Jim: you are right again:
So when are you taking your family down for a vacation.

I'll supply the food and you do the cooking.
I don't know how.

Barnmom:
Eileen that's a good egg sandwich and it's only a couple of dollars.

Later , I have to cut the lawn (grass )
Lou

We like Applebees... especially their Crispy Orange Chicken Bowl ----- that is, until we learned it contains more than 1800 calories!!!!! Now, if I order it, I eat 1/2 and save the rest for the next day -- but even 1/2 is a caloric overdose. Each bowl is enough for 2 people.

Applebees (and Chili's and TGIFriday's and Denny's and the rest of those kinds of places) are restaurants I would eat at if I had little or no choice. I am fortunate to live in Houston where we have a huge variety of restaurants. Variety in price, type of food, and quality.

I can get a meal at any number of restaurants that is miles above Applebees and that ilk but comparable in price. And I've found that the service in those types of places is usually lacking, probably due to bad management. Once a restaurant becomes a chain with thousands of locations and the headquarters in some far off location in another state, the quality inevitably suffers.

Like I said, I'm fortunate to live here. We have a LOT of locally owned restaurants. Some with one or two locations, some with a lot more. You won't catch me eating at one of those ubiquitous chains when I have much better food so conveniently available.

We rarely, almost never, frequent chain style restaurants. Not because I'm a food snob but because DH loathes eating out. So when I get the rare chance I always pick something special.

One thing that did intrigue me on our road trip south this winter was the number of Cracker Barrels and Golden Corals. They were everywhere and the parking lots were jam packed full regardless the time of day.

Thought to myself there must be something to it but we never did eat at one. So are they good?

I also marveled at the number of chain restaurants at every loop on I-75. How do they all survive? must be all us Canuks driving south in the winter! LOL

I like Cracker Barrel because it makes me feel good when I walk in. Homey, although thankfully not my home!
I like looking at the candies and knickknacks and what I have had there is good. Southern, country type of food. I like their fried okra and their turnip greens particularly.

Their pancakes are good because they come with little bottles of real maple syrup and they serve breakfast all day.
Dh hates the place!

bumblebeez, the girls always liked Crackerbarrel too, because they liked that "country store" in the front with the candy and other junk, they never cared about the food one way or another.

Golden Corral? Oh my, that's just one huge help-yourself mass of food. I've seen too many kids putting their hands in the food and tasting out of the serving spoons to eat there. The food is edible, but not particularly good, they hit quantity over quality pretty hard...

Annie

Were you pregnant the first time you ate there and got queasy? Pregnant noses are pretty sensitive and non pregnant noses remember the offense. Just today I threw out something that was perfectly good because the smell of it made me queasy when pregnant. Apparently it still does!

TGI Fridays (which used to be pretty good)

Yeah, back in the 70s & early 80s!! We used to go to Friday's back then and it was wonderful. Varied menu, good fresh food, etc.

Same with Chili's in the 70s & early 80s. Both of these chains started out as small organizations which were successful because they were run so well. And both were eventually bought out by LARGE organizations or franchised into mediocrity. Too bad.

It's a huge disappointment to walk into a favorite restaurant, ready to order your favorite unique dish, only to find they've changed the menu to make it more generic. Ugh!

Oh Sharon, your poor DH had to eat out a lot on that road trip. Is that what made him hate it so, or was he always that way? I've gotten to where I don't like eating out much at all, either, because it's so pricey, and the food usually doesn't taste all that good, and sometimes it seems more trouble than cooking. Not always, but sometimes. It's also hard to find vegetarian options on the menus, and when they do have them, they're usually the same thing - spinach quesadillas or spinach enchiladas, or salads. I've had good veggie burgers from Ruby Tuesdays, and bad ones - I guess it depends on whose cooking, maybe. I love their onion rings, though.

When I do eat out, I try to go to independent restaurants, also. I hate chain restaurants. The only problem with independent restaurants is that their vegetarian options are usually even more limited, especially in small towns.

