Dunno if anyone else mentioned, but WINGSTOP... that's the stuff.
Gonna hop on the regional love for Culvers. We hit it not infrequently when wife is home.
We are very fond of a chain burger joint called Meatheads (no relation to our Meathead that I know of), and we used to hit up a joint called Smashburger, but I think they all folded.
Not news to anyone, but Popeyes is the way and the truth for fried breaded chicken.
Retired, living in Western Mass. Enjoy music, cooking and my family.
Current cookers Weber Spirit 3 burner with a full insert griddle added. A 22" Kettle with vortex, SnS and a Smokey Joe. The most recent addition is a Pit Barrel Jr with bird hanger, 4 hooks and cover. ThermoWorks Smoke 2 probe, DOT, 2 ThermoPops and a Thermapen MK4. A Thermoworks RFX Gateway 2 probe meat thermometer.
Really not a chain fan. Many years ago, IHOP for breakfast and Out Back and 99 for dinner. Since Covid only been out twice, and my wife a couple of other times with her friends at a Longhorn. She likes it. I think she gets a salad. We are getting back into it. Much rather go to local places. They've been hammered so I want to support them. And the food is good. Not Michelin Star rated but good. However, there a few in the general area rated Might have to look into it.
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A Wegmans or here in our area local super market, Big Y has great variety for eating in or take out. Like a food court. From pizza to sushi and everything in between.
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I used to work in quite a few chain restaurants and because of one job, ate in tons others.
Portillo’s will always have my heart.
I am not going to bash places, especially since several of them are mentioned here. It’s just that being in the industry for as long as I have, I know too much.
And like also mentioned above, I give to my local spots as much as possible. But when those crinkle fries with cheesy sauce from Portillo’s comes a-calling…. The heart wants what the heart wants.
The only chain we go to more than once in a blue moon is Five Guys. But that’s burger joint not a "restaurant". Cheesecake Factory maybe? Haven’t been in years though. Idk, if I’m going out for a catch all restaurant I’d probably go to a diner. Yeah it’s probably a NJ thing. Most people would rather go to a diner than a chain. This place is incredible- Tops Diner. The menu is like a Russian novel. Everything’s good and the portions are redonkulous.
I am not a fan of most chains. I will frequent fast food spots just for the convenience.
There are way to many local places around that are way better than the chains. Local sub shops are way way better than Subways. Flip the Bird is better than Chick -Fil -A. Pizza same.
I do like Capitol Grill for steaks or Abe and Louie's.
Same. I only go to chains, or eat fast food, when I’m on the road. I don’t quite get the point of fast food if I’m home. And I have much better choices for food if I want a proper restaurant.
To echo SheilaAnn , we think a lot has to do with what's around you -- some towns have limited dining options vs larger cities.
We know of one instance where THE place to go in town was the local steak buffet bar (think Ponderosa, Bonanza, Golden Corral, etc). They were the only place that did steaks in the region, so they regularly had lines out the door for Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Valentines, Proms, etc.
Similarly, for some areas, Applebee's or Chili's may be the highlight of the area because there's nothing else of that level around.
While it's fun to make punchlines about chains that we may feel are inferior quality-wise to others -- some places may not have choices and those really could be the best quality restaurant food available in those markets.
That being said --- we cringe every time we hear friends/family say that they stopped off at Applebee's for dinner knowing that there are more interesting options to go to in their part of town..
For me it’s Norma’s Cafe. The one in Frisco, Tx is incredible. I love comfort food. You can order chicken and dressing, southern fried catfish, chicken fried steak, and the desserts are off the chart. You can order coconut cream, lemon, or chocolate pie. There’s also German chocolate cake, blackberry cobbler, and peach cobbler. I think all of their locations are near Dallas. The locations and menu’s are on line.
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