Thanks! seetheworld..or can I just call you see ? :D

Oh golly -- with so many responses here, i just couldn't read through to the end! But i was amazed at what I did read - after seeing the thread and thinking...."oh yeah, right! Like who cares..! And what could be out there, worthwhile, for a discussion?"

Well, surprise! We've never tried a P.F. Changs - not even sure we've run across one, but will keep an eye out, fersure, now.

A few weeks ago, I posted a request for an Oakbrook IL-area restaurant = specifying "not a chain." Before I could check back to Fodors, we had to take off...and ended up at a Lettuce Entertain You (chain) restaurant - Mon Ami Gabi...which very favorably impressed, with the ambience, the range of price and quality on the menu, etc. There went prejudice #1 about chains.

Next time out in Chicago, we ended up at a McCormick & Schmick's, right on Rush St. in Chicago...which again favorably impressed...with service, price and ambience. (Not that Price=thrifty, but did very much represented value received; something that often doesn't happen in our home area).

It's true, of course, that as the chains multiply across the country, the opportunites/odds for indy chefs to make their mark are negatively affected....but who stops Wal Mart..or how to stop the Wal Mart approach to restaurants? And if something like Lettuce takes a responsible, quality-minded approach to it....is it, after all, such a bad thing??

My favorite chain restaurant here in
Sonoma County, CA ??? Hmmmmm...
Well, it begins with my co-op farm subscription heirloom tomatoes and a the chain of contributions to the meal- Bellweather farms cheese and McEvoy Ranch olive oil, a plank of in-season fresh salmon, additional veggies & herbs harvested from the various neighbors yard-2 grills cookin' side by side (yet in different locations week to week-there's a "chain"!) and the "chain" of folks bringing a vino to share (no corkage here).
That's my kinda "chain" eatery.
R5

Yah! R5! Way to go!

What will we do without our neighbors' vegetables? :s-

I've got one neighbor who keeps me happy most of the summer with basil and tomatoes. Another one has peas and squash. :)

Have a bottle of McEvoy Oil sitting in my pantry right now. Saving it for dipping bread along with a nice bottle of wine someday!

Happy dining, everyone, chain or nieghbor's bounty!

Well, that was a minor hornet's nest I stepped in!

Thanks you, rjw_ for your support. I intended to be "blunt" (takes less time to type that way), and might even cop to "condescending" and "snooty" (only about food), but I never was "rude".

People certainly are touchy if you mention weight, aren't they? I suppose I AM implying that most people could stand to drop a few pounds, and I'm not excluding myself. A quick look around proves that point...a huge % of Americans are obese, and almost all of us would need to drop a pound or two before the six-pack starts to show :-)

Black Brandywines? never seen them, but I've had a few nice Cherokee Purples this year and I really miss the tomatoes now that their gone. Could ramble on this subject more, but I have to run down to the new Carribbean Place for lunch where the guy makes the greatest jerk chicken, QUICK before Sticky Fingers and Atlanta Bread Co. put him out of business!

Lite_speedChick, a person who is condescending and snooty IS rude.

My favorite chains are Chili's, Cheesecake Factory and Cracker Barrel, for breakfast.

I live in the Hartford, Connecticut area. We have the expensive chains (as opposed to upscale) Morton's and Ruth's Chris and some bad ones - Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill etc. but
no Maggianos
no PF Changs
no Cheesecake Factory
no Roy's
no Il Fornaios
Lots of opportunities here.

Litespeed_Chick: Amen to that!

Your tomato season is over?! The vendor at our farmer's market (the world-famous Santa Monica FM, Wednesdays and Saturdays) told me they would have them till November. You can imagine my thrill...!

Black Brandywines are a dark-fleshed heirloom variety with a complex, savory-sweet flavor. I made a simple Sicilian-style tomato salad with these and a couple of other heirloom varieties (Pineapple and Coronation, as I recall) plus some organic basil and organic red onion. The sweet tomatoes and onion and the anise of the basil combined beautifully-- perfect to complement grilled sirloin and a nice bottle of Frei Brothers Cabernet on a VERY hot summer day. Kinda like r5's "chain" meal....

Come on, lunchtime!!

Here's a few more that I like:

Mo's- a chain on the Oregon Coast. We like the one in Cannon Beach, right on the ocean with views of Haystack Rock. Their peppered salmon is very good, tho the sides leave a lot to be desired. This place is great for a large group. They serve the clam chowder family-style in a huge pot!

