Chain restaurants
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TV ClubHouse: Archive: Chain restaurants
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Archive through November 18, 2003 25   11/18 05:09pm

Squaredsc

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 05:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
fanny/square actually i call him somthing else.

Tabbyking

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 05:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
well, my only surprise over the 'olive garden' meal was that my waiter had a sex change and moved from california to illinois :)
i went to olive garden the one time as mentioned several posts above, and have no desire to go back!! i even dislike their commercials...all because of a terrible waiter. i just can't help it. i'll bet it happens more than managers/owners realize; a bad experience can keep you from ever wanting to go to a certain restaurant again!

on the 3 dollar tip comment, i would have said, "three?! two must have stuck together. i only meant to give you two!"

Squaredsc

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 05:33 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
necromancer, rofl!

Whoami

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 05:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I learned a long time ago to not take that kind of crap from people like that. I've fired off many a letter to corporate offices (especially since now I can e-mail said letters). Its surprising how many responses I get (apologies, gift certificates, etc). I always save the reciept, and mention the time/date/recipt number, as I know it can often be tracked back to the exact waiter/waitress.

What's even more surprising is the lack of responses I get. Domino's never did aknowledge my letter, so I fired off another one, with the original attached. I told them that their next response (or lack thereof) would determine whether I would ever to business with any Dominoes anywhere in the country. Needless to say, I don't do Domino's anymore.

Then there was the local "mom and pop" Chinese restraunt owner who threw a hissy fit cause we dared to come in at 2:00pm for lunch, when it was clear he'd rather us come during the traditional lunch time, and not bother him when he wanted to set up for dinner. My take on it was, you know what jerk? If you don't want to serve between lunch and dinner, close the damn restraunt, otherwise I'll go in whenever I darn well please!

The best one was (though its not a chain restraunt, but it is a chain), was with Sears. I'd had a "final straw" experience with them in one store, and fired off a letter detailing the problems I'd had with them in each store. They sent back a form letter saying the matter had been forwarded to the appropriate area manager, and said manager would be contacting me. Nobody ever did. So I cut up my Sears card and sent it to the same corporate office (with a copy of the original letter). I told them none of the managers had called me. I told them the ball was in their court, and it was up to them to decide if they wanted me to ever set foot in a Sears store again. I got a call from the manager of the "final straw" store, with an apology, and a $100 Sears gift certificate. I spent about 20$, got the balance back in cash, and spent the rest of the money elsewhere!

Melfie1222

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 07:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Eliz, I've been to Golden Corral a few times, it's really good for a buffet... I can be sort of a picky eater I guess, and each time I've been to GC there were lots of things I liked. Plus, at least at the one I've been to, good service, which is usually non-existent in a buffet... we've always had a really friendly person bus our table and never had to wait for drink refills, clean plates, etc. I haven't been in awhile... don't know if they still "ring the bell" whenever fresh baked rolls come out, if they do watch out for the stampede, lol.

I don't eat at many chains either, maybe Red Robin, but they started in Washington and I don't know if they are in many other states? Good burgers and fries with yummy seasoning.

Eliz87

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 07:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Well we went to the Golden Corral tonight. It was only $21.67 for my husband and me, and that included the wonderful buffet (which included steak!) and an iced tea for each of us. There was plenty on the buffet to suit my 15-month-old. (He had a slice of pizza, green beans and grapes.)

The steak was AWESOME, and I had some mashed potatoes and gravy and macaroni & cheese (also very, very good). The fried chicken was just okay but it was good if you need a chicken fix! They had baked potatoes and baked sweet potatoes on the buffet, and the veggies that came with the pot roast were yummy. The salad bar was very clean with fresh produce and the dessert bar was OUTSTANDING.

A+++ on the customer service. We were never waiting on a clean plate and our drinks were refilled generously. We will definitely go there again! I would love to try their breakfast buffet.

Some of our other favorites are Don Pablos (Mexican), definitely the Outback (we've never been disappointed there), and Shells until they closed them down around here. Now there's no place to go for good seafood in this area. Joe's Crabshack just didn't cut it for us, and Red Lobster...I don't know...a lot of people like it but we were spoiled by Shells! :-) We also have had some good meals at Bennigan's and I wish they would open a Sonic around here!

Tabbyking

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 08:31 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
is the golden corral like hometown buffet? i like hometown on thursdays (rib night) and i always have a piece of their white fish when i go there, no matter what day of the week it is. some hometown restaurants are better than others (i.e., food kept hotter). eliz, i would have had to skip the mashed taters, gravy, mac and cheese, fried chicken, baked potatoes, and dessert! i could have had the ice tea and steak and green veggies :)
we have to go 45 miles northeast to merced or 45 miles west to gilroy for a hometown buffet. in town, we have 2 taco bells, 4 mcdonalds, 2 subways, a quizno's coming soon, a starbucks that just opened, a panda express that opened 3 days ago, a burger king, foster's freeze, some pizza places, a couple of decent mexican restaurants, and the world's best basque restaurant, which is a dedicated california landmark and serves tons of food. haven't had any luck running into john madden, but i know he takes his bus/crew to wool growers restaurant whenever he has to traverse california for games. we are having a christmas party there next month and i am not excited to have to skip all the starchy parts of the offerings!! the soup, the beans, the potato salad, the bread, the french fries, the chicken and rice, the ice cream....but i can have the green salad, a steak, and the cheap red wine poured in old wine bottles used as caraffes and placed all along the family style tables.

Cathie

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 08:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
We have a Golden Corral nearby and although we rarely go there (too tempting for my diet) it is very good. I noticed a sign there recently that they host defensive driving classes now--not sure how that works, but it might be worth getting a ticket to be "forced" to eat there for a couple of sessions...

My favorite chains are Chili's, Cracker Barrel and Fresh Choice. We have Cici's Pizza that has a wonderful buffet but I don't know if they are nationