Favorite "bad" chain restaurants

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was going to say Macaroni Grill, but I just looked and almost all of them are gone!! I used to love them in grad school. Same with On the Border, they're almost all gone.

Instead, I'll say that I love Uncle Julio's.

Yes!! love their tortillas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cracker Barrel is better than people make it out to be. Just basic decent food, if you stay away from obvious calorie bombs.

Went once, will never return. Everything swimming in fat and salt (is their a weight requirement of 300 lbs to let you in? We felt like outsiders, and I am not a skinny-minny). But I digress.

On road trips for us, for a quick sit-down meal, it's Denny's, Bob Evan's, IHOP or Waffle House. But there's no vacation road trip that we don't stop at Dairy Queen for Blizzards! Chock-fill of chemicals and junk food, and delicious.

[Anonymous]

I lurv me some Cheesecake Factory. It is my personal dream to try every dish on that 55-page menu.

[Anonymous]

California Pizza Kitchen is my guilty pleasure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:California Pizza Kitchen is my guilty pleasure.

CPK is a "good" chain restaurant!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Outback. I don't think you can get a better steak for the money.

Agreed. I love Outback and Carraba's.

Longhorn does steak very well too.

[Anonymous]

How has no one said Red Lobster?

Red Lobster.

[Anonymous]

We love our Texas Roadhouse! Better steak than we got in our last visit to Outback (which was gross, both of them) and the fresh break...oh so yummy. Nothing to hate on here imo. TR has been as good every time we've visited. And ours is locally owned...by our young woman!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How has no one said Red Lobster?

Red Lobster.

Cheddar biscuits!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cracker Barrel is better than people make it out to be. Just basic decent food, if you stay away from obvious calorie bombs.

Went once, will never return. Everything swimming in fat and salt (is their a weight requirement of 300 lbs to let you in? We felt like outsiders, and I am not a skinny-minny). But I digress.

On road trips for us, for a quick sit-down meal, it's Denny's, Bob Evan's, IHOP or Waffle House. But there's no vacation road trip that we don't stop at Dairy Queen for Blizzards! Chock-fill of chemicals and junk food, and delicious.

Hating on Cracker Barrel but then list what you posted? C’mon

[Anonymous]

Bertucci’s! Haven’t been there in maybe a decade plus. The rolls 🤤. And any pizza, but esp a margherita with roasted garlic. They aren’t as common these days (or maybe in this area).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California Pizza Kitchen is my guilty pleasure.

CPK is a "good" chain restaurant!

I used to like this place 20+ years ago. And I went to one recently and it was so so bad. The quality was terrible and the place just seemed tired and depressing. Are they all like this now or just the one I visited? Either I had really bad taste back then or this place has gone really downhill. Nothing seemed fresh at all. Disappointing.

[Anonymous]

Going to Benihana’s tonight!! A childhood favorite

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if these chains count, but I love Clyde's and Chuy's.

Yup, Chuy's is one of our favorites. But I don't consider it a "bad" chain restaurant -- I think the food is actually good and a pretty great way to satisfy a craving for real TexMex or New Mexican food. I feel like a lot of people don't know about it, or maybe the food is too spice for many people? It's one of very few places in this area with decent green chili, for instance. Also chimichangas.

Anyway, go to Chuy's! I think the chain might really be struggling with Covid -- they've cut their menu back a lot and closed some spots. I would hate for it to go out of business! They are way better than anything else people have mentioned on this thread.

Chuys was great before the COVID menu change. Now it’s all frozen food, terrible IMO.

[Anonymous]

what's so special about the Olive Garden salad?