Red Robin-I think these are only on the West Coast. I love their strawberry lemonade here (free refills) the fries are large and yummy (free refills) and the California Burger is very good with lots of pickles and avocados, bacon, jack cheese! My kids love the Rookie Magics!

Tahoe Joe's Steakhouse- decor is very rustic with Tahoe stuff all around. It's pretty pricey for a chain, but they have really good BBQ food and the sides and salads aren't bad for a chain place.

Bennigan's-used to serve the best ribs I've ever had until the Bigfoot Pub & Grub in Seaside, Oregon. Both of these places recently closed, it was our hang out before all the HS football games. Would love to see this chain come back. Are they anywhere else?

Tony Roma's--great BBQ chicken and steak, really good beans and salads are comprable to Tahoe Joe's. A big hangout before the Fresno State Football games! We're headed there on Sat. night to watch the Bulldogs cream Portland State! LOL

In n Out burgers pulled through for dinner after the water polo game yesterday. We're 5-0 now undefeated! Smeared the other them 16-0 with our second string. DD got rested last game for a big tourney this weekend!

Those burgers (eight of them) all looked so pretty in that box, my DD took pictures of them!! Ha ha!!

There's a new Grill that opened by us a year or so ago. We've been once and I had a really good Mexican plate there. Fish tacos, burritos, very good sides of black beans and rice. Fresh, food, fun atmosphere and great service! Sweetwater Grill is the name of the place. ***kim***

Ruths Chris. We have one near us built into a plantation home. The food and service in this RC is always excellent.

Kim, we just got Mo's (but don't know if it's the same one.... this one is Southwestern food) and Red Robin in the Triangle/Raleigh recently. My friend has tried both, and says they're okay........ she loves the soft tacos at Mo's. I haven't tried them. We do have Bennigan's here. For some reason, we don't have Tony Roma's, which I love. (Could be because we have so many excellent local BBQ places, though.)

rjw: You are indeed lucky to have tomatoes until November. I'm in SC, you would think our warm weather would give us that length of growing season, but alas, the tomatoes in my garden seem to tire by mid-August, and the farmer's market bounty is also starting to dwindle here in Sept. The figs are gone, too, *sob*.

This year's favorite tomato creation was: make dough for buttermilk biscuits, spread about 1/2 inch thick into a fluted tart pan, bake. Spread w/ farmer's cheese and a little mayo. Top w/ concentric circles of two or three different heirlooms, dot w/ basil, drizzle w/ orange infused olive oil, sprinkle salt.

Voila, tomato tart. Of course, what it really is, is a tarted-up (pun) tomato sandwich. But with a much nicer presentation and I find that Yankees (my husband) who turn up their noses at tomato sandwiches like it quite well.

Hope you had a nice lunch!

bonniebroad,
You're confusing Mo's with Moe's; Mo's is a seafood place and isn't outside Oregon. IMO, the only reason to go there is for a beer and some garlic cheese bread. My wife does like their oyster stew, though.

Patrick, Fleming's is part of the Outback Steakhouse chain along with Roy's, Carrabba's, Bonefish Grill, Lee Roy Selmon's, and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

The guy who started PF Chang's has teamed up with Outback to start another concept but I forget the name.

If anyone cares why I know this, we get Restaurant News and all those other food industry publications by the stackfull weekly.

beachbum, I realized that I had confused "Moe's and Mo's", after I posted. There's an "e" on the one here........ Thanks for your reply! :-)

Bonnie, I love Moe's (Homewrecker, no rice) but hate the way they yell "Welcome to Moe's!!" at everyone.

GoTravel, haven't tried Moe's yet but my friend really likes a couple of things. (She didn't mention them yelling at you! :-d ) What's the Homewrecker?

Kimamom . . . there's a Red Robin in the chocolate capital of the US - Hershey, PA! You're right, great burgers!

Beachbum is right, Mo's is only on the Oregon Coast. They have six locations. www.moschowder.com I did have a pretty decent crab melt there once, also.

Also, on the Oregon Coast is Pig N' Pancake. They have great breakfasts here and I love their little piggies in a blanket! (Sausage and pancakes) best with boysenberry syrup!

Dooger's is another seafood chain on the OC, but nothing to write home about, IMO. ***kim*** :)

Go Travel, now I'm confused. Are you saying that PF Chang's is owned by the Outback, etc. people? A good friend is working for the new Fleming's in town, and he insists it is owned by the PF Chang's people.