Sally

Fori, that was a good idea! I know that after 26 years, I still have a huge problem with rum, as I drank rum and coke before DD. No problem with Captain Morgan, as I didn't drink that. And I sometimes still have a problem with root beer. Most of the time I can smell and drink it, but there are days that just the smell will make my stomach roll, and the rum, forget it, just the smell kills me.

Eileen, I hope you figure it out.

Tami

I forgot about the Cracker Barrel. We had one of those in Dunkirk and I liked their pot roast and their chicken and dumplings. I wouldn't eat a second time in Applebees , Chili's, TGIFriday's, Denny's or the Olive Garden.

I remember when the Olive Garden first opened in Toronto. People lined up out the door to get in. They could have gone to any number of Italian restaurants and had a pasta dinner with a sauce made from scratch for just a dollar to two more than what the Olive Garden was charging. Of course it wouldn't have been unlimited.

Ann

The Olive Garden? Only reason I go there is for soup and salad ... the salad has declined dramatically except on TV. Luckily we do have a number of good independent restaurants, especially an Italian one owned by two brothers from Naples. Now, that's Italian!

My daughter has the same problem with a local, very expensive restaurant, and has not been able to narrow down the cause. She just doesn't eat there anymore.

I like taking the grandkids to those demonized chain restaurants, they do a good job getting the food out quickly and keeping them entertained at the table.

I don't eat at Cracker Barrel, their discrimination policies make me nauseous.

I think I ate at Applebee's once long ago. Not memorable, obviously. I have never eaten at Olive Garden. Alice and I ate at a Denny's not long ago. (We wanted another place but it was closed and we were on foot.) It was horrible in every possible way.

We have a number of chain eateries here but I prefer to dine at the locally owned places. We do go to Mimi's now and then. They offer a menu of smaller portions which we like.

Eileen, I would also suspect the oil if you are ordering fried foods. After I had children, I found that I could no longer eat fried foods without getting an upset stomach. If the fry oil hasn't been changed frequently enough it will cause all kinds of tummy trouble.

Eileen, I hope you figure out what is making you ill. I have no suggestions for you other than what has already been said.

Jim, I agree with you in theory. Applebee's TGI Friday's, O'Charleys, Chili's, and Ruby Tuesday's are not fast food, rather just chain type restaurants. Here Chili's is a small step above any of those I just listed. And I don't consider Denny's to even be in the running with those mentioned. To me Denny's, Shoney's, IHOP, and Cracker Barrel are not even in the running with the others. I will eat a cold sandwich at home rather than have lunch at them. I would go to Cracker Barrel for pancakes, eggs, biscuits or bacon. They have great bacon and will sell it to you by the pound. I don't refuse to eat at them because I'm a food snob. After all I do sometimes go to the Mom and Pop meat and three's where I can get a plate for around $6.

I do eat at chains because I really don't have a choice. If I don't physically feel like cooking they are pretty much the only choice I have besides fast food. We have a few independant restaurants which haven't gone under in this economy, however their menu is not only very limited, it's not the classy type of food that their prices seem to say it is. We don't have a single restaurant that even serves Risotto in this town, much less a side that isn't potato or broccoli. Even our Ruth Cris (which is nothing but an expensive chain) has very disappointing food.

This is a really strange thread to me, I don't understand why the chain restaurants are so vilified and independent places so revered. And yet I remember a thread where people talked about snacks they ate at home, like twinkies or such or canned soup and that was ok.
I don't eat out that much but the last time I got sick was at a local independent place. And they don't all make everything from scratch either. I don't think I qualify as a foodie anymore! I can find something I like almost anywhere.

bumblebeez! What are you doing? Applying LOGIC to this subject? Stop that immediately!!!!

Jim

Haha! So true, Jim.

LOL!!! Jim, thanks for the explanation!

We don't have a lot of chains around here. I find Marie Calendar's tolerable. I have a much loved frequent companion who has very strange ideas about what he'd like to eat. Chains often have something he'll like. Ethnic do not. I was rather thrilled to find Appleby's in some far flung areas when we were out together, because there was something he really liked and quite a few not-revolting choices for me. The quality was similar to equivalent level independents closer to home. Not brilliant, but clean and decent.

