Best Chain Restaurant You've Ever Eaten At?

[Park Kraken]

A question for all of the Nerds out there; State the best Restaurant you've ever eaten at and leave a basic or detailed review explaining why it has captured your heart.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I cannot.

No really I can't think of a chain restaurant that has made me think "Wow!"

Also I think most of the chains that are in both the US and the UK are fast food and therefore predominantly crappy.

[Droo]

La Tasca (http://www.latasca.com/)

Great atmosphere. Great food. And sangria.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

My favorite place to eat is the one where I don't have to cook. So, all of them.

[Dasquian Belargic]

La Tasca (http://www.latasca.com/)

Great atmosphere. Great food. And sangria.

YMMV

I went to a La Tasca with Liz earlier this year and they served prawns that were off :x

[Figrin D'an]

There are a couple of restaurant chains that are in the "very good" category IMO, but not many. They are not even in the same league as the best of the best restaurants around the world.

Now, if we want to talk about just straight up best restaurants we ever visited, I'm all over that.

[Darth Turbogeek]

Chain stores serve bland at best food and outright shit on average. So absolutly none of them. Sorry but this really is just not a good question.

Best place I've eaten at however? That's a much different question. Probably Rockpool in Sydney. Potato bake to die for.

Oh and just to add, Best home cooking? Step up Charley!

[Droo]

Also, Bem Brasil (http://bembrasilrestaurants.com/), because meeeeaaaaat.

Edit: What are we defining as a chain restraunt here? There are only three Bem Brasils in the country, but I assumed that, because there was more than one, it was was considered a chain restraunt. The example Mark cited above, Rockpool, also has a number of restraunts in Australia. La Tasca has to be a chain restraunt, however, there are apparently 39 of them throughout the UK.

[Figrin D'an]

Also, Bem Brasil (http://bembrasilrestaurants.com/), because meeeeaaaaat.

Edit: What are we defining as a chain restraunt here? There are only three Bem Brasils in the country, but I assumed that, because there was more than one, it was was considered a chain restraunt. The example Mark cited above, Rockpool, also has a number of restraunts in Australia. La Tasca has to be a chain restraunt, however, there are apparently 39 of them throughout the UK.

Indeed. Another example I would give is <A HREF="http://www.noburestaurants.com/">Nobu</A>. They have about 30 locations around the world, but are highly regarded by most foodies. I've personally been to the one in Miami, and it was outstanding.

All depends upon how we define this.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't go to fancy restaurants. The most upscale place I've ever eaten at was probably Macaroni Grill, or something. Which I really like, btw, so of course all the franchises closed on the west coast.

[Darth Turbogeek]

Edit: What are we defining as a chain restraunt here? There are only three Bem Brasils in the country, but I assumed that, because there was more than one, it was was considered a chain restraunt. The example Mark cited above, Rockpool, also has a number of restraunts in Australia. La Tasca has to be a chain restraunt, however, there are apparently 39 of them throughout the UK.

Rockpool is a bad example too - Neil Perry has four "Rockpools" in Sydney and also others in Melbourne but each actually does something quite different. The one I'm thinking of is a steak and wine house - well if you can call it a steakhouse, being what was a old bank foyer so there's marble and wood panelling, with absolute quality and a wine vault that is literally a vault - as the wine value on offer is in the millions of dollar mark. Plus it's also it's hatted too.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I don't go to fancy restaurants. The most upscale place I've ever eaten at was probably Macaroni Grill, or something. Which I really like, btw, so of course all the franchises closed on the west coast.

I think I went to a Macaroni Grill in LA? It was good times :)

[Emelie Shadowstar]

^ Yep! They aren't all closed, apparently. I'll admit that place is a total guilty pleasure.

As far as "best" chain... uhh again, what counts? I've got a local mexican restaurant that has two locations that is damn good.

