Chain restaurants that suck

[HEyHEY]

I'll begin with Lenny's.... I mean Denny's.

[terrya]

1. Perkins' is crap. SLOOOOOOW service.

Lousy food.

[Commendatori]

41. Agreed on both counts.

What really pisses me off is that when they're out of an item, they give you lesser portions of an equivalent and call it a "substitute." Every time they do that, I call for a manager and raise hell.

The only reason I ever eat at that dump is that my grandmother loves it, and whenever I'm in my hometown I take her out for breakfast. I think she picks Perkins just because she enjoys seeing me jump all over their management.

[Sporadicus]

2. I'd Add

TGI Friday's, Applebees, and any of the other chains that specialize in fatty, overpriced Purina Yuppie Chow.

[HEyHEY]

10. Applebees "Neighbourhood grill"

Um...sorry but no true "neighbourhood grill" has ever be owned by a corp.

[Sporadicus]

16. That's News to Me

even they're owned by individual franchisees, I stand by my assertion that their food is overpriced and overrated. Keep in mind that many McDonald's are owned by franchisees as well.

[HEyHEY]

17. Yeah, good point

Still though - you know what I mean.

[Sporadicus]

19. Yeah

Point well taken.

[dwckabal]

34. Applebee's tops my list n/t

[afraid_of_the_dark]

45. Chili's

:puke:

[noonwitch]

57. Chilis used to be good, but has gone downhill over the past few years

I used to love their food, but the last time I ate there it just didn't taste right.

[northofdenali]

73. "Purina Yuppie Chow" is a phrase that will ring into history!

ROFL~

Fortunately, the only Applebees that I know of is in Anchorage and I got dragged there once by a friend.

Never again!

[cjbuchanan]

3. Chipotle

Don't need McDonald's for good Tex-Mex.

[Fenris]

7. YES!

Serrano's sucks as well.

[curse10]

24. are you crazy?

It is yummy goodness in a tortilla!


and Chipotle is no different now than when I ate at the very first one in Denver.

Plus, they use free range pork and will be implementing free range beef and chicken.

[GOPisEvil]

39. Luckily we have a non-corporate alternative here.

It's actually better than Chipotle. But, as corporate fast food places go, Chipotle is pretty good. At least the food tastes like food.

[Bluebear]

4. Cracker Barrel, racist, anti-gay

nt

[Sporadicus]

22. My Patented Moniker for Cracker Barrel

Peckerwood Paradise. Guiltily I admit going there while on a road trip when I got a hankerin' for chicken 'n dumplings.

[Lou_C]

32. I love Cracker Barrel

:shrug:

[Renew Deal]

63. Me too.

Any proof to back this up?

[Awsi Dooger]

35. I cringe at the sight of a brown Cracker Barrel sign

My relatives always insist on that place and I prefer almost anywhere else. Sign up and wait 20 minutes, for miniscule and mediocre.

The worst roast beef I ever had was at Cracker Barrel, nothing but fat. They successfully burnt my onion rings several times. The muffins are dry and tasteless. They don't serve turkey and dressing other than one afternoon lunch special per week. Those lunch specials are long gone if you have the audacity to arrive past 1 PM.

I concede the veggies are very good and I've finally discovered a dependable entree in the meatloaf. But whenever I'm at Cracker Barrel I get the feeling I'm surrounded by 92% Republicans. No thank you.

[fudge stripe cookays]

43. Proud to admit...

I've never been inside a Cracker Barrel.

And once I found out about their disgusting policies, I never will.

On our Dean bus to Iowa, the bus driver wanted to stop at a Cracker Barrel in Oklahoma on the way home.

I got up and said, "Considering the number of gay folks we have on this bus, and considering the policies of Cracker Barrel against those same folks, shouldn't we be giving our business to another more deserving restaurant?"

I got some pats on the back for that.

[Armstead]

72. I like Crackerbarrell

I never knew about their policies. Oh rats...Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering the ambience.

But I do like like their food, bad as it is.

[afraid_of_the_dark]

46. Not a big fan of their food...

Their sourdough bread is nauseating. Unfortunately, I have a relative who works there, and works very hard to make it a good work environment for his staff, so I can't talk too much trash about the chain. I wouldn't put the restaurants that he is in charge of in the same category as the ones that the rest of you had spoken of - much better run, more tolerant of differences, etc.

[jeff30997]

5. Crap Donald's of course.

:hurts:

[PartyPooper]

6. Burger King, McDonalds, KFC, Applebees, Red Lobster, & Olive Garden.

:-)

[RebelOne]

18. I'll go with Burger King, McDonalds and KFC

but I kinda like Applebees, Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

[Skinner]

8. I gotta say... most of them.

Except for Waffle House! :D

[terrya]

29. I have a fondness for Waffle House,

Some darn good food. :-)

Terry

[PVnRT]

56. Waffle House is proof of God's love for us

One of the disadvantages of living in the North - not near enough Waffle Houses around.