There was a popular, local, small chain that went through many hands after the founders sold. It pretty much stayed the same with occasional small changes to the menu as times changed. Their salads stunk, however, and I used to order salad greens off menu the way I wanted them (until they caught on and put it on the menu). The last owners decided to turn it into a steakhouse. They did add a couple of good salads at the same time, but removed a lot of variety. On the other hand, they altered signiture dishes that had been the hallmark of this place for 50 years to make them more generic. I can't tell you how many loyal customers sent them back to the kitchen. Then didn't come back to the restaurant. Nor did anyone who didn't want a hunk of beef. Nor did anyone else. And an era ended with a whimper when they closed the doors permanently. So sad!

That's in contrast with a one off local place that against all standard "musts" had not redecorated since the '70's (they'd cleaned and maintained, just hadn't changed the style), and had not changed the menu much. It also changed hands several times, but the newer owners knew that the reason so many people kept coming back is that they liked it the way it was. Every time there was a fad, e.g., "wraps", the last owner would have it as a "special". If it was still popular at the next menu printing it would become permanent, and if it went away, they could usually make it anyway if you asked for it. It was good quality, healthy, tasty food, in pleasant surroundings with friendly service. Worth fighting parking for. But it closed when the last owner didn't want to continue, and there's never a parking snarl at the replacement. I don't even know how they stay in business...

As one of the villifiers, I'll try to explain my point of view. Yes I do use canned soup (horrors!) and some other pre-packaged stuff that some consider no-nos. So I can see your point about why dis a restaurant for doing what might be along those same lines.

Firstly, when I eat out (which by the way, is not often, mainly because, as Sally said, it's so pricey, and the food usually doesn't taste all that good, and sometimes it seems more trouble than cooking), I usually want something above and beyond what I can make at home. If I can make it, and especially if I can whip it up quickly/easily, I don't want to pay someone else to do it.

I'll admit that my statements above are generalizations. In general, I find that independents outperform chains in quality of both food and service. Of course, that's not always true. Some independents are awful! Some chains are OK.

Because I don't eat out often, I don't want my experience to be mediocre or acceptable or passable. I want it to be outstanding.

I believe that a lot of these chains which I consider mediocre are very popular because people simply don't bother cooking for themselves anymore. Chili's and TGI Friday's, etc, are better than a frozen dinner or a Big Mac & fries. So if that's what you're used to having, the chains are definitely a step up.

Since I'm used to having home cooked meals, made (mostly) with fresh ingredients, I just have no interest in paying for the premade, prepackaged stuff they are serving in the chains.

We went to Macaroni Grill maybe about 2 years ago and the experience stuck in my head. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a table and the spot we were waiting in had a great view of the kitchen. I watched them open plastic and foil packs of pretty much every single dish they were serving and reheat them. I didn't see any actual cooking, just heating and arranging the items on the plate.

I did NOT want to stay and eat there, but the circumstances were such that it would have not been a good idea to leave. We were with another couple and I just couldn't bring myself to make a fuss and insist we leave. It was clean, service was ok, etc, just that if I want frozen prepackeged foods, I don't want to pay restaurant prices for it.

Rereading this, I'm not sure if I sound snippy if it sounds like I'm trying to rebuff you bumblebeez, or if it sounds like I was offended at the question. None of that. I just sort of wanted to give my point of view in answer to your very valid question.

The only chain restaurant that I go to is El Pollo Inka. I can't think of any others, although I have gone to In "N" Out Burger when on the road. I have noticed that dining choices are much more limited when on vacation, and Sequoia was especially bad (and they were all independent restaurants), although the restaurants inside the park (and park owned, I think) were okay. If we go to Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, San Diego, or San Francisco, dining out is not a problem, however.

