

That's fine, but many haven't eaten at those places in years and have tried them.

I wouldn't say I'm a food snob, but I am picky about where I eat out. Mainly because if I am going to pay money I want it to be something I couldn't do better at in my own kitchen.

[jencam]

I only like Chili's out of all these chains in the same price-range, and my friends and fam are the same. Applebees is just horrible. May as well save money and get fast-food.

[jencam]

Originally Posted by Mikala43

That's fine, but many haven't eaten at those places in years and have tried them.

I wouldn't say I'm a food snob, but I am picky about where I eat out. Mainly because if I am going to pay money I want it to be something I couldn't do better at in my own kitchen.

Hm. Well, ok what I order at Chili's I can make better myself BUT to me it's good enough to not have to cook and clean up the mess, and then there are their Margaritas.

[thinkalot]

Originally Posted by Mikala43

That's fine, but many haven't eaten at those places in years and have tried them.

I wouldn't say I'm a food snob, but I am picky about where I eat out. Mainly because if I am going to pay money I want it to be something I couldn't do better at in my own kitchen.

Do you actually think the food is the same as it was 30 years ago? Even McDonalds is very different from the way it was in 1965, and 1975, and 1985.

A franchise will almost always be cleaner since they don't want to lose their franchise. A mom and pop only has to worry about the government inspections.

An acquaintance of mine supplies a certain food item to the majority of restaurants in over half of the USA. From McDonalds to the most famous trendy places. Same item but the prices sure aren't the same.

When I worked in manufacturing we made things for many companies. The EXACT same thing in different packaging and different prices.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I've been dating someone new over the past few months, and she's a fairly picky eater. I'll go for pretty much anything, but she likes to stick to a lot of well-known chains. I haven't been to many in years.

1) She loves Outback. It's overpriced, but OK.

2) She also likes Logan. It's a little more reasonable than Outback

3) Olive Garden. I've always liked OG and never understood why people hated it so much. It doesn't compete with local restaurants, but it's by no means.

4) Applebees. She likes it, I really don't aside from the bourbon street steak/chicken. We can go there for about the price of one at Outback though.

I probably wouldn't go to these places on my own, but OG and Applebee's in particular seem to get a bad rap. Do you think the chains are unfairly beaten down?

this simply depends on your taste and probably your food sophistication. The chains you are referring to are just basic food and there are dozens of them around. As for Outback, I do not understand why you think they are a bit expensive. As for Olive Garden, if you don't know much about true Italian cooking or are not used to really good home cooking it is ok, but that is about as it goes. If you eat out a lot and have not been exposed to truly top of the line dining, chains are just fine and they serve a purpose. Heck we do not eat out often, prefer independent, really good food and yet, I love Steak and Shake for lunch. It is good, filling food for just a few bucks. One more thing, the only advantage to a place like Applebee's is you know what to expect. We often depend on chains when traveling, but there is a reason many are going out of business.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by saibot

Honestly, I find them completely mediocre. We go to Outback, Olive Garden, Chili's, Claim Jumper, etc., only when invited by my in-laws for a family event, but that is often enough. More than that, the quality, which was never that great, seems to have noticeably declined in about the past 10 years. I used to really like Claim Jumper in particular, but it's just not very good any more. And the prices are not good either for what you get.

My 18-year-old daughter has commented that these chains, at least in our area, are frequented mainly by the 50+ crowd. It's true. I think they're going to be in trouble in the future; younger people tend to like small cafes and pubs, ethnic food, fast-casual like Chipotle, anything but the sit-down chains.

Guess what? I think you daughter is all wet: At least our experience has been. on the few times we have wandered into these chains, they are more often filled with families or younger people stopping in at lunch or after work for a drink and appetizer. Our kids in their 50s and us at 80 enjoy a good meal, not a slightly upscale fast food meal.

[dothetwist]

I avoid them like the plague. Sometimes we get roped into them when "dining" with large family groups because these chains serve bland foods that old people and small kids can tolerate.