[lazarus]

69. Go to Atlanta

There's a Waffle House every 34 feet there.

[pdx_prog]

76. Waffle house

is true diner food. Slop at it's best....:). Best omelettes hands down.

[Don_G]

9. The Olive Garden

Used to be halfway decent.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

26. Blech-how can anyone call that Italian food?

It is bland and overly salted.

[hlthe2b]

27. Ditto.... I've only been once and that was enough.... What a waste $$$

[pdx_prog]

77. Plus....

I don't think they actually "cook" anything.

[JCMach1]

80. Olive Garden is terrible now

YUCK!

They started out well...

[Champ]

11. WacArnold's

Actually McDonald's... Their food from chicken, to patty's, to everything sucks.

[HEyHEY]

13. THE worst thing about MC'Dicks - is the "Orange Drink"

[Beaker]

51. gotta disagree BIG TIME on that one...

I love the stuff- it's the carbonated sodas that suck.

[HEyHEY]

12. Also - my nemisis - Boston Pizza

GOD I hate that place they symbolize everything I hate. THey even have the perfect pitch man to direct my hatred towards - Howie Mandel.

Back when Cliff Claven was doing it I woulda cut them slack.

[Fenris]

15. Howie can't get work in the U.S. anymore.

[fudge stripe cookays]

54. What's wrong w/Boston Pizza? Just curious.

I made my first visit there last time I was in Stony Plain (last October), and the Pierogie Pizza had to be the most digustingly fabulously starchy, non-Atkins type food item I've ever digested. Yum!

Between that and the pierogie skillet at Nelly's Break the Fast in Calgary, I am now a serious Pierogi devotee.

[SmileyBoy]

58. HEY, Don't be knocking Boston Pizza!!!

Their pasta kicks ass!!!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. Who patronizes chains?

If you're in Springfield MO, go to the King of India restaurant for the best Indian food anywhere. If you're in Harrison Arkansas, go to Neighbor's Mill, which features homemade soups, breads, and smoked meats by the Ozark Mt. Smokehouse, which donates to liberal causes!

These places are locally owned and operated. The best thing we can do to help America is to help locally owned businesses, imho.

[curse10]

30. My neighborhood in Boston doesn't allow chains

although someone from Starbucks bribed someone to get in- they are the only one in the area. Tons of restaurants- all independently owned, and all fabulous.

[Commendatori]

42. That's what I want for Christmas - a house in your town

I live in D.C. now, and the good restaurants are the ones on K Street where the senators and those who bribe them eat. Everything else is chain, and it blows dog.

I haven't had decent pizza since Christmas (my last stop in my hometown) and haven't had a decent meal in a restaurant in about a month (my last trip to Baltimore). Now you've got me thinking of basing my next vacation on food choices, of all things.

Man, have we been reduced to a sorry state.

[notadmblnd]

50. I don't see what people see in Starbucks

I don't their coffee, tastes like a mixture of shreaded cardboard and battery acid if you ask me. Very overrated imo.

[fudge stripe cookays]

75. Lucky you!

Our Repuke town is almost all chains, or small, cheesy mom and pop places that aren't that much better.

Personally, I'd rather go to the Chili's here (where I've talked to one waiter who liked my liberal pin and told me the manager is like-minded) and have a healthy Caribbean salad.

My other option would be to go to a "family" Repuke-owned place selling catfish, Mexican, or other crap to sanctimonious Religious Right jerks.

6 of one, half dozen the other.

[pdx_prog]

78. I grew up in Springfield

There used to be a little hamburger joint out on Chestnut I believe called Red's. They were known as the first place on 66 with a drive through.

[Don_G]

20. I Forgot White Castle

Crystal is even worse.

[Servo300]

44. Agree, White Castle is disgusting (n/t)

[notadmblnd]

52. Agree, even the kids don't like them.....

but theres nothing faster acting when suffering a bout of constipation. My husband had trouble after his last surgery, and nothing was working for him, not stool softeners, ex-lax or even citric magnesia. I wisely picked up a ten pack and he going like a goose in no time.

[Renew Deal]

65. White Castle rules.

You are giving me the crave.

[rocktivity]

21. I still have bad memories of a horrid fettucine alfredo

at a Ruby Tuesday. But I'd consider giving them another chance. I liked the buffalo wings at Houlihan's before they changed the recipie. I like TGIF's wings.

:headbang:
rocknation

[Jade Fox]

23. Azteca

Bad bad Mexian food....

[Angelus]

25. McDonalds.

God I hate that place!

[eyesroll]

28. Olive Garden. Red Lobster. Chi-Chis.

Every year, the newspaper takes a reader poll of favorite restaurants, and every year, those three show up on top, or near the top, of Italian, Seafood and Mexican, respectively, even though we have dozens of far superior, locally-owned examples of each.

Milwaukee's weird, though -- No. 1 for "best desserts" will be Sanford, which is easily the most expensive (deservedly so) restaurant in the city, and No. 2 will be Applebee's.