I ate at a Marie Calendar's about 15 years ago, and that was the last time I remember going into a chain like that. Not all independent restaurants are great, but they certainly offer many, many more choices than chains. Some locally owned restaurants here have branches (meaning two or three extra locations), but they still seem more like independents than chains. One type of restaurant I especially try to avoid is a sports bar, as it often has loud and obnoxious patrons. I like to go to independent restaurants because they seem more intimate and personal, but I agree that there are a huge number of bad independent restaurants. However, because of the huge number of independent restaurants, it is not difficult at all to find great ones close by and interesting and exotic ones within a close drive. Chain restaurants lack a sense of adventure, I think, but instead offer familiarity. It's a personal choice whether to prefer familiarity or adventure - it's not a matter of vilification of one or the other. I like adventure when I go out.

Lars

Am I on the list for eating at the Olive Garden or
Mac Donalds.
I hope so, LOL !!!

Eileen:
You had a chance to let me help figure out what your problem would be.
Remember the Reading Terminal ???

I'll go along with Fori.
Maybe you " thought " you were pregnant every time you
went to Applebee's. LOL !!!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Something I forgot !!!

Many times when dining out with the family, we share the tastes of the different foods,
that each of us has ordered.
You know, " dad try this , it's great " !!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Why dosn't everyone stop being so picky and enjoy life, while you still can.
So don't eat at the places you don't like, "already "
You didn't know I was Jewish, LOL!!!

Just remember to be thankful, when you do eat, already.
Lower your noses a little, so you can enjoy the aroma's of good food.

LOU

I think that Bumblebeez question was a good one and May, you answered it better than I would have. I feel the same way. It is one thing to use shortcuts at home but if I'm going out for lunch or dinner I want something better than packaged or prepared foods. And before anyone accuses me of being a "food snob" I confess. But on the other hand, I have admitted here on more than one occasion to loving fast food joints including Taco Bell, which unfortunately we do not have in our area, McDonalds and Burger King.

We have a couple of little hole in the wall diner type places in the area where the atmosphere leaves much to be desired, the food is great. Everything homemade. Good tasting food is much more important to me than atmosphere.

Moe and I often order different things so that we can share off of each others plates. Matthew doesn't mind sharing either.

I think that everyone should continue to enjoy eating what and where they want without having to worry about raising or lowering their noses to reach another persons standard.

Ann

I also think bumblebeez question was a valid one and Beverly made one of my points. The chain restaurants are expensive for food that's just OK. And personally, I don't like TGIFridays any better than I like McDonald's. I do go to McDonald's because I like their coffee and I buy their $1 double burgers for the dogs and I used to like their fries before they changed their frying oil, but if I'm getting a fast food burger it's going to be Burger King, and I've already confessed my twice a year chili dog with an A&W rootbeer.

I don't use canned soup at home, nor do I use gravy mixes or stuffing in a box. It's not because I'm a snob or because I'm a foodie, it's because I don't like them and many "convenience" foods are extremely high in sodium, have all kinds of ingredients I can't pronounce and are expensive so I choose not to use them. I've tried to make healthier choices in the last decade or so and most don't fit in with my healthier choices, especially after you check the calories, salt and fat in them. Restaurant meals are a treat, so I want it to be good, I want it to be something I don't make at home and I want it to be worth what I'm paying for it. And, like Ann T, atmosphere is secondary to the quality of the food for me.

You'll find it hard to convince me that warming up a frozen dinner, opening a can of soup or mixing up a package of dry gravy mix is cooking. Those things are all possibly for those "emergency" meals that we all have but Ashley told me when she worked at Applebee's that everything on the menu came premade and either frozen or out of cans and jars. I can do that more cheaply and faster at home and without waiting half an hour for a table.

It all comes down to a matter of taste. I'd probably like Ruby Tuesday's crab cakes just fine because I've never had one that I couldn't eat, I love 'em all. That horrible detested veggie burger dripping BBQ sauce? I see that's been removed from the menu, so mine probably wasn't the only complaint.

