Best and Worst Chain Restaurants

[Arab Nights (imported)]

There is an un-named pizza chain in Nevada whose product would get to me. I ate one in Elko and missed my connection the next day. I was up all night with one end or the other on the toilet. I must have kept the entire hotel up all night as I expelled three times my body volume in gas and would have been totally embarrassed had I not been so miserable. The next time I tried it, everything went fine until after breakfast the next morning. I was driving across the Carson Sink and rapidly realized that I was not going to make it 20 miles to the next bathroom. The good news was that not a car in sight, only a train some distance back on the tracks paralleling the highway. So I went behind the PU, squatted and headed nature's call. The bad news was that the train was AMTRACK. Complete with an observation car. Moon AMTRACK!

[amahl_shukup (imported)]

Just curious about which of the chain restaurants people like the most, and which ones they avoid. .

Down here we have a franchise called "Five Guys -- Burgers and Fries" and it's just about the best hamburger going for the price. They are ALWAYS busy, and people just can't seem to get enough of them; trouble is, they don't serve milkshakes, just cola's. Another one I like is Salsarita, a chain Tex-Mex kind of place. And Captain D's, a seafood fast food place, is actually quite decent for what you get, plus they've added a new item at our local stores of Salmon or Talapia sandwiches...yum, very good.

Ones to avoid-- Arby's, McD's, Hardee's, Burger King. Speaking of Hardee's, last year they had an ad on TV showing a big thick cheeseburger with a slinky blonde Paris Hilton-lookalike, and she was slithering around on the floor and a sleek sportscar while devouring the cheeseburger. I'm sure that ad sold a lot of cheeseburgers, but when I went to try it out all I saw was a bored counter clerk (a fat chick who had more grease on her than the cheeseburger) and after she got off her cell phone, she finally (and begrudgingly) took my order...the cheeseburger came and it was all, 100% disappointment...half-cooked patty, and the burger was haphazardly put together...Jesus, what a fuckin' mess. Last time EVER that I went to Hardees...never again. Not that I expected to actually SEE a slinky blonde slithering around their food prep area (although that would be an EXCELLENT idea) but the burger itself and the "service" I got was precisely the opposite of what I expect when I go to a restaurant.

[coinflipper_21 (imported)]

There is an un-named pizza chain in Nevada whose product would get to me. I ate one in Elko and missed my connection the next day. I was up all night with one end or the other on the toilet. I must have kept the entire hotel up all night as I expelled three times my body volume in gas and would have been totally embarrassed had I not been so miserable. The next time I tried it, everything went fine until after breakfast the next morning. I was driving across the Carson Sink and rapidly realized that I was not going to make it 20 miles to the next bathroom. The good news was that not a car in sight, only a train some distance back on the tracks paralleling the highway. So I went behind the PU, squatted and headed nature's call. The bad news was that the train was AMTRACK. Complete with an observation car. Moon AMTRACK!

Back in the '50s I was riding the El Capitan to Chicago. The rolling stock was all high level coaches which, in effect, made every car an observation car. Somewhere in Colorado, as the train was slowly climbing a steep grade, we could see a cowboy on horseback in the distance. When he saw the train coming he rode, at breakneck speed, to meet the train as it went through a cut that put him on level with the car windows. He arrived just before the train, dismounted, dropped his pants, and mooned the train as it went by. Must get boring out on the range.

By the way, the food on the train was fantastic, back when the Santa Fe was running it, and even by the standards of the day, inexpensive. Was my favorite place to eat in those days, despite what the above related incident may have done the appetites of those who happened to be in the dining car at the time.

[kristoff]

Back in the '50s I was riding the El Capitan to Chicago. The rolling stock was all high level coaches which, in effect, made every car an observation car. Somewhere in Colorado, as the train was slowly climbing a steep grade, we could see a cowboy on horseback in the distance. When he saw the train coming he rode, at breakneck speed, to meet the train as it went through a cut that put him on level with the car windows. He arrived just before the train, dismounted, dropped his pants, and mooned the train as it went by. Must get boring out on the range.

By the way, the food on the train was fantastic, back when the Santa Fe was running it, and even by the standards of the day, inexpensive. Was my favorite place to eat in those days, despite what the above related incident may have done the appetites of those who happened to be in the dining car at the time.

I've met a couple of cowboys' asses, and a couple that were asses.... Sounds like fun - that train and that cowboy.

[NaziNuts (imported)]

Just curious about which of the chain restaurants people like the most...

There are some wonderful spas in Toronto, but I do not know if they are franchised.

The BDSM rooms have some nice chains.

The cafes on the main floors have some nice food.

The teacher nuns in my elementary school would have smacked me with a metre stick for that answer. But maybe those corporal reactions were what started my interest in restaurants with chains. Hopefully my humor won't get the pink chainsaw rev'd up on me by Holy K...

-NeinNaziYahLittleNuts

[Bagoas (imported)]

I recall that when Dairy Queen first introduced their brazier burgers, most of the young fellows I knew called them "brassiere burgers" .

This may have been suggested by the feminist practise of brassiere burning which was at its peak at the time.

[emasculateme (imported)]

Living in the NY area...i tend to avoid Italian chains, though every once in a while, Olive Garden isn't bad.

i used to really enjoy Famous Daves also, as a few mentioned earlier, but lately it's been spotty around here...much prefer some local BBQ places.

For burgers...White Castle...no place makes a burger like that...though In-n-Out isn't bad, neither is Sonic, for that matter...when out of town, i tend to look for a Sonic.

For a good burrito, i head to Moe's Southwest Grill...tasty, and reasonable.

i tend to avoid Applebees, Taco Bell, and Burger King.

[hazbalz (imported)]

There's a chain in the southeast called Sonny's Barbeque that is pretty good and reasonable. Carrabbas Italian Grill is also good. Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill are adequate. I once ate at a place in Orlando called Chevy's. Don't know if its a chain, it sure looked like one. They are Tex-Mex and were damned good.

Avoid Arby's, Mickey D's, Waffle House, IHOP, Long John Silver's and all those fried, salty, artery clogging chains.

Anybody like chain pizza? IMHO, they all suck, especially Domino's.

[MacTheWolf (imported)]

I'm too far from most decent restaurants and I have no vehicle. If those two obstacles were overcome, these are my food places of choice:

Restaurants - Home Towne Buffet, Alfredo's Pizza, Coco's,

Fast Food - Wendy's, In&Out, Pizza Hut, El Pollo Loco, Arby's Roast Beef, Taco Bell, etc.

Yup, that sums up my expensive culinary tastes

[Paolo]

Fast Food - Wendy's, In&Out, Pizza Hut, El Pollo Loco, Arby's Roast Beef, Taco Bell, etc.

Great places for someone with a blood sugar issue to eat...