That list is kind of silly, and the writer is a bit of a doofus if that's his real ranking.
I generally avoid chain restaurants when I can, although many of my friends don't care enough to. Also, in a city or town with limited and/or unfamiliar options (although sites like Yelp & Foursquare have rendered most of those concerns moot), a chain restaurant in a pinch can be reassuring.
Places I refuse to go to include Applebee's (the very definition of mediocrity), Ruby Tuesday's (a synonym for mediocrity), Denny's (I always find them depressing, a total punt on your meal if that's where you end up), Olive Garden (aka Italian "Applebee's", salad and breadsticks only go so far), Johnny Rocket's (used to love it, got sick from eating at the one by UA, never again), Cheesecake Factory (menu is too big, nothing there is that good), Cracker Barrel (the WalMart of chain eateries), Golden Corral (abhorrent slop), On The Border (abhorrent Gringo food), any of the national pizza chains (Sorry Chicat, but Pizza Hut sucks, and there are too many good pizzarias in Tucson that deliver - much less to go and sit at - to waste my time on national pizza chains), and any of the seafood chains like Red Lobster (EVERYTHING except the biscuits start frozen), Bubba Gump, Joe's, Pappadeaux, and Bonefish (too laden with entendre for me to take seriously). Used to like Outback before I read what pokinmik said about it, that's added to the "No" list now.
Chains I like enough to eat at include:
P.F. Chang's - although I prefer Pei Wei and rarely go to either;
Chili's - soft spot for their burgers from back before they were in Tucson, now entirely mediocre but I'm not as opposed to them as say, Applebee's or Ruby Tuesday;
Hooters - I like their wings, plus boobs;
Tilted Kilt - See Hooters;
Big Boy - Been over a decade since I've been, but would try again
Carrabba's - so much better than Olive Garden, and IMO better than Macaroni Grill
Hard Rock Cafe - Haven't been to one in years, but to me it has kitsch appeal in a city I haven't been to before, but oddly enough I don't feel the same about Planet Hollywood, which I always thought sucked;
Waffle House - Have to be drunk and/or in another state on a road trip, but it has it's place;
IHOP - When I just don't give a fuck about my health;
Red Robin - See IHOP
Claim Jumper - See Red Robin, x2 for massive portions
BJ's Brewpub - Just barely on the good side of "Meh"
Old Chicago - More for the beer selection than the food
Gordon Biersch - Solid but not spectacular, and would rather frequent better microbrewers
Wingstop - Decent wings in a pinch
Chipotle - Never a complaint there.
Eegee's - Food not as good as it used to be, but love the slushies
Subway - Usually avoid, but never had a bad sammy there, just kinda meh, too many other good local options
Never been to Cheddar's, Friendly's, Maggiano's, Texas Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse (too many good local places or better steakhouse chains) or Benihana. T.G.I. McFunster's is a "maybe", used to like trivia night there in grad school, but to me it's unremarkable. CPK used to be good, but I haven't been in a while, and there are too many good places to sit down for pizza in AZ - same thing for Uno's which I haven't been to since I was in undergrad.
At the end of the day, I try to eat local as much as possible, but it doesn't always work out that way.
Longhorned wrote:"Well. I'm not a farm animal."
Ha, so true. Centralized processing kills flavor and texture.
Merkin wrote:Years ago I went to Applebee's where I live after it opened. Ordered some steak that had grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms on it. I hate mushrooms with a passion, and told the server to leave the mushrooms off.
She comes back 5 minutes later and says the cook can't do it, the grilled veggie mix comes pre-packaged like that, and therefor they cannot take the mushrooms out.
Never heard of such a thing then. They don't use fresh onions and bell peppers?
Exhibit A for the jury. That place actually makes me a little angry.
catgrad97 wrote:BWW is hit-and-miss--with families, mostly miss.
Of course, I can't reliably rank these, as none of them can frankly be counted on to serve fresh food in Arizona. Cheesecake Factory comes the closest IMHO.
The BWW in Prescott wasn't so bad G.
But yeah, BWW is hit and miss. The ones in Tucson at Broadway/Harrison and at I-19/Valencia were decent last times I went, but the one on Oracle was terrible - I don't think they've ever cleaned their beer lines, I had to send back the wings I got to be cooked more, and service was lacking. Count me wary of their QC right now.
CalStateTempe wrote:In the two times I have been there I have always left dissatisfied. Generally sets in half-way through the meal.
Too many choices, pricey for what you actually get, not really a sports bar, just lame all around.
Did I mention how awful their wings are? Would rather go to wingstop.
BWW survives based on marketing alone.
Good points CST. Used to love the one near my old office in the East Valley, but the one by ASU was almost as bad as the Tucson Oracle one. Like wings at Wingstop better too, but neither are my go-to wings place in Tucson.
azgreg wrote:CalStateTempe wrote:If you are ever in Durham,
Count on that never happening.
Take the idea of Duke Basketball out of the equation, and I really like the Research Triangle. Been a while though since I've been through there ...
CalStateTempe wrote:The problem I have with Red Lobster is again the price to size ratio. At that point, I feel its better off the go to a real seafood restaurant and have better quality for the same price.
They do have damn good cheddar biscuits through. Sad to see they are dying as a chain.
Cheddar biscuits - as good as they are - aren't reason enough. Not surprising they are dying off.
phenom5 wrote:Any list that includes Olive Garden @ #3 is null and void...and whatever else comes after null and void.
Lloyd? He's all null and void, got dissed in the Malibu, not sure what to do ...