I never said that someone else shouldn't eat at Applebee's or Olive Garden or Cracker Barrel. I've even eaten the soup at Applebee's, although I know it's premade and prepackaged and full of salt and chemicals. I eat beans at Cracker Barrel and I'm afraid to even look up the nutritional information, LOL. The single item I'll eat at Olive Garden is bread sticks, I don't even eat their salad because I don't like the dressing, but Ashley just loves the place. That's the beauty of it, we all can eat where and what we like, although some will spend endless hours whining that their way is the only way and everyone should do it their way and then they'd be "right".

I think we're all right, we each eat and cook what we like. I know there are a zillion people in the world who love pizza and only a few like me who detest it. That just leaves more for all the rest of you! There should be room for all opinions, without all the "I'm right and you're wrong" that can accompany it.

Oh, and Eileen, I think maybe prior posters are right, your nausea is all because of a prior bad experience. I know that now whenever I see a Ruby Tuesday's I can taste that awful burger and I lose my appetite, even though my brain says that probably there are other acceptable options on the menu. One bad meal can color your perception for a long time.

Annie

I'm not all that particular about what I eat but dining out is a luxury for me both in terms of the money spent and the calories. I want a good experience. Most of the chain places here are very popular and on a busy weekend night there will often be a wait of at least an hour for Applebee's, Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, Unos, BJ's, Elephant Bar, etc. I am not that patient. Several of these do not take reservations. I don't feel that any of these are remarkable enough to wait more than an hour to eat.

The local places we patronize offer food that is often somewhat unique, the service is more personal, and I rarely have a wait of more than a few minutes. Win, win, win.

Chains are great if what you seek is a predictable experience. Nothing wrong with that. I desire more.

I think that everyone should continue to enjoy eating what and where they want without having to worry about raising or lowering their noses to reach another persons standard

Amen, and might I add, continue to enjoy this discussion and back and forths. I just scroll on by those who don't!

I like some chain restaurants. I wouldn't choose one for a night where my parents have the kids, wife comes home from work in time and we actually have a couple hours to ourselves and can go out, but they have their place in my life. They'd probably have less of a place in my life if McDonalds and Taco Bell got liquor licenses.

Chain restaurants are acceptable for an adequate salad or sandwich. At home, I'd rather cook at home, too, but I'm fine with this kind of place away from home if that's all there is, or all anyone can agree on. It's interesting to me that I've always said the short order stuff was best, and it seems that the rest is made at a central commissary anyway.

What really gets to me is the kind of place that will cut up breaded chicken tenders, or other pre-cooked at the commissary protein, and throw it in a salad! Ugh! I want vegetables in my salads!! Or at least something that was meant to be in it, rather than some commissary entree repurposed...

The chain restaurants have their place just as the fast food places do. For years my twice-a-week get together with my mom consisted of lunching at Applebee's, Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill, Olive Garden, Mimi's, Elephant Bar, etc. She had limited mobility and poor vision, so activities like clothes shopping or going to movies was out of the question. We never went to the same restuarant twice in a row so it was always a "new" and pleasant experience for her. I liked the menus because I was always able to order something for her that she'd enjoy.

Eventually, her mental capabilites deteriorated that even going to a chain was too much. So we'd go to McDonald's. The Happy Meal was just perfect for her. The food was soft enough for her to chew easily and she got a toy to take back to her memory care apartment.

Both kinds of restaurants fulfill a purpose, although serving fabulous food may not be it. Nowadays I don't care much for the chains or for going out to eat in general. But they definitely were useful during my mom's last years.

Aw shambo, I loved your post.

The older I get, the more I prefer just to cook at home. My husband is a doll when it comes to eating anything I come up with, and I get to follow my own whims and indulge my moods. As my cooking skills have improved over the years, there are fewer and fewer dishes that I can't just cook for us, to my own particular taste and preference.

Generally, if we go out, I like to go out to eat things that I either don't know how to cook or are a hassle to cook. On the odd occasion when I'm too tired or for whatever reason just don't want to cook, we've a few local places we like to go because they have dishes we both enjoy and staff we feel comfy with.

That said, it isn't that I won't eat at a chain restaurant like Applebees, TGIFridays, Chevy's etc. Some are better than others, but most of them provide menus varied enough that it would be a truly difficult to please person who couldn't find something at least acceptable. Most, unless they are managed very poorly can accommodate folks with dietary restrictions as well.

