Roys..

I find it harder to make special requests at smaller places, because removing an ingredient or requesting say dry grilling changes the flavor the chef may have intended - so they are a tad reluctant.

Chains on the other hand could'nt care less and will put things together any old way you ask - I've had tortilla soup - no cheese, no fried tortilla strips or avocado.

It's possible to eat healthy anywhere if you make the right choices.

Used to like Ztejas..unfortunately the Dallas location closed down

Carrabba's Italian Grill - it so much better than the Olive Garden. Your food comes out perfect and hot! I've been to five different Carrabba's in five different states - that's how much we like it!!

Not a huge chain, but the Rusty Scupper is great. Best view of the harbor in Baltimore.

....Or the Capitol Grill. Filet mignon is great.

rjw - Olive Garden's minestrone soup is very healthy and very tasty. Just wanted to mention that fact in case you ever have to dine there. It is usually the only thing I eat there. However, I would prefer eating there than Carrabas any day.

Another chain restaurant I forgot to mention that I love is Willys. It is along the same lines as Baja Fresh and Moes but the salsa is better to me. I eat there a good bit because their veggie burrito (no cheese) is to die for.

To comment on another poster's statement, when I mentioned Olive Garden, I did not consider it to be upscale, nor did I really consider any of the chains I mentioned to be upscale. The ones mentioned (Olive Garden aside) were my favorite chains.

OMG, I feel like a deprived child!! I have never eaten in any of these places!
OK, Baluchis in NYC, if that is indeed a chain.
and Circo in Las Vegas if it is considered a chain of Le Cirque?
We have a Carrabbas here, but I have to say, having lived in NYC where there are a gazillion small privately owned restaurants and cafes, I never felt the need for an Olive Garden when I could go to Lunas or wherever ~ Now I have to go to Carrabas! and PF Chang? Fancy chain Chinese is better than the little private ones? I saw one somewhere, I will try that too

I have to wonder also if the reason that in places like Jax Fl, the vast amount of people who are overweight, are also eaters of chain restaurants every day- all that fat and salt in their food?
Not good places like Carrabbas but all these Bonos BBQ places and all..the number of obese patrons I see coming in and out of these places worries me. What are they feeding these people??

*this -in no way- implies that any poster here is obese! *

Well, I still hold that there's no such thing as an upscale chain. As far as I can tell most chain food is simply ghastly (Olive Garden???) would anyone ever voluntaily eat this months ago frozen and nuked food like matter?

And while there are some chains (Legal Seafood is one) where the food is not so bad - I woud argue that they are still nowhere near "upscale".

to me an "upscale" restaurant is not merely - or even necessarily expensive - (and doesn;t Olive Garden cost about $10 for dinner - this is upscale only vs Miceky D's - a local diner is more) - but one with an actual chef picking all fresh food, preparing daily specials, a sopisticated wait staff (not a bunch of teens clapping happy birthday in the aisles) and with real linens, silver and crystal.

Otherwise the food may be OK - but its definitely not "upscale".

Well, now I'm intrigued. I will just have to plan a trip to Jacksonville to see if indeed, they are the poster children for obesity.

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.

Just because you go to chain restaurants doesn't mean you don't frequent local chef owned spots as well. Quite honestly, a lot of the chains (even upscale) are more family friendly.

I don't think Olive Garden is fabulous, but it's good for the money and great for families. What can I say, I'm a sucker for their breadsticks.

Favorite upscale chains (and I agree Olive Garden isn't particularly upscale) . . . PF Changs, J Alexanders, Palomino, and Roy's (though we went several years ago to one on Maui & I didn't even realize it was a chain!)

Least favorite: CHEESECAKE FACTORY - so many people rave about it but dh & I have yet to discover why. We're going to give it another shot soon since one just opened locally - we'll see!

The OP said "upscale" in the title but also mentions casual dining in the body of the message. The great majority of the places mentioned here fall in the casual category.

I like Big Bowl and PF Chang too. My contribution for a small chain would be Tara Thai with numerous locations in metro DC and now in Richmond.

I think the incongruity of "chain" and "fine dining" is implied by the poster and that he/she was asking for exceptions to the expected chain glop. Seems like a pretty light hearted thread except for a couple of nitpickers and lecturers.

