Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Food and Drink
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-02-2009, 04:47 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,675,147 times
Reputation: 18304

Advertisements

Never thought Chili's wasa anything other than a family restaurant like Applebees with nothing speciall food.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-02-2009, 04:48 PM
 
Location: USA
9,718 posts, read 6,407,383 times
Reputation: 31710
I used to do Happy Hour at both restaurants and they were great for that
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-02-2009, 10:33 PM
 
3,872 posts, read 8,698,202 times
Reputation: 3163
I like chili's eggrolls, boneless chicken "wings", and their battered chicken. yum.

we don't go that often, but it's not like they brought about the end of the world or anything. They're not overly expensive. In cities where they have a no smoking law, it's pleasant to go and chill out there - inexpensive, decent food and fun. In cities where smoking is allowed, then frankly, it's hell trying to sit there and breathe. But I guess that has nothing to do w/ the chain other than they should really separate the spaces more.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 05:10 AM
 
Location: Scott County, IA
509 posts, read 1,165,043 times
Reputation: 602
The downfall of Chili's is their horrendous rice and beans. I ordered rice and beans once, with my fajitas. It is one of my favorite things to order at "Mexican" restaurants. The monstrosity that the server brought out was not anything that should be served to humans.

Also, the chicken strips that we bought my child were the best tasting thing on the table. Weird.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 10:34 AM
 
3,020 posts, read 8,593,104 times
Reputation: 3282
When I was in my '20s, I lived about 3 blocks away from the very first Chili's restaurant at the corner of Meadow Road and Greenville Avenue in Dallas. It was a hugely popular restaurant from the very start - long lines out the door every evening. Their menu was simple - about 4 or 5 burgers, fries, soft tacos, and chili - the real thing. I even got to know one of the owners and he would usually buy my party a round of beer.

It started going downhill when he sold out to Norman Brinker (also a Dallas guy who started Steak 'N Ale). The final straw for me was when they stopped selling their original "bowl of red" Texas chili. Sacrilege at the very least. So much that I wrote to corporate offices complaining and I even visitied with a local franchise owner about it. He agreed with me.

Probably by coincidence, about 2 or 3 months later, the original "bowl of red" Texas chili was back. I will go there for that, and maybe a few other items, but it's not the same.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 01:39 PM
 
Location: Louisiana and Pennsylvania
3,011 posts, read 6,293,500 times
Reputation: 3128
Quote:
Originally Posted by bchris02 View Post
In small towns and suburbs the world over, everybody raves about Chili's. It is a popular social/hangout spot among other things, and you'll usually wait an hour or more to get in if it's a weekend night. However, I don't see what all the fuss is about. As a bar/hangout there are better options and the food is virtually identical to places like Applebees, Friday's, Bennigan's, etc which is really just pre-packaged food as you would find at KFC, McDonalds, Taco Bell, etc. Why not just go to McDonalds and get the same burger for $1 instead of $10? In addition, its my opinion that Chili's is a poster child for the homogenization that has overtaken every aspect of American life. Is there something I am not seeing? If I had to grade Chili's it would get a solid F. From an objective standpoint, the food is not horrible but it is still FAST FOOD and should be priced like it.
Nothing special at all about Chili's now and frankly between there and Applebee's, the food is horrible. I remember when going to Chili's back in the late 80s the food was a lot better then.

I will give Ruby's a thumb's up on their burgers and other fare.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 01:40 PM
 
Location: Louisiana and Pennsylvania
3,011 posts, read 6,293,500 times
Reputation: 3128
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bella52 View Post
I used to do Happy Hour at both restaurants and they were great for that
True..At least a beer can't be screwed up, lol.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 04:28 PM
bjh
 
59,952 posts, read 30,275,344 times
Reputation: 135668
If other people enjoy them, I'm happy for them, but I've never had a meal I enjoyed at Chili's so to me it is a mystery. Also, not great service. I would say maybe they were having a bad day, but it's happened a few times.

Olive Garden is another heat it up place, but their adverts try to make it sound like they have chefs back there. Not bloody likely.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 04:36 PM
 
458 posts, read 1,668,380 times
Reputation: 369
I too prefer Applebees. I like their steak a lot better than any of the other "equivalent" restaurants.

Edited: WAIT! Somebody mentioned Ruby Tuesdays. I really like their food the best. But it's smaller portions for greater cost, so we don't go as often.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2009, 04:49 PM
 
224 posts, read 687,869 times
Reputation: 185
what about Outbacks? is it the same as those, I agree that Olive Garden falls into the category, but I still like to eat there... are they all prepackaged?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Food and Drink
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:53 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top