Occasionally, if my husband and I are on a road trip and I haven't packed a meal, we'll stop at one of these places because they're generally close to the freeways or main arteries, and we know basically what we're going to get and about what it will cost us. Or sometimes, we go to one of these restaurants with other folks because they've suggested it. Many people with children
like these places because they tend to be kid-friendly. On these occasions, it is more important to us that we're spending time with friends than whether or not I make a better pot pie than Marie Callender's or if Strings uses more oil than I'd like in their linguine.

One thing though, about actual fast food joints. I wonder if the food is so much worse than it used to be, or if my taste has matured as the years have gone by, or a little of both. I just can't like them anymore. Once in a while, if I'm in a real rush or if I get a wild hair, I'll grab something from MacDonalds or Taco Bell. I'm always sorry afterward. The stuff is only barely acceptable if it is HOT and freshly prepared, which doesn't happen nearly often enough, and I always feel Oogy after eating it.

Plllog:
Mine still doesn't look the same as your " plllog "

I've put all kinds of meats and cheeses in a Chefs Salad.
Never tried chicken.

Shambo:
I loved your Post too. Nice that your mom had you to take care of her.
Tanto Bene !!!

FOAS:
You can bring your own drinks to Mac Donald's.
Just tell them Lou said it was OK !
Lou

PS:
Plllog,
I just found out the secret. The " l's " change,
when you Preview the message.

I've recently discovered Red Robin...yum

LOL!!! Lou, you found me out! They're there just to trick you!

I admit to being one of the "ladies who lunch". Lunch, besides a meal, is an excuse to get together and schmooze. If it's done while eating there's no guilt for "sitting around doing nothing". We eat lots of salads. I expect my salad to be full of vegetables, and fruit. Often there's a little cheese or a little chicken. But it's not supposed to be a deli tray dumped on a little lettuce. Entr salads of that kind are a pain to make (except if there are a lot of leftovers that can just be whacked up and tossed in). Which is why we like to eat them out, and why chain restaurants just throw some entrée meat on them and call it a creation. It's something they can do at the central commissary. But that's not vegetables!! Bring on the snow peas and beets!!!

Chicken (not breaded tenders, but real chicken) is good in a green salad. I do it with leftover chicken that I can bear looking at whole. Try it!

P.S., you can make the l's look "right" while you type, too. Just change the local font in your brower's preferences/options/settings.

They'd probably have less of a place in my life if McDonalds and Taco Bell got liquor licenses.
LOL!! When I was in high school, we used to drive through and order a shake, pour some of it out and add rum. Yeah, I was a bad 'un. Don't tell!!

OK so you may remember that I've previously confessed to a weakness for 2/$1 tacos at Jack in the Box. They're awful but somehow good. Maybe because it brings back memories of my youth when JITB was the ONLY fast food we had! That was a LONG time ago! So, I'm not a COMPLETE snob! LOL

I guess the difference is expectations. When I drive through and pay $1 for two tacos, believe me, I know what I'm getting. Complete carp! But when I wait 30 minutes, then am seated at a nice table and waited on, I want freshly cooked food.

And I agree, I'm not saying these places should die or that anyone else shouldn't go to them. Listen, if I'm with a group of friends and that's where we're going, I'm going too without a negative word. As Annie likes to say, it's all about the company you're with. I agree with that 100%.

I also really like this discussion. We talk a lot about how to cook specific things (and by "we" I mean y'all, I mainly just read!). So it's nice to get just slightly off topic sometimes and have a discussion on our opinions about food as opposed to the specifics of cooking.

May

I agree, May. There have been some really well written posts on this thread.. Shambo gets first prize of course, but hers wasn't the only good one. Lou's comment about Eileen "thinking" she was pregnant every time she ate at Applebee's had me rolling on the floor. OK, it was sort of rude, but it hit my funny bone just right.