[rucky]

47. I've eaten at the Olive Garden twice

and have gotten sick both times.

Red Lobster I don't understand. If I want somebody to reheat a frozen meal for me, I'll ask my wife.

[Lou_C]

31. I would have to agree with you about Denny's

The place even smells like old grease :puke:

I have eaten at Denny's twice and I will never to back again. I would prefer to go home and open up a can of soup or make toast before I would eat at Denny's.

:puke:

[jburton]

33. Friendly's

I've eaten there once, several years ago when I was in the northeast.

That I actually remember it says something.

[Qanisqineq]

36. Chile's

every one I've been to has had terrible, horrible, awful service

[Enraged_Ape]

40. I LOVE Chili's!!

Their Mushroom Jack Fajitas are hella good!

I wonder if it's a franchisee issue. The service I've had at Chili's in Texas and New Mexico has always been great.

[duvinnie]

61. yes, I believe

it is a franchise issue - my local Chili's is to die for, but
my brother hates the one they have just 20 miles away...poor food
and service and all the rest.

funny thing is, I go around saying "Chilis is great" and he
goes around saying "Chilis sucks"! Tells you how easily we
fall into generalizations.

[JCMach1]

81. Chili's in the UAE is quite good

much better than in the U.S.

[Burma Jones]

37. Applebee's, Denny's, TGI Friday's, Bugaboo Creek Steak House

The Bugaboo Creek Steak House is putrid.

[AngryAmish]

38. Bennigan's

I have not been there in 10 plus years, but when I have been there everything was deep fried to the point of transparency. Ewww.

[rucky]

48. Flinger's & Chatchki's n/t

[TrogL]

49. Wish I'd seen this last night

(link)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1241745

[Ganja Ninja]

53. I have never had an experience at Applebee's that made me ...

want to come back.

[CO Liberal]

55. I Second the Nomination of Denny's

I ate breakfast there a few weeks ago - it sucked.

[dryan]

59. Sonic Burgers

[Pattib]

62. Agree about Sonic.

One opened in my town several weeks ago. Stopped in with my husband and had a salad, not to bad but the onion rings were horrible. I have never tasted anything like it. Onion fried in in pancake batter? No salt or seasoning. Very odd. My husband had a burger which was raw. My lime slushie was basically a sprite with a lime in it.

[CO Liberal]

68. I'm Surprised

I've eaten at Sonics in Nevada, Colorado, and Texas, and never had a bad meal.

[Renew Deal]

67. 2nd that one. And Checkers is a bad Sonic.

[Renew Deal]

64. I like Denny's.

It's a treat for us LIers. There is a Denny's everywhere on the planet except here.

[SmileyBoy]

60. Buffalo Wild Wings

Flame me if you want, but every time I eat there, I get hungry again in an hour. 18 fucking chicken wings is really not much, believe me.

Their burgers suck ass too. The bun looks like it was approved by Atkins, and the onions on those things taste horrible.

Their "nachos" are a disgrace to society. Those little potato things they have are dry and tasteless.

[Renew Deal]

66. Jack in the box

Didn't they use horse meat or something like that?

[Renew Deal]

70. McDowell's

F*** the golden archs.

[Merrick]

71. Carls Jr. -the only thing worse than the food is their commercials

[fudge stripe cookays]

74. They tried their thing here in Texas

in the 80s, but didn't last too long.

What's with the commercials?

[Merrick]

84. They're physically revolting

Unless your appetite is stimulated by close up shots and amplified audio of people chewing on hamburgers with ketchup dripping down their chins followed by such clever slogans as "If it doesnt get all over the place, it doesnt belong in your face."
To make things worse, the premises only push the annoyance boundaries even further. My (least) favorite had to be the one where the girl walks into the quiet library and starts to tear into her Carls Jr. burger and soda, creating a cacophony of mastication and slurping sounds, disrupting everybody's studying. Then the announcer guy mutters one of their other slogans "Don't bother me, I'm eating." How about: "Hey fuck you, I'm studying!" Seems to me that any rational, thinking person would be too busy dreaming about smashing that burger into that girl's mouth with a closed fist, then repeatedly introducing her face to the table to be subconsciously receptive to their marketing persuasion, but that's just me.
Wow, you really got me off on a tangent there. Well, dont be too proud, its really not that hard.

[1gobluedem]

79. Chilis

I like my burgers on the dry side and theirs are even too dry for me so I know the juicy burger majority must really hate them.

[Garcia]

82. Yeah....

Chilis sucks big time.

[JCMach1]

83. the LOW-DOWN on American Chains in the Emirates

- Keep in mind service is ALWAYS better here...

Chili's = Much better than the U.S. A good place for a homesick American to eat.

KFC= Much better than the U.S. version.

Pizza Hut= Same old crap, just with BEEF pepperoni... YUCK!

Burger King= Same

McDonald's= Same, but with some regional variation... love that McArabia sandwich.

Hardee's= Same

Subway= Same crappy subs.


That's all I can think of right now... :)