Spinoff: Worst Chain Restaurants

[PrincessShmoo]

Olive Garden, at least our local one. My wife got a meal there that was too spicy to eat. The manager said their customers prefer the spicy items. She complained to corporate and the response included a copy of the recipe, which did not any hot spices, and the note that their locations NEVER deviate from the corporate recipes. Given that the manager made it clear that they did, that was amusing. Haven't been back since.
But that is my general complaint the last 10 years with a lot of restaurants, too spicy. I can't wait until that fad passes.

I just don't get why our local Olive Garden puts hot peppers in the salad. Well, I "get" it - we're in Southern California and "that's what people want". Um....no.

I wish it was a passing fad, but it's been around for years......

 

[bcla]

That's a shame about Changs. It used to be one of my favorites. Famous Dave's I don't care for either. I guess that's why they were 'giving' away their bottles of BBQ sauce...because it was so good. Hahal

That's one of those weird ones. Having grown up in an area with lots of independent Chinese food, PF Chang's always seemed like it filled some sort of strange niche where people might feel more comfortable there than in some place where the menu on the wall is in Chinese.

I tried it a few times. It seemed like twice the price that I could get at a decent place at an Asian mall and not as good.

 

[superme80]

Chili's. The food is decent, but I always get crappy service.

 

[Planogirl]

I dislike Macaroni Grill and On the Border defines mediocrity to me. KFC and Grandy's are awful and Wendy's has definitely gotten worse over the years.

In contrast, I don't mind McDonald's and love the chicken and dumplings at Cracker Barrel. We are also fans of Five Guys.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Pretty much any corporate American Bistro isn't going to be that good. But a lot of my least favorite are owned by Darden.

Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Cheddar's, Bahama Breeze.

Over on the fast food side, My least favorite of all time is McDonald's. They are decent in a strange place for breakfast egg mc muffins though. Papa Johns and Cici's are garbo.

The only thing I can stomach at Cracker Barrel is the trout.

I can't say I hate PF Changs because I've never been there. I've always found mom and pop places for Chinese Food. Some Americanized, some not.

 

[wonder whisper]

Cracker Barrel has changed over time. First one I went to decades ago was in Nashville (I was on a business trip there), where they served me one of the best breakfasts I've ever had.

They then started expanding and the food and service began to decline. Last time I ate at one (about three years ago) I decided they were being taken off the (relatively small) list of chain places I still occasionally patronize.

Interesting that no one here here has brought up Brio Tuscan. That one seems to be either loved or hated; I've never met anyone who is neutral on it.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

This thread is funny and just shows how people can have such different taste. I love Red Lobster, PF Changs, and Famous Dave's. I do agree that Applebees is awful.

 

[Albort]

This thread is funny and just shows how people can have such different taste. I love Red Lobster, PF Changs, and Famous Dave's. I do agree that Applebees is awful.

Same, i love Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Idk where else to get some yummy Lobsters. The closest thing to a good lobster was Outback but their quality has really gone down. Olive Garden is so good too. Recently went to Maggianos... it was all disappointment.

Guess we can all agree, Applebees is terrible... XD

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Same, i love Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Idk where else to get some yummy Lobsters. The closest thing to a good lobster was Outback but their quality has really gone down. Olive Garden is so good too. Recently went to Maggianos... it was all disappointment.

Guess we can all agree, Applebees is terrible... XD

I think a lot of it is geographic. I live just outside of Chicago so seafood is very, very hard to come by here. There are a few really ritzy places in Chicago that will set you back a fortune. And not to mention, I'd have to make a bit of a drive for them. So I'm content sticking with Red Lobster which is about 10 minutes from where I live. If I lived in Boston, then of course, I wouldn't touch Red Lobster with a 10 foot pole.

You say you love Olive Garden and I wouldn't be caught dead in one. But that's because I have an abundance of top quality italian places near me with prices comparable to Olive Garden.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

And again, I don't get the love for Chick-Fil-A. Maybe not worst, but the unconditional love seems to defy any rational explanation. It's relatively expensive and the service I got was kind of meh.