Jim

Sigh. Well, I had dinner at Chili's last night with the chain restaurant
King. May, there wasn't any cooking going on there either! I got fajitas,
which I knew weren't going to be real, but which I thought would have to
have been prepared on premises. I'm not so sure! It was edible. The salad
was mostly sliced green leaf lettuce. It was fresh, but I don't count four, raw
red onion rings, a spoon of minced tomato, and a few kernels of corn as
"vegetables", and I couldn't eat a whole bowl of a single kind of lettuce,
not being a bunny (whereas I can eat Mesclun mix by the handful right out
of the box). The onions and peppers in the fajitas might have been sliced
and frozen, but they were pretty crisp and looked like they were probably
fresh, but a whole serving of vegetables they were not! And this was what
I ordered to have the most produce I could find. This place obviously
doesn't believe in 'em. The "tortillas", btw, were gummy and reminded me
of those textured rubber things people use to open jars. And the "rice"
was overmoist, over cooked, and to my best guess, something reconstituted
like Minute Rice.

I'm sure if one is less fixated on vegetables, there must be better
choices. The King is happy with his fried whatever and corn on the cob.
When I said okay to it I figured I'd get a hamburger, but just the
pictures in the menu looked like heartburn on a plate. What I ate might
have been lacking but at least it was digestible. Perhaps underflavored,
but I haven't puffed up, so it probably wasn't soaked in salt, and it
didn't taste salty. There is no Appleby's, so I can't compare, but I seem
to remember liking that better, not having Eileen's problem.

Unfortunately, the one independent right close by to the King is a place
that the local kids think of as a fancy night out, and I think of as a
kind of middling place that thinks too well of itself.

Maybe I thought I was pregnant everytime I went to Applebbees?????????????? Something got lost in translation from the original post but... oh so typical. I dont think it was rude Im not thin skinned. I certainly didnt fall off the chair laughing but thats because it just wasnt that funny. Hmmm nevermind

Eileen:
It wasn't meant to be rude.
Maybe a little funny ??? That's what the LOL !!! was for.
Lou

plllog,
You just reminded me of the last time I went to Chili's. I have a small "lunch group" at work, we go out for lunch most fridays. We have a list of about 30 places we go to and we pick from the list so as not to get in a rut. One of the girls suggested we go to Chili's one time (not on the list) because she wanted to try their salad and chips & salsa lunch (or something like that). So we went.

She shared her salsa and chips so I had a taste. It was clearly JARRED salsa. Probably Pace. Definitely not the best stuff out there even in a jar. Not that big a deal in places where TexMex is not all readily available. But here in Houston, there's a Mexican joint practically on every corner, and the vast majority of them make their own salsa! Which comes free, with chips, unlimited.

JARRED salsa! In Houston? I don't think so. Since I'm in charge of the list, Chili's did not get added.

Does anyone here remember when Chili's made soft tacos? Eons ago, obviously. They were fairly good. Three to an order and had like a Cincinnati type chili in them. Loved them! That must have been pre 1984, the year I moved from my home in Denver to see the rest of the world. Gads that's a long time ago!

I really liked a seared tuna entree that Chili's used to carry a few years ago.
We went several months ago and could not find much on the menu that appealed to us. I ordered baked potato soup and a side salad. The salad was exactly as plllog described and the soup was yucky. So Chili's is now off the list.

I drove back from Chicago this afternoon...ate "lunch" at 2:30 at Mc D's....it was awful. I was starving and in a hurry had been hung in construction forever adding almost an hour to my trip....so I elected fast and cheap...The cheeseburger has grisley bits and plastic cheese....and the fries were just awful. I debated just getting a bag of those cookies and a diet coke and wish I had.
I have a neighbor who is often found coming back from "dinner" about 6:30....said we just ran out for a quick bite to ...one of the chain places on the highway...
EWWW!! I would so much rather just fry up a couple of eggs and shake some bagged lettuce out of a bad ( bad as that is) and sprinkle with a little salt, olive oil and vinegar.

