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Il Fornaio
Roy's Restaurant Hy's Steakhouse And while not upscale, Duke's on Waikiki Beach. |
So true, Patrick. I had no idea that Maggiano's was a chain until I saw Jacketwatch's post yesterday. It probably listed all of their locations in the menu, but I didn't see it.
I am also sure that some people would be totally surprised that you can use your Marriott rewards to stay at the Ritz - might not be the same for some if they can't say they outright paid $500/night :) |
Cheescake Factory - a bit pricey but the food is quite good--love the avocado egg rolls
Poquito Mas - great veggie burrito Can someone please tell me what to order at PF Chang's? I have been there twice and both times, the food was just awful. I left thinking that the four-dollar lunch special at the chinese restaurant down the street was far superior! |
I subscribe to "Nations Restaurant News," the weekly news magazine of the restaurant industry. Reading the ads in that publication has been very disillusioning and eye-opening because it is amazing how much of what is served at restaurants - chain or not - is bought from a third party...desserts, sauces, veggies, BBQ'd meats...the list is endless. So don't for a minute think that if you aren't eating at a chain, the food is necessarily "home made."
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Indeed. But be sure that pre-snob days when I was open to chains (P.F. Changs, Smith and Wollensky's, Ruth's Chris, Legal Seafoods) I was constantly disappointed.
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PF Changs and Cheesecake Factory. We don't have either yet in my city but in the past year I have eaten at PF Changs in Birmingham, Tulsa, Kansas City, Dallas and Los Angeles. I've fallen in love with their lettuce wraps (I am trying to perfect them at home but not there quite yet). What is Pei Wei and how is it pronounced? I just saw a sign for this today for the first time near the mall. Rumor has it that we will get a PF Changs withing the next year here in OKC.
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Missypie, you are totally correct. Very similar to "designer" items (clothes, household items, generics ect) that are manufacted right next to the no-names, but sold to the designer with the big name imprint. I know because I work for such a company.
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Hi Paige,
Pei Wei (Pay Way) is an offshoot of PF Changs so it includes some of their signature dishes (including the lettuce wraps and crispy honey shrimp/chicken), but you walk up to the counter to order, then find a place to sit. They still have a wait staff that brings you your food and refills your drinks. Our kids love the plate full of edamame-in-the-pod for $2.95! The Pei Wei here in Tulsa is WILDLY successful. I'm pretty sure they have a website that you can find via google. |
Joy, you said..."Heaven knows that if you go to a non-chain, truly upscale restaurant and pay a lot of money, there is no fat or salt in their food and the patrons are all bone-thin."
You are right, of course, private restaurants do use salt and butter, etc, but they also cook fresh vegetables and use fresh ingredients..Or maybe I am just not adjusted yet to the land of strip malls and Famous Amos..but do come to Jacksonville, there do happen to be some fabulous restaurants here too :) |
hehe seetheworld, Patrick
reminds me of a posting a while back on the a Carribean forum recommending a resort because there was no riffraff in there using credit card points to get free nights :) |
Ooo I remembered another no one has mentioned...
The Melting Pot - 3 hour fondue marathons!! |
At the risk of offending many, here are my thoughts on some of the aforementioned chains:
1. Maggianos = Bad 2. Bucca di Beppo = worse 3. Olive Garden = inedible 4. Cheesecake Factory = epitome of mediocrity 5. PF Changs = hit or miss 6. Morton's = Not what it once was 7. Ruth's Chris = butter on the steak; potatoes wrapped in foil--need I say more? 8. Roy's = hit or miss 9. Puck's Cafe's = inconsistent The only two chains I have tried that have been good and consistent are: 1. Il Fornaio = Never had a bad meal at any of them 2. Oceanaire = Eaten at two and they were both amaing. AL ((d)) |
I must say this is an entertaining thread, and it's stayed remarkably civil! I'm not completely condemning chains, and if you like one or the other, wonderful for you. But for me, I want to occasionally experience some joy in my dining-- not just a full feeling after the "gut-buster" special over at Claim Jumper (where I've seen platoons of morbidly obese people leave after dinner with doggie bags, moaning in pain).
My favorite local Sicilian joint is run by a big, gregarious guy from Palermo by way of Brooklyn. No great atmosphere, simple pasta and marinara dishes, cursory wine list, yet the place is always packed. Why? The food tastes of quality ingredients, and it tastes like someone made it who enjoys making good food. Even the simplest tomato salad-- vine-ripened romas, garlic, basil, red onion, salt, pepper, olive oil-- bursts with good cheer. I just don't get that at Olive Garden. |
Al-- your ratings sound like mine!