No, PF Changs is owned by someone else and not part of the Outback umbrella. Flemings is owned by Outback. Outback and PF Changs are in bed together for an upscale Chinese eatery but I'm not sure of the name.

Flemings Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is indeed owned by Outback Steakhouse.

http://outbacksteakhouse.com/companyinfo/index.asp

In the DC area, Red, Hot & Blue is great for BBQ. (And I'm picky!). I Do a lot of family eating out: I like Cheescake Factory, Bertucci's, and Macaroni Grill.

Patrick,

The way I understand this is that Paul Fleming (the "PF" in PF Chang's) left Chang's in 2001 and had to sign a no-compete clause. Now that the NCC has expired, Paul has formed a Joint-Venture with Outback, opened Fleming's with them and is in the process of opening a new concept (also w/ Outback) called "Paul Lee's Chinese Kitchen."

He is still involved with Chang's--to some degree--but only because he's a major stockholder.

AL ((d))

Go....A friend is telling me the new venture is Paul Lees Chinese Kitchen,less expensive than either OSH or PCHCB...

The problem with these chain restaurants in my area are the ridiculous wait times. I have never been to the Cheesecake Factory where a wait time was under 2 hours. PF Changs, while one of my favorites is easily an hour or more (even with call ahead reservations - duh...everyone is doing the same thing).
Tonight we're going to the brand new Legal Seafood and I bet there will be some enormous wait there as well (I'll report back).

The problem is that these chains are located in a densely populated city located near, or attached to, major shopping malls. Another Mortons just opened up but I'm sure they are not swarmed with post shoppers looking for a meal because the price point is too high.

These chains frustrate me more than anything else, that's why I try not to go to them unless it is after a day of shopping at the mall!

IMO the problem with these chains is that the food is stored in giant freezers, is not made fresh, does not use local ingrediants therefor does not support the local economy but instead puts $$$ into big businesses. Also the portion sizes are huge which is fattening up America. Come on people!!! Do yourself and your community a favor and leave the chains! Support restaurants which use local produce and buy from local farmers. Geesh!!!!!

You're very correct, stormygirl! I usually just divide my meal in half and have it for lunch the next day.

With my son being a personal trainer, he gives us this speech every once in awhile. I can just swim/bike/weight train off those extra calories. It works very nicely for me!

Beth48, does your Red Robin have the guy in the Red Robin costume walking around to all the tables and scaring the little kids? ***kim***

Sorry, stormygirl, but you are guilty of some serious stereotyping. There are plenty of chain restaurants that are local and started at as one restaurant then expanded into chains because they were so successful. In Cincinnati, there is a chain restaurant called Skyline (not upscale) on every corner. It was started by Greek immigrants many many years ago and now you can't turn a corner around here without running into one. It is total Cincinnati tradition and a visit here without stopping at Skyline wouldn't be authentic - even though it is a chain.

One can fatten up at a non-chain restaurant just as easily as a chain restaurant. It's like the subway commercials say (another good example of a good chain restaurant) - being healthy isn't about one decision, it's about all the little decisions. You can splurge on a giant Red Robin burger one day if you eat healthy an exercise on most days.

GoTravel, it's the Steak Nachos that my friend is nuts about at Moe's, and she said, yes, they do always yell at you! And you didn't say what the Homewrecker is.... :-)

Not true of Tara Thai, the small DC based chain I mentioned earlier in the thread. They use fresh and local ingredients (seafood is a specialty) and run quality circles around most mom&pop places.

Local people work and eat in restaurants. Local people often own the franchises of the chain restaurants. How is that not supporting the local economy? And inversely, plenty of local restaurant owners do their "neighborhood" shopping at Sam's Club or one of the other monster box shops.

No one who replied to the OP's question on this thread EVER said they only eat at chain places, eschew local places, don't grow their own veggies or use locally grown seasonal produce. They were just answering the question.

These are not mutually exclusive choices.

But thanks for the lecture.

snowrooster I completely agree with your point about how some chains start, but I disagree in that after they branch out all over the nation they do not support the local economies by purchasing produce and meat from local suppliers. And the food at this point is shipped from central locations and is not made on site with these large national chains, this is how they control the consistant taste you get at one Red Robin or another.