But as far as the big names go... Sure there's a few things on a few menus that I really like (Again Macaroni Grill comes to mind... Yard House is another but that's more for the beer selection than food) But I don't know if I'd consider any of them actually "good" food if you want to be fancy about it. :lol

[Kurth Halx]

To keep it simple, I think any restaurant that has two or more locations ought to qualify as a chain.

With those criteria, lemme think...(mind you, these will probably have a local accent since I eat what I know)...

Flip Burger Boutique (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLIP_Burger_Boutique) is pretty high up there. Richard Blais is the braintrust behind it in Atlanta, but they spun off to Birmingham and it's, well...pretty damned good. It's absurd and obnoxious food that goes one foot into molecular gastronomy, but it's still good enough eats to put elbows on table and plow into a nice burger.

Saw's (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sawsbbq.com%2F&ei=NDIZUo6RH-rQ2QWW04DQBw&usg=AFQjCNFaJEYIQC74QL2aQ35BWz_OrrBGog&sig2=W7A0V_Ldm7JERrVeTVED2g&bvm=bv.51156542,d.b2I). There's a main location in Homewood (over the mountain, south metro Birmingham) and a Saw's Soul Kitchen in Avondale district, adjacent to downtown where we pen up all of our hipsters. It's technically Carolina-style red vinegar-based BBQ which is usually not my comfort zone, but they do some amazing things. They make a "soul bowl" which is pulled pork bbq over a mound of grits and collard greens with onion rings on top of it. When you've had some beers in you, it's amazing stuff.

Macaroni Grill (http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=CDNrJYjIZUvHdA-mByQH_ooGQCpiH_IwE0JvU_2y0pcEwCAAQASC2VFDV_oi1-v____8BYMmGgIC4o9wTyAEBqgQiT9DKfxrs-w1iQYRwoCGIXTlDxm3wApoJs-F6b4WcU7Jl1YAFkE6AB4C35yk&sig=AOD64_0ww0IXVv6mNs9jenj7GeBzAAuryw&rct=j&q=macaroni+grill&ved=0CC4Q0Qw&adurl=http://clickserve.dartsearch.net/link/click%3Flid%3D43700001053391673%26ds_s_kwgid%3D587 00000125917120%26ds_e_adid%3D29185502704%26ds_e_ma tchtype%3Dsearch%26ds_url_v%3D2%26&cad=rja) has been mentioned which I actually rather like. It's pretty middle-of-the-road upscale Italian-American fare, but they do make pretty legit eats. Their rosemary focaccia was one of the main reasons I started baking my own bread because I didn't want to deal with having to go out to a restaurant to eat it all the time.

For more blue collar fast food, I gotta say Popeyes (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC0QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpopeyes.com%2F&ei=eTIZUu-XLoOY2QXK5oD4CA&usg=AFQjCNEfz_sJXBB-LpX2oUUMWXWBEQuiWQ&sig2=z0ZmZ92ilagZjsnzPJvFmA&bvm=bv.51156542,d.b2I) Fried Chicken. It's really only available along the gulf coast areas I think, and usually in the hood, but if I'm not going through the pain in the ass to fry my own chicken, this is the chicken I want to eat. Great spice blend and wonderful sides like red beans and rice. Also their biscuits aren't phoned in, which is a big plus. Totally unhealthy to a fault, but it's fried chicken so if you're shocked you're kinda stupid.

Also Christin would kill me if I omitted Sitar (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsitartuscaloosa.com%2F&ei=jzIZUueVOIn92QX2kYDoBQ&usg=AFQjCNE7UIjym3Fcocg5Qr9-IdH5VIe2uA&sig2=gbHaVD4VgjoeuC1zgFy5JA&bvm=bv.51156542,d.b2I), which is an Indian chain in a few southeast US cities. A few nerds ate here too and it's pretty much the Kashmiri/Punjabi staples that most Indian restaurants tend to serve, but they do it rather well. Haven't had a bad dish here and I've eaten here a lot.