Great-- now I'm having a huge craving for some Black Brandywine tomatoes, and the Farmer's Market outside my office is over!! Dammit...! |
rjw_lgb_ca,
I agree, I think we have similar "tastes" in food. You have some good ones out there in your area too. Frenchy's, L'Opera, Walt's Wharf (Walter Babcock was my dentist while growing up in Seal Beach). Been to that dinosaur Kelly's--in Naples--lately? AL ((d)) |
No, haven't been to Kelly's. I'm a big fan of Christy's in Belmont Heights-- I need to get to her ex-husband's place in Naples, Nico's (I think she still has a hand in it, as they're still very close friends)....
But as I'm still on a diet, who gets to really tie on the high-class feed bag on a regular basis? |
OK, I wanna play this game too! :)
My favorite and not so favorite upscale, midscale, downscale restaurants are, listed in order of my preferences: Il Fornaio Legal Seafood Maggiano's Little Italy Outback Steakhouse Red Lobster (just had some fab clams there - somewhere in the midwest, can't remember where!) Fish Market Elephant Bar Pasta Pomodoro In n Out Burger Astro Burgers (in LA) Cheesecake Factory Sweet Tomatoes Macaroni Grill McDonald's Mexican Salad (not its real name, can't remember the name, but had it for the first time this last week and it was good! Better than most restaurant salads!) The two chains that I NEVER EVER go to are: Olive Garden, and PF Chang If you wouldn't take a real Italian to Olive Garden, you shouldn't take a real Chinese to P F Chang's. Out here on the West Coast, you can get lettuce wrap in almost 80% of the standard Chinese restaurants. It usually has a bird - chicken, duck, goose, squab - meat and sometimes you can request your choice of meat. It's all chopped up fine with some veggies, mushrooms, etc. and - with a bit of plum sauce - you wrap it all up in a sheet of lettuce, just like a burrito. Good edamame can be obtained from Costco in the frozen food section and you can take it home and cook it yourself. It is also served in a lot of sushi boat places. It's just soybeans cooked in their shell with some salt added. The Japanese do it best. Like good pasta which has to be cooked "al dente", well done edamame has to have the right "crunch". Even the Panda Express, standard Food Court offerings, offers better tasting Asian food than the confused mess of PF Chang, IMHO. To each his own. I also had a horrible meal at the Left Bank here in Silicon Valley and so will never go to one of those restaurants again. My favorite kind of dining is in the one-of-a-kind restaurants. They don't have to be expensive, just have good food. That's what going to a restaurant is all about - good food, good wine, good company, good service - happy, happy! designmr, fun thread! Thanks for starting it! :) |
Don't talk to me about dieting: I've been trying to drop a few pounds, too (leaving for an Alaskan cruise this weekend). Been to Nico's and also had a good meal at the Greek restaurant in Belmont Shores (Mykonos?) the last time I was out there.
By the way, Kelly's used to serve great steaks and seafood in the kind of atmosphere (clubby bar with wood and leather) that's gone the way of the Dodo. Also, they used to make their own port-heavy pate' which is complementary with all dinners. Ah, the good old days! Al ((d)) |
Olive Garden in Canada is horrible. I hope the U.S. version is better. I've tried to get into P.F. Chang's but there's always a huge line up at any of their locations. (I hate to wait in line for anything.) I like Cheesecake Factory and Bistro Zinc (I think that's a chain as I've been to one in Chicago and one in Phoenix). In Canada, Kelsey's is pretty good but it's more medium than upscale range. Bifteck is also good.
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antlori: Do you mean Le Bifthèque? My parents used to take me to one outside Montréal when they lived there. Wonderful (although I could never get into the escargots)!! There was a mini-chain of prime rib joints called Mother Tucker's (in Québec: "Chez la Mère Tucker") that was great too. Is that still around?
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I don't really consider any of these upscale, but my favorite chains are:
Maggiano's Macaroni Grill Outback Chili's Longhorn I guess I will have to give The Cheesecake Factory another go..the only time I have been it was just too loud. I like Carabba's ok..DH hates it so we never go. Neither of us care for Olive Garden very much. Great thread designmr..thanks for starting. Just got a gift certificate for Roy's...can't wait to try it! |
Add me to the list of Olive Garden haters! Their red sauce is obviously canned...yuck!
Chains that I like: Maggiano's Cheesecake Factory Saltgrass Steak House Texas Land & Cattle Co. Pappadeaux And one that I visit every time I am in New England, and I WISH we had here in Texas: LEGAL SEAFOOD |
Wow. This is great. In the interest of disclosure, I'm not seeking dining options for my travels (I, too, always go local), but ideas for a development opportunity. Thanks for the input!! :)
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designmr: No,no,no young man- you can't get off that easy. You need to tell us now what you are thinking (just generally, so as not to give away your secrets) about what kind of chain you will develop and how you will position it, using all our good input!
A cross btwn Pappadeux and Macaroni Grill? what?? |
This is one of those gems to bookmark--lots of great suggestions.
