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| Top ten food chains in North America; Feature in the Washington Post | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 16 2017, 08:05 AM (165 Views) | |
| calgone | Dec 16 2017, 08:05 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/201...popular-chains/ His number one legitimately made me angry and I had to make this thread |
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| Bratwurst | Dec 16 2017, 08:21 AM Post #2 |
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BIG JERK
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The last time I ate at Cracker Barrel I was served an open faced sandwich with coal-burnt bread that had been masked with strategically placed meat and gravy. Fucking nasty. It's shit because it's predominantly a haven for old people who have no tastebuds or they're too senile to know any better. |
LOOK LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THE FORUMS ARE NOW
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| calgone | Dec 16 2017, 10:53 AM Post #3 |
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Agreed. Having fucking Denny's as #2 is just as bad. |
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| portnoyd | Dec 16 2017, 04:32 PM Post #4 |
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WET NOSE
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Mmmm, fat person thread. From the bottom up... Buffalo Wild Wings deserves the last spot. Hell, it shouldn't be anywhere near the list. The guy is 100% correct. Outback is a driver's license test for eating steak out. You do it once, pass and never do it again. Red Lobster should really be renamed Red Biscuits. And just serve biscuits. If you want seafood, a chain restaurant you should not go to. Chili's is really the best of the bunch. Of course, that's a sad, sad bunch but it still is. Applebees is total shit. Just total shit. So is Olive Garden and their breadsticks are flavorless. Never been to Texas Roadhouse. Lol Denny's. LOL Cracker Barrel. I have been to a Cracker Barrel once. I went with a friend who turned 30 and wanted to feel old since he was now 30 (also lol). The food was unremarkable. |
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| Bratwurst | Dec 16 2017, 05:00 PM Post #5 |
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BIG JERK
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Port, if you would, please provide a list of restaurant chains that appeal more to your personal palate. |
LOOK LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THE FORUMS ARE NOW
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| portnoyd | Dec 16 2017, 06:52 PM Post #6 |
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WET NOSE
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Why thank you, sausage person initiating conversation. The Mrs and I used to be more into chain restaurants when we first started dating but they have fallen into a hard skid. We used to like Applebees but holy shit, did they ever tank hard. These days, we just kinda avoid sit down chain restaurants. Especially with two young kids. They just aren't good uses of money and what you get at a normal fast food restaurant isn't too far off from what you get at a chain restaurant. All the food is made at copackers, made to order so you get the same thing at every place. People scoff at how everything at a Taco Bell comes in a bag (or somewhere else... can't remember) but it's not that different at a TGIFridays. There is no chef in the back putting a different spin on that meal - it's all made as per corporate. If anything, because it's more of a "real" restaurant kitchen, there is more unintended variance meal to meal. I will rescind a bit of my Wild Wings comment. You should go to BWW. Go in, go to the front desk, buy the sauce you want, leave. The sauces are a good selection and worth trying. Just put it on your own meal and save $60. Also, the author of that article is crazy - the parm garlic sauce is actually really good. The boneless wings are indeed too salty and the chicken doesn't even try and be real - if you tear off the breading, it's all cube shapes. Lol. As far as places I like, there are a few. There is a bizarre non-chain chain here in NJ/PA called Frank's Pizza. None of the restaurants are related, they don't have an overarching website or HQ that can be found but they are all the same. Same decor, same layout, same everything. By far the best chain pizza in existence, for sure, because it's NJ/NY pizza and made properly. For a while, Ruby Tuesdays had a pretzel burger that finally actually had a good pretzel bun. We went probably 5-6 times over 2 years (this is a lot for us) to get these until they bagged it... and then bagged the local franchise we went to. Oops. Otherwise, our eating out budget either goes to actual fast food (if I knew how much we have given the local Wendys, especially after we had kids, I'd probably shit my pants) or local joints. We have a local pizza place (not Frank's but... Vinny's) run by literally a goomba, his mom and his Italian bird of a wife. That sounds kind of insulting and it's not meant to be because they are nice people and make great food. But they are 150% Italian. Even the local diner, which reminds you every 5 seconds they were on the Food Network 3 times, is passed over because it's just too expensive and the food is mediocre. I hate to admit this but the bagel place we go to doesn't make proper Jersey bagels but we go anyway. It's largely the location and that this bagel place has successfully choked out any competition that pops up in our town. |
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| calgone | Dec 16 2017, 09:12 PM Post #7 |
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If I had to rank just the ten ranked by the Washington Post journalist I'd go 10. Denny's (Even if I was extremely hungry and happened upon one, I would continue to starve) 9. Cracker Barrel (Go to your local super market, buy Stouffer's brand frozen macaroni and cheese, now add four tablespoons of salt and butter and there you go. Will never eat here again) 8. Buffalo Wild Wings (At least they have a lot of beer on tap. Wings taste microwaved) 7. Ihop (Edible if you're in a pinch but why even do this to yourself) 6. Red Lobster ( I consider this trash however if it's between this and anything ranked below I'll go Red Biscuits) 5. Texas Roadhouse (Definition of mediocrity) 4. Applebees (Fine in a pinch. Would never go out of my way to eat there but again, it's not bad) 3. Olive Garden (If you enjoy americanized pasta and don't mind eating unhealthy, their fettuccine carbonara is surprisingly good and fresh-tasting. Your mileage may vary on anything that doesn't involve a rich sauce though) 2. Outback (It's funny, I really like everything BUT their steak. Great cobb salad, great garlic mashed potatoes, very good soups even. Also, and this goes without saying, the onion is a guilty pleasure) 1. Chilis (The only restaurant on this entire list I would visit out of my own free will and not out of desperation) |