But, I took my grand daughter out to lunch a couple of weeks ago to TGI Fridays, and we had a pretty good meal. I had the house salad which was not over dressed and a couple of skewers of broiled shrimp...it was nice. She had a burger and fries with the Jack Daniels sauce....too sweet by far, but the fries were good and she took 1/2 the burger home for her little brother....he'll eat anything!!

Yep, soup base, plastic envelopes of salad dressing and gravy, frozen entrees, granulated potatoes....no wonder you feel nauseous....
Linda C

I think you make a good point also, Bumblebeez, but my primary reason for trying to go to locally owned restaurants is the same reason I try to go to locally owned businesses in general - they're owned by local people that live in my town and send their kids to our schools, and shop at the businesses in our town, etc., etc. It's impossible for me to only shop at locally owned businesses, but I try. There are no locally owned grocery stores near by, but for the most part, I can accomplish most of my errands and shopping and dining going only to locally owned. I just prefer to give my hard earned money to my own townfolk rather than to corporations, as much as I can.

Sally

Sally:
I had to comment on your Post.
It's according to how the local merchants treat the Locals.

In my neck of the woods the local people, who have supported the the locally owned stores,
from way back when , are a little dissappointed.

When the population started to change; to more people from the big cities,
the store owners raised their prices, because that's what the new clientel were used to.
They didn't care about the local people.

So the Local Market prices went up to convience store prices.
Only problem is most of the Big City people are weekenders and the business drops off.

Store Owners weren't concerned with the Locals.
Who now shop at Walmart and other big Chains.
I've even seen people who work in the Local Markets,
shopping in Walmart.
Because, some things are half the amount.
I still shop in our Market but just for items to hold me over, until I can make it to Walmart.

I have seen this happening in the entire NE Pa., thru the years.
Your situation maybe different.
Lou

I know for a fact that the Chili's here makes the salsa fresh every morning. It does not come from a jar. Having said that, it may come from pouring a pack of something into something else, I don't know,but the fact is that they make it someway. And the longer it sits the hotter it gets.

Ranch Dressing at the chains here may come from a bottle however it is not the same brands we can buy from the grocery shelves. (Now I'm not talking about chains like IHOP, Cracker Barrel, Denny's) Those probably are Kraft or even worse if possible. I would barf if I had to eat the Ranch Dressings we can buy off the shelf here.

May, in Houston, I'd rather go to Ninfa's! And there are similar places here I'd rather go to as well. The chain restaurant King doesn't do ethnic. No Mexican, no Greek, no Italian, no French, no Brazilian, no Caribbean, no Middle Eastern, no Chinese, and certainly no Afghani (wonderful food!). Once in awhile he'll deign to address shrimp tempura, and if there were an authentic Argentine, with real, top quality Argentine beef, he might accept that as well. He'll eat a really good steak at a fine dining restaurant. Otherwise, it's "American" food, and chain restaurants. And that's how people end up eating the salsa at Chili's. (The salsa actually wasn't all that bad (at least it did impart some flavor the the "fajitas"), and the rest of the meal was adequate edible. I didn't get nauseous like Eileen at Applebee's, or puff up with salt or anything.)

Eileen, have you figured out the problem yet?

Lou, it's not uncommon for locally owned businesses to have to charge more for what they sell because they don't have the buying power of Walmart or Chile's or Denny's. But no, where I live is certainly not a tourist place...far from it. Think King of the Hill, which was modeled after the town I live in. (sorry for taking this so far off topic.)

Eileen, I hope you don't have to eat there any more.

Sally

No i havent figured it out and probably never will as I do not plan on eating there anymore...my suspicion is the OIL. This is really the only place I have that expierience so its gotta be them and not me LOL!

Eileen: you probably have it figured right, with the Oil.
If it happened repeatedly.

At times I would pick up a Pizza that wasn't great.
When tried again it was Good.

So now I give places a second chance.
- - - - - - - - - -

I don't know about Kentucky Fried. Didn't read anything on them.

I stopped at one near my Daughters and picked up a Bucket, when I visited.
The Thighs were full of fat and it saturated the whole piece.
I did this 2 times. I'm not going for the 3rd strike.

Up where I live the chicken at KF was good. ???
Lou