[Glen Fiddich]

There's a little gourmet burger chain in London called Hache (http://www.hacheburgers.com/). I'd never had a gourmet burger before, and Flip is the only time I'd had one since... but the burger, and most of all the melt-in-your-mouth cider battered onion rings, and the fact that I'd ordered an "Italian burger" so they brought out my sauces arranged like a little Italian flag... that was pretty awesome. There's also a bar and grill place called Sizzler near where I used to live, and they did some pretty damn good steak.

I don't really go out to proper restaurants all that often though, so most of my stuff I like is guilty pleasure stuff, and it's usually the kind of things I was allowed to have as a kid if I was well behaved. I go absolutely nutty over the all you can eat salad bar at Pizza Hut (croutons, sweetcorn, and apple slices AT THE SAME TIME? :ohno). I'm also pretty fond of Nandos, but that's because we went there so regularly at lunch from work that we were friends with the staff, and got fantastic service. And, whenever I had lunch with my sister and her fancy finance department friends, we went to this place on the High Street called Baroosh (http://www.baroosh.co.uk/), which made bloody fantastic sandwiches. Oh, and I've only been there a few times, but the TGI Friday at the O2 is pretty fantastic, as is anything that involves their Jack Daniels sauce.

I grew up in Ruralton, Nowhereshire though, and didn't set foot in a McDonalds before I was 15... so I'm pretty sheltered as far as chains/etc go.

[Kurth Halx]

I've always wanted to eat at Nando's. I think it's entirely because of their amusing commercials.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Nandos is tasty.

My fav chain in Newcastle is probably Las Iguanas (http://www.iguanas.co.uk/), now that I think about it. Some of their stuff is a little on the pricey side, but do special offers quite regularly and the happy hour cocktails are yummy.

[Peter McCoy]

Las Iguanas

Definitely my favourite restaurant at the moment! I usually have the same thing every time I go - Chicken Fajitas. They're just so incredibly tasty with the grilled onions and peppers plus the almighty guacamole! Add in some southern-fried curly fries and it's an awesome meal. When I do feel like being greedy, there's some pretty epic tapas and starters to choose from. The albondigas (meatballs) are very nice, and I highly recommend their empanadas (crispy pasties), I like the one with braised lamb in smoky chilli with cranberry salsa.

Frankie & Benny's

An American/Italian 50's style chain in the UK, Frankie & Benny's has a fantastic atmosphere with the old tunes playing all day such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Beach Boys and The Everly Brothers. The food on offer ranges from various pastas and bakes, pizzas, spaghetti bolognese, lasange and deep filled calzone to burgers, fish, chicken and awesome 28-day ages steaks. Plus they serve possibly my favourite starter in the history of awesome food - garlic button mushrooms tossed in a rich cheese sauce, served over toasted garlic ciabatta bread! Belissimo!

Taybarn's

An all-you-can-eat restaurant located a bit of a drive form where I live in Liverpool - you have to go abroad to the backwoods of Wigan where the strange folk live! But what a place! There's a soup and salad bar with a great range of veg and several soups to choose from; a chip shop area serving up battered cod, sausages, fish cakes, jacket potatoes, chips, mushy peas, baked beans, gravy and curry sauce; a grill house section offering burgers, grilled sausages, BBQ ribs, bacon steaks, koftas, hotdog rolls and fried onions; their Kitchen Italia section where you can grab slices of various pizzas, lasagne, garlic bread and potato wedges; a World of Spice section for curry lovers, serving tikka masala, jalfrezi, sweet & sour chicken, vegetable fajita mix, rice, naan bread, prawn crackers, chilli con carne, salsa and wraps. Finally there's the carvery where you can load up with a full roast dinner - turkey or gammon are the meats on offer which can then be adorned on the plate with roast potatoes or mash, carrots, swede, cabbage, peas, cauliflower cheese, minced beef pie, liver & onions (yuk!) yorkshire puddings, gravy and sage & onion stuffing balls. And if you're still hungry you can grab a dessert from a huge selection - ice cream or custard, bakewell tart, apple crumble, various hot sponges, chocolate fudge cake, carrot cake, cheese cake, profiteroles, fruit salad. And soft drinks get free refills too.