Stormygirl, you are basing your comments on the theory/concept of "McDonaldization", which I completely agree with but people are still entitled to making their own decisions and choices regarding what they eat. Obesity is a huge problem (no pun intended) but some people do have the will-power and control to say enough is enough.

Seetheworld, ya think? Snowrooster, speaking of Subway, I love this sandwich chain. I usually go for their seafood sandwich, but my favorite is the cheesesteak with Southwest sauce and all the trimmings (hold the olives) on the whole wheat bread. Pair this with a pink lemonade and a bag of salt n' vinegar chips and we're in sandwich chain heaven!

My DD like Quizmos, but I think their bread is too big and toasty. (How weird is that?) I did enjoy their new Black and Bleu salad, tho. Steak strips with crumbled bleu cheese. A nice alternative to the big bread! It fit the bill nicely after our WP tournament out of town Sat.! ***kim***

Some chains are definitely subpar, I can't disagree with that. However a lot depends on what you order and the quality can indeed vary from location to location. A lot of the chains mentioned here were not national chains (as I've never heard of some of them). Also, I think some chains do use fresh ingredients. The eggplant at PF Changs is to die for and I never had a subpar vegetable at Ruth's Chris.

BTW, I'm a weight watchers girl (lost 30 lbs and kept it off - looking better than ever at age 32 after 2 kids) so I watch what I eat every day. However I love to indulge guilt free once or twice a week (flexpoints!). I exercise and watch everything I eat daily so I can eat a big ol' plate of food every once in a while. :-) I couldn't agree more about the obesity problem in american (especially w/children) - you just to figure out what works for you.

I am a tiny person and can never finish the large restaurant portions you get at most restaurants (both chain and local). I just pack up a doggie bag and take it home for lunch the next day. In fact, sometimes I get several meals out of my leftovers. My husband always says I sure get my money's worth!

Brasserie Jo.

Interesting thread! Eating is waaaaaaay at the bottom of my priority list. But that doesn't mean i don't recognize or appreciate a stellar meal when i have on!e! (which is quite often when i'm wearing my corporate hat). So i totally agree that local independents are without a doubt the best.

Having said, i agree with Paul - who hasn't had a craving for a taco bell burrito?! Or when only mickey d's fries will satisfy! Or burger barf's toll house chocolate chip cookies, fresh (?) and hot from their microwave (!) as a quick drive thru break in the middle of the afternoon, with a diet coke (gotta watch those calories - i'm a runner ;) )

Seriously, if you're honest you'll have to agree there's something you crave sometime or other. Right now i'd kill for a NATHAN's dog from the city or thrashers fries from ocean city, or that kick butt awesome carmel corn from the boardwalk, whose name espcapes me....

Having said that, these are my fave chains, regardless if upscale or not!

#1 - HARD ROCK CAFE! We've been to almost every one in america and they are just FUN!! Could NOT care less if the food is average since the 'experience' and the people makes up for it.

#2 - Bahama Breeze. Another simply fun place, killer drinks :)

#3 - Cheesecake Factory

#4 - Outback Steakhouse - i never order steak, i'm a semi-veggie, but LOVE their bloomin' onion and caesar salad!

I agree with the Hard Rock as a good chain. They are fun to take the kids for one vacation meal. While their food is not memorable it's not horrible either. Legal Seafoods is definitely my favorite chain though. I think some food is great because of the circumstances. One January, DH, 2 daughters, two sons, a son-in-law, and me, piled into the mini-van and traveled from MA to Columbia SC to see another daughter graduate from Boot Camp and visit with her before she left for Texas. We left at 6:00 pm and arrived in Columbia at 8:00 am. We had nothing to eat except for some stuff purchased in a Tiger Mart on the Jersey Turnpike. When we got to the hotel we couldn't check in (too early). After crying (me) and gnashing teeth (DH) we got back in the car and stopped at the nearest place. It happened to be a Shoney's. That was the best meal that I have ever had in my life! Maybe my vote should be for Shoney's even though I have since seen the menu and can hardly believe that we thought everything was so delicious. I really don't think that all food should be covered in some kind of white gravy.

No wait at Legal Seafood tonight but now that I have been there, let's just say that it's not "my cup of tea" or more accurately "my plate of fish".

Have you ever signed your credit card receipt with a lip liner? Well, that what we got to sign our bill with- I guess they were *short* on pens!

Kimamom - I'm not sure what the "ya think" was in reference to.