I hate chain restaurants.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Do you?

I really don't see the appeal of Pizza Hut or Kelsey's or Eastside Mario's or other chain family restaurants. Fast food chains I kind of understand. I mean, it's all bad for you anyway. But who do these slow food restaurants think they are fooling? We know that nothing is made fresh there. How could it be? The menu in California is the same as the one in Maine. And then they have the gall to charge you a good deal of money as if everything they cooked for you had not just come out of a box. Frustrating.

Does anyone else agree?

 

[Maleficent13]

Not really. I eat what I like, regardless of which restaurant sells it. I am not really a culinary snob. If I like the salad at Random Restaurant, I'll go there to get it, chain or not.

Also, not really seeing how it's "frustrating". It's easy to avoid if you don't like it.

 

[Missy1961]

I love them. Like Mal, I eat what I like. Many chains are great when you go out as a family. You can usually please everybody at a chain. And here in NY, the chains are no more expensive then going to a regular restaurant, in fact, sometimes I can get the same meal for less because I can get coupons.

 

[ilisao]

I don't like them. We'll eat there if we're going out with friends and that's what they want, but try to avoid them otherwise. The way I see it, there's always some good local restaurants around.

Though, I love Melting Pot (that's a chain, right?).

 

[becka]

While local places are certainly nice I like chains mostly because the consistency is there. If I am here in Missouri or in Florida I know what I am going to get at a chain restaurant versus an unknown experience (could be good or bad) at a local place. I actually look at that as a good thing. Like the PP said it is easy to avoid chain places if you don't like them.

 

[Beth76]

Some chains are good. Some chains are bad. Some locals are good. Some locals are bad. I eat where I find good food, no matter who owns it.

 

[disney junky]

I don't necessarily agree. Our local Macaroni Grill is outstanding. I'm sure they work from the same recipes, but they certainly aren't serving frozen food reheated. There are distinct differences between two of the local steakhouses under the same name, but management has something to do with it. I sort of like the idea that if I want a steak, I might have a better chance of getting one at a sister restaurant to one at home than discovering Joe's Steak and Ale, the local steakhouse, uses horsemeat for steak.

 

[suzimar57]

i'm easy to please - just as happy at pizza hut or red lobster as i am at legal seafood or grand luxe cafe - even a big mac at mcdonalds can make my tummy happy!

 

[mumom95]

I love chain restaurants. Like someone else said, you can usually find something to please every member of the family there.

I will say when I go on vacation I like to try new things and go to more local places.

 

[Cantw8]

You really think they serve their food out of a box? Explain this, please

 

[RVGal]

Actually, I kind of enjoy the fact that if I go to a Chili's in Georgia or California or anywhere in between, I know what I'm going to get. I know exactly what it will taste like. No unpleasant surprises.

There are some chains I like and some I don't. When I am tired and hungry, it is VERY nice to be able to get a predictably yummy meal at one of the chains I do like.

If I want to gamble with my meal, then I'll head to privately owned restaurant. Sometimes I get a very nice surprise. Sometimes I go home hungry.

Different strokes.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Do you?

I really don't see the appeal of Pizza Hut or Kelsey's or Eastside Mario's or other chain family restaurants. Fast food chains I kind of understand. I mean, it's all bad for you anyway. But who do these slow food restaurants think they are fooling? We know that nothing is made fresh there. How could it be? The menu in California is the same as the one in Maine. And then they have the gall to charge you a good deal of money as if everything they cooked for you had not just come out of a box. Frustrating.

Why couldn't it be made fresh?

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Some chains are good. Some chains are bad. Some locals are good. Some locals are bad. I eat where I find good food, no matter who owns it.

I agree. Consistency, whether good or bad is the main thing about chains. If there is something you really like on the menu, it is going to be prepared the same way whether the restaurant is in your own town or across the country. If it is bad, you either don't order it again or you don't eat there.. at least you know what you are in for.


The Melting Pot is a chain..

 

[Kath2003]

Sorry but chain restaurants doesn't necessarily equal 'not fresh'. We have Pizza Express here for example (not like pizza hut, more of an Italian chain which specialises in pizzas). You can see them rolling their own dough fresh and adding fresh toppings to it. You can see the chefs making lasanges. You can do this all locations all over the country from the same menu, but the pizzas are prepared individually, fresh, in each location.

And yeah I prefer individual, local restaurants but if you're in a new town and you want somewhere you KNOW the food is good and you KNOW it's a reasonable price, you go to somewhere you KNOW. I don't often go to Pizza Express in Exeter but I will go to it in any town I'm visiting because I don't have the time or the inclination (or the sense of direction) to scope out the best local joints every place I go.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Sitting here thinking of our favorite restaurants, not one of them is a chain restaurant. We prefer good local restaurants. But that's not to say we HATE chain restaurants, just not our first choice.

 

[mickeyboat]

I am not a big fan of chain restaurants, either. I like that I know what I can expect, and the menu can usually please everyone in my party, but I do find that most stuff has been previously frozen, and is pretty run-of-the-mill.

I am dying to try a REALLY good restaurant, but alas, they are few and far between around here. I watch too much Food Network.

Denae

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

I like to try local restaurants but we do eat at chains somewhat frequently. There is nothing like a chain when you just want something you know and aren't feeling too adventurous. Or when your travelling and don't know the area at all!

 

[LaraK]

When I eat with the kids, we usually eat at a chain restraunt...they tend to be louder and my kids blend in.

When it's just DH and I, we are far more likely to go to a "local" restraunt.

One thing I will not buy at a chain is seafood...let's face it, I get fantastic seafood from the local places...I find that the chains can't compete.

BTW...sometimes, you just want something in particular...like Chili's Buffalo Chicken Salad....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

 

[Lintasare]

If I am traveling and want a good meal for not alot of money I go to a chain. I know I will get a hot meal that I will like and the price will be within my meager budget. If I wanted to take my life into my hands then I would eat at a local place.

Of course chains do not always mean good food. When I was on vacation in Toronto someone recommended a pizza chain which for the life of me I can't remember the name of and it was the worst pizza I have ever had in my life. The pepperoni was grey in color. It was disgusting. We had to go to McD's afterwards because we were starving.

On the other hand I found several good Asian spots on the PATH that had the best noodle soup I have ever tasted so my vacation was a wash between chains and more local stuff.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Some chains are good. Some chains are bad. Some locals are good. Some locals are bad. I eat where I find good food, no matter who owns it.