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| calgone | Dec 16 2017, 09:21 PM Post #8 |
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Port: Texas Roadhouse is a cheaper version of outback. While I mean that in the actual price of the food, it also extends to the ambiance and clientele. It had a diner vibe and not in a good way. I'm still amazed Cracker Barrel is still in business. |
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| lizardmanlizardmanlizardman | Dec 17 2017, 12:15 AM Post #9 |
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Shitposter
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everyone in college fucking loved denny's and i never understood why. the best experience i ever had at a denny's was being blackout drunk, dine and dashing and never going back. |
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| Bratwurst | Dec 17 2017, 06:32 AM Post #10 |
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BIG JERK
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Applebees used to be okay until the early aughts, and after IHOP bought them out all hope was lost. I've had steaks brought to me that were cold and when I complained, they had obviously just microwaved the entire plate on the second go. I'm personally not very enamored with any chain franchises but my dad consistently defaults to Denny's or Cracker Barrel whenever we're on a road trip. When you've eaten at independent diners for a week or two in Canada & Quebec in particular, then come back down to the states, you immediately observe the plummet in quality. Even fucking McDonalds in Canada tastes better. |
LOOK LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THE FORUMS ARE NOW
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| Percy | Dec 17 2017, 10:13 AM Post #11 |
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Shitposter
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Out of all of these, I don't think Cracker Barrel is that bad. It's not great by any means but the breakfast is decent and the last time I was there I got chicken and dumplings that were actually pretty good. I don't really care for the crap store you have to wade through each time you go there or the cheesy Americana theme. The in-laws always want to go there. I've had much worse. Denny's is fine for hangover food, but hell I could make what I get there by myself for a fraction of the price. I used to go there a lot in college and on Sunday mornings there would be a ridiculous wait. BW3s was a place all my friends wanted to go in college all the time. We lived in a cool college town, with tons of unique restaurants and all they wanted to do was go to fucking B-dubs. It was OK to hang out there to watch a UFC or football but the wings are just OK and the smell of the place nauseates me. Every time I go to Chili's or Applebees I really struggle to find something on the menu that looks appetizing and I always end up being disappointed by the result. It's just all overseasoned to shit. These two are pretty much interchangeable in my head. Never been huge on Olive Garden, the fact that most people rave about the salad and breadsticks speaks volumes. Last time I went there and got a lasanga that tasted like it had been microwaved. Last time I went to a Texas Roadhouse it was because a relative gave us a gift card. The meal was mostly free and I still felt like I paid too much. Haven't been to an Outback in probably decades at this point. You can't go wrong with a big ass fried onion though. Overall, I don't really fuck with chain sit down places unless I have to. It's really easy nowadays to find local places that are some combination of better priced, better quality or more unique than any chain. There's lots of doom and gloom in the news about chains but every time I drive by Olive Garden on a Friday night, the place is fucking packed. I live in an Indianapolis suburb which is next to the mecca of shitty chain restaurants I don't eat a ton of real fast food (McD's etc...though the jalepeno McDouble is fire) nowadays but I like the fast casual stuff. I could probably eat Chipotle or Qdoba for every single meal and enjoy it every time. Most of my dining dollars probably goes to the hole in the wall gyro shop in my town. I remember when my hometown got an Applebees in like 1996 and that was a huge deal. Were big chains always this bad? Did they go downhill? Or did we all just have worse taste in food back then? |
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| Bratwurst | Dec 17 2017, 10:30 AM Post #12 |
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BIG JERK
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There used to be a hole in the wall gyro place on South Boulevard in Charlotte that was amazing but the owner went back to Greece to retire. I've hard to learn how to make gyros myself because all the other places in town don't have enough lamb in the kebab or they just make it completely out of beef. What the fuck. |
LOOK LOOK AT HOW AMAZING THE FORUMS ARE NOW
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| calgone | Dec 17 2017, 12:34 PM Post #13 |
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I usually hit one of these places if I'm on vacation for some reason. I'm lucky to be in an area that has a great Thai joint, tapas place and pizza. We definitely have a shortage of breakfast places here though. |
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| clawx | Dec 21 2017, 12:44 PM Post #14 |
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Administrator
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I am morbidly obese and would eat at all of these places. |
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| strx10 | Dec 21 2017, 05:49 PM Post #15 |
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Sexy Beast
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I dunno, aren't all these chains basically interchangeable at this point? Like doesn't one or two corporations own all of these and their food consists of the same junk, but with different magical sauce packs they reheat in the microwave? I just know that most fast food is better in terms of quality compared to these restaurants and is a hell of a lot cheaper as sad as that is. |
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