Sorry if I'm repeating, but in FL we love Bonefish Grill and Stonewood Grill. I don't know if they are located in any other states. |
Yes, rjw_lgb_ca, that's the one I'm talking about, but in Ontario we spell it Bifteck. It's the same chain though because I asked the manager of our local establishment. And yes, Mother Tucker's is still around but they've changed the name to Tucker's Marketplace and it's now a buffet-style restaurant. I'm not fond of buffet restaurant but this one is a cut above the normal. There's a bunch of ready-made dishes to choose from, but they also do stir fry, burgers and steaks on demand. Plus the place is usually so busy that none of the food sits under lights for very long.
I saw someone else mentioned Legal Seafood and I just wanted to say that it is one of my favorites in Boston. |
I like Il Fornaio (went to the one across frm the Santa Monica Pier) in California and Tara Thai in the DC area --We go to Bethesda and Rockville Pike locations -- and having had Thai food all over the world (well with the major exception, blush blush, being Thailand) they sure are hard to beat.
Ruth Cris isn't bad, either, but then I usually. |
argh...I hate when that happens...I usually order lamb chops at steak houses. And I rarely go to steak houses except when out on a business meal. OH! Smith and Wollenski's isn't too bad - had great meals in Philly and Miami Beach. When you have to take clients out, and you haven't any specific recommendations from people you trust, the "upscale chains" aren't too bad.
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Scarlett,
Have you tried Beach Road Chicken House in Jax? That was a favorite of mine from forever ago.Here's a review of it./www.npj.com/homepage/teritowe/restrose.html Another place is Jackie's Seafood by the Trout River. My father used to get the Sr citizen specal & it was fried fish, grits & I think some sort of mullet spread. The spread sounds nasty but was good. You could get the Sr citizen special even if you weren't a senior. Here is some info on Jackie's. http://www.wecook4u.com/jackies/Time...s%20union.html |
In the midst of corn and bean country, chain restaurants are abundant. My favorites are Olive Garden (yes, I am totally serious), Red Lobster, Monical's Pizza (excellent thin crust pizza in IL, IN, and WI), and Maggiano's.
Of course I don't consider any of these upscale, but I frequent casual restaurants far more than upscale restaurants. On vacation I prefer "local" establishments. |
Emd, no, I'm not looking to start a new franchise. A group of us want to attract a unique chain to a downtown neighborhood that's already stocked with local establishments. We're looking for one with a solid regional/national reputation, even if locals aren't familiar with the brand.
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I don't know from upscale but would always prefer Macaroni Grill over Olive Garden, but I came from a city with a big Italian neighborhood and lots of really good family run Italian places, so neither really measure up to those. I like a number of things at Cozymel's. Calls itself a coastal Mexican grill. The Yucatan Especial (creamy rice dish with shrimp, scallops, spinach, mushrooms and poblano peppers) is pretty good. Ruth's Chris if it's steak at a chain place. Won't ever step foot in a Lone Star again. Long story. The Outback theme drives my wife (from Australia) nuts. "What's wrong with these people?", she says... We have a PF Changs here and I've never been. They just opened a Bonefish Grill but still haven't been there either. Guess we'll have to give them a go sometime. |
J. Alexanders and the Capital Grille.
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designmr,
Aren't you in OKC? Please please please consider lobbying for Il Fornaio. I am new to Tulsa (from San Diego) and am really enjoying it here but I'm craving Il Fornaio-type food like you wouldn't believe. If one came to OKC, we may be able to lure them to Tulsa as well. I think they're website is www.ilfornaio.com Keep us updated on your progress! |
Ally - don't know if you are old enough to remember, but "they" used to serve the green sauce hot off of the steam table.
Glad you got your chuckle today. I did too with this fun thread. ;-) |
Jocelyn, it's far too early to say if this is going anywhere, but we'll seek much more input from others. After that, we'll have to find out market requirements, if they are interested in expanding at all. But yes, it's for downtown Oklahoma City and I must say, Il Fornaio seems to have a great following. Stay tuned!!
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Just curious. Is anyone familiar with Flemings? Apparently owned by PF Chang's group, but more of a steakhouse. They're opening one here in Naples this week (delayed since last week due to the hurricane threats).
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Bonefish Grill and Stonewood Grill & Tavern are chains ??
Cool, I love them :D benj, thanks so much, I will check them out. We are always on the look out for a good place to eat. So far our favorites remain Bistro Aix and the two above Grills :) Chart House is a chain resto isn't it? I think I would like to try the one here on the River, very pretty and seems to have a good menu. Any comments on them? The day we moved into our house, we had no clue where to go for dinner. We were told about a place was about 2 blocks from here that was good. Vito's..they are from NJ :) and it is completely family owned and all the employees are family. Very good down home Italian food, made fresh..not canned ~ |
The Chart House is a chain - a rather old one at that! Years ago they used to have a terrific Sunday Brunch but in more recent times, in our area, they have kind of gone down hill.
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