Interesting. I've found the Chick-fil-A is cheaper than other fast food places around here (or at least comparable). Their chicken actually tastes like chicken, compared to the McDonald's chicken sandwich I ate last week out of desperation and felt like I was biting into rubber. And I've always found their employees super friendly.

 

[aprilgail]

Same, i love Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Idk where else to get some yummy Lobsters. The closest thing to a good lobster was Outback but their quality has really gone down. Olive Garden is so good too. Recently went to Maggianos... it was all disappointment.
stuff
Guess we can all agree, Applebees is terrible... XD

That is so funny because around here no one considers the stuff that they serve at red lobster to be "lobster"-it is just bland, tasteless junk. If you want lobster you go to one of the good seafood restaurants you have all over- even the beach huts concession stand at the beaches have better lobster than red lobster.

 

[Maggie Lizer]

I like Five Guys and Chick-fil-A, and Olive Garden is alright. Too many good seafood places near me to bother with Red Lobster. The Famous Dave's near me closed (went once and was not really impressed).

I despise Crapper Barrel. I've been to three or four different ones and all have been NASTY!

 

[JaxDad]

And again, I don't get the love for Chick-Fil-A. Maybe not worst, but the unconditional love seems to defy any rational explanation. It's relatively expensive and the service I got was kind of meh.

I have not seen "unconditional love." I see people just sharing that they like this particular restaurant. And defies "rational explanation?" What? I think I can confidently say that most people who have gone to Chick-Fil-A enjoy the food and receive excellent customer service. It's okay that you happen to not like the food, and it's a shame that you happened to receive meh service, but it seems that your experience is the anomaly that defies rational explanation.

 

[tvguy]

I just don't get why our local Olive Garden puts hot peppers in the salad. Well, I "get" it - we're in Southern California and "that's what people want". Um....no.

I wish it was a passing fad, but it's been around for years......

Seems to have come about 10 to 15 years ago. I have no problem with spicy food, just don't make everything spicy. I had a great shrimp dish ruined because of the spice.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

That is so funny because around here no one considers the stuff that they serve at red lobster to be "lobster"-it is just bland, tasteless junk. If you want lobster you go to one of the good seafood restaurants you have all over- even the beach huts concession stand at the beaches have better lobster than red lobster.

I live in the suburbs of Chicago so there are no "beach huts" here. I have to make do with what I've got which is a Red Lobster. The best lobster I've ever had was on a small island off the coast of Colombia called San Andres. You get tons of it, served warm with hot butter. It's also cheap. Unfortunately I don't have access to it at the moment

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I have not seen "unconditional love." I see people just sharing that they like this particular restaurant. And defies "rational explanation?" What? I think I can confidently say that most people who have gone to Chick-Fil-A enjoy the food and receive excellent customer service. It's okay that you happen to not like the food, and it's a shame that you happened to receive meh service, but it seems that your experience is the anomaly that defies rational explanation.

Agreed. I like Chic, have only had 1 bad experience but the food is usually quite good and I think quite cheap as well.

 

[klacey1]

Raising Canes
Applebees
Chillis. Served raw chicken once. Can't go back.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Ruby Tuesdays: An uppity version of Applebees.
On the Border: The Olive Garden of Mexican food.

 

[mjkacmom]

Same, i love Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Idk where else to get some yummy Lobsters. The closest thing to a good lobster was Outback but their quality has really gone down. Olive Garden is so good too. Recently went to Maggianos... it was all disappointment.

Guess we can all agree, Applebees is terrible... XD

That's interesting, where I live, we have tons of mom and pop Italian American restaurants (because everyone is Italian American). The only chain Italian American restaurant I've liked was maggianos (Philadelphia). Olive Garden has a weird menu.

I just saw someone who posed an entree from applebees on Facebook, a chicken caprese salad on mashed potatoes. What?!

 

[fly girl]

Red Lobster
Applebee's
Logan's

Pizza Hut
Burger King (always something missing with order)
KFC