It's a great place to take the kids and I've been several times with the family when my brother-in-law has arranged a drive up there and we've tagged along in the car.

[Charley]

I wanna go to a tex mex chain in the UK, that's gotta be surreal as fuck

[Lilaena De'Ville]

We actually have a Popeyes chicken pretty close. We haven't been back since we accidentally got spicy chicken nuggets for the kids rather than the regular ones, oops.

TGIFridays is easily my favorite place to go and the ones near me all closed.

This is a theme with my favorite places to eat. BJ's Pizza also closed, though I think there is one somewhere near downtown ...somewhere. My first barbecue chicken pizza, plus they have pink lemonade where they sugar the rim of the glass. IT IS DELIGHTFUL. Mostly my favorite restaurants are about enjoying the food and the quality of the memories I have of the place.

It's why Denny's has a place in my heart - the food is mediocre at best but I spent so much time there with friends in college that it is full of great memories. TGIFridays is the same, but who doesn't love Jack Daniels chicken strips those are to die for! And giant mudslides :yum . BJs Pizza I first ate in Huntington Beach, fresh off the beach in the summer. So great.

*is overcome by nostalgia* :cry

[Peter McCoy]

I'd just like to share with you guys the fact that mere minutes after posting about how awesome Taybarn's is, the missus informed me that her friend from work and her husband want to go there with us next weekend! They drive! They're driving us. I'm getting a free taxi to Taybarn's! WIN!

[Charley]

Free food is the best food :)

Also if we're talking about places of our halcyon youth that are now closed or moved elsewhere, we ate at Mrs. Winner's a lot, which was a fried chicken joint that I'd rate just below Popeyes. I think they're in Georgia now or something.

Also Godfather's Pizza. Me & my mom used to go watch summer weekday matinees and then go eat here on a nearly weekly basis. I've found a few here and there, and while it's not quite the same since they changed that baroque Scorsese-esque decor, it still makes me very nostalgic.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

After thinking on it for a bit, there's really no restaurant - chain or otherwise - that I feel particularly beholden to or nostalgic about. While there are certainly a few places that I can think of off the top of my head that I enjoy (mostly for a certain dish or a shameful food craving every so often), I'm more receptive to staying home and having something home-cooked, even if it's just a bowl of dressed-up ramen :)


edit - I suppose I can add Jack in the Box though, since that's one of those places I've made a ritual of visiting at least once while visiting my mom.

[Peter McCoy]

There was an awesome place in Liverpool town centre called The Albany - hands down it did the best steak in the city until it closed a few years ago. When I got my first job working in a supermarket I'd treat my family to a nice meal every month when I got paid.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ok, In-N-Out if we're including fast food places!

[Charley]

In n out is pretty good, yeah

[Callista]

Free food is the best food :)

Also if we're talking about places of our halcyon youth that are now closed or moved elsewhere, we ate at Mrs. Winner's a lot, which was a fried chicken joint that I'd rate just below Popeyes. I think they're in Georgia now or something.

Also Godfather's Pizza. Me & my mom used to go watch summer weekday matinees and then go eat here on a nearly weekly basis. I've found a few here and there, and while it's not quite the same since they changed that baroque Scorsese-esque decor, it still makes me very nostalgic.

I haven't heard Godfather's Pizza in so long! Sadly, it was too long ago and I don't remember what the food tasted like...

I don't have any favorites...I actually prefer to visit little mom and pop places in whatever area I'm in since they are more authentic. :) This is a recent thing, though...I used to only go to the well known chains, but I've been branching out since moving to Dallas!