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Here at home I'd rather have a Mom & Pop.....they're always better than the ones with the snooty waiters.
When we travel by car....
On the actually driving days, we will stop at chains we like, mainly for the convenience and knowing what we'll get. Once we get to where we're going, we will scope out the local places.
Since restaurants in the Portland-Metro area can't make fried chicken worth a turd, I get it at Popeye's.
In Calif, if there's an Inn-N-Out around, I scurry for their burgers. I also like the burgers at Carl's Jrs. Those are the ONLY fast-food burgers I like, although Dairy Queen follows close. Those three do NOT micro-wave the whole burgers. I hate "hot buns", unless they're toasted on the grill.
When I recently spent 10 days in NYC I ate a LOT of pizza slices, mostly at the same pizzeria. It was wonderful.
We don't patron local Mom 'n' Pop places like we used to. The one we used to go to frequently has gone downhill with the quality of their food. So has the little Mexican place we were partial to. When a restaurant starts cutting corners by tampering with the quality of the food, people notice.
On the other hand, we stopped in at the local Shari's the other day, and I was surprised to notice that their menu has improved significantly.
It depends if I am on a tight budget than I will eat at a chain restaurant instead of the more expensive mom & pop restaurants.
It seems like this used to be the case, that chains were cheaper than local places. And it made sense because if you have 1000 restaurants the economy of scale kicks in and you can buy your equipment/ingredients/etc. for less than someone who owns 1 restaurant.
But I've noticed that now chains seem just as pricey - or moreso - than local places. (For instance, I can't believe what California Pizza Kitchen is now charging for a cheap type of food, or how much Fuddruckers charges for a burger, or Olive Garden.) And that was the one advantage they had, because their food was typically less interesting.
So now, I have no reason whatsoever to frequent a chain, when something else is available.
Local restaurants ALL DAY EVERYDAY!
Local restaurants, the good ones, tend to have fresher food from the meats, to the veggies. Theres nothing like having a steak that hasnt been in the freezer for the entire week or other foods filled with preservatives. But at the same time, you have to know which local restaurants to go to. Ive been to a few places in my day that are just aching to be on Kitchen Nightmares.
Dont get me wrong though. There are a few chain retaurants that are good, like Applebees, but if you know which locals to go to, they are heaven. They dont even have to fill up your entire plate to make you feel satisfied.
With two exceptions (Golden Corral and Cracker Barrel) I will not eat at chain restaurants. They all taste the same. Sometimes an independently owned restaurant will taste like the Sysco Truck just pulled away, but usually they are better. Usually.
I don't really have a preference, as long as the food tastes good.
If I am in a certain part of town, I might go to a local place rather than a chain but more times than not, I am just thinking, "Is it going to be good and how much will it cost me?"
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