Congrats on the weight loss rjw! That's fantastic!

Oh dear, how could I forget the one I crave . . . RUTH'S CHRIS!!!!

Its' really the qunatity of food that gets people obese - we have a chinese restaurant that we often go to from work - lunch plate has about two cups of the main veg/meat, a heaping mound of rice, a big pile of some noodly stuff, a spring roll and another fried thingy - oh and a bowl of soup with fried wontons.
Now this is way too much carbs, fat not to mention sodium out the wazoo..but people finish every crumb and love the place "value for money" I am told!!

Roy's in Pebble Beach is a favorite of mine. We live in "chain-restaurant" city, so here's my list:

California Pizza Kitchen-BBQ chicken pizza

Elephant Bar & Grill- we just took eight people there for under $100! Their Kona ribs and raspberry mango swirls are pretty good!

Macaroni Grill-the foccacia bread is pretty good here!

Dai Bai Dang- good lettuce wraps and the salmon is usually cooked pretty good here!

McCormick & Schmicks- In Portland, the Harborside & Jake's Crawfish are very good!

Olive Garden- no comment, have only been once about ten years ago, won't go back tho!

Mimi's Cafe- they have a really good key lime pie that I like with raspberry sauce

Panda Express- fits the bill very nicely once a week after water polo games, practices. I like their orange chicken, chow mein and spring rolls!

In n Out Burgers! Going there tonight after a water polo game, I've been thinking about it all week! LOL ***kim***

Scarlett,

I personally think PF Changs is better than most local Chinese places I've been to, although I've never lived in NYC. When I say better I mean I prefer the flavors and textures--I'm sure it's not "authentic" Chinese food. It is very easy to eat healthy at PF Changs (brown rice! edamame! steamed fish!).

O.K., here's my two cents, although I may only like a single dish or two at some of these places:

Samba Room
Il Fornaio
Palomino
Cheesecake Factory

Wow - who would have guessed that people could get so passionate about chain restaurants??

For my part, I try to avoid chain restaurants when I travel because I do prefer to check out locally-owned places. It actually drives me nuts on business trips when my coworker insists on an endless routine of Olive Garden, Fridays, Macaroni Grill, and California Pizza Kitchen.

However, I have to say that (with the exception of Macaroni Grill because I don't really like their bread) - they all offer some pretty good entrees. I can't pass up the soup and salad at Olive Garden, the potato skins (so horrible for me, I know) at Fridays, and the field greens salad at CPK.

The other side of the issue is that, unfortunately, in many locations (the burbs!), chains are often about the only options. I live outside of Pittsburgh and the only non-bar eating establishments are chains...it's not really feasible to drive into town to search for a local restaurant, especially since we have a limited amount of happy time with our 8 month old. So - we eat, and enjoy, what he have locally...

Coconut shrimp and Alice Springs Chicken at Outback (I used to wait tables there and still love it!)

Tres Tacos at Baja Fresh

Giant burritoes at Qdoba

Wings at Quaker Steak

...I'm sure I could go on but I'm making myself hungry just thinking about it!

I like this list it reminds me of some places I've eaten on my travels! While these are all chains, many are regional. I enjoyed Big Bowl while in Chicago, Legal Seafood in Boston, and Baja Fresh and In&Out in CA but don't have them near where I live.

While I'm in general not a fan of chains, I DO like to go to regional ones while I travel.

For Patrick: I am a food snob, I'll admit it. Call me narrow-minded but I really am a pure New England/New York/L.A/SF/Miami food snob. So I do what I can to avoid chains, upscale, downscale or otherwise. Haven't eaten at any of the aforementioned restaurants save P.F Chang's and wasn't that impressed. With many things in life, we all have our own opinion about food and I suppose I should have spared you and other readers mine. No harm done, though (I hope).

Kehsutton, you are condemning restaurants that you have never tried simply because they are part of a chain? That is your loss.

OK, Kehsutton, now I understand. I know lots of people with similar ideas.
LIKE:

All food in London is horrible!
I won't stay in a Four Seasons Hotel because it's a chain.
I won't stay at a Ritz Carlton because they're owned by Marriott.
I won't drink California Wine because they aren't as good as French.

I only wonder how many places you've eaten and loved that you didn't even know had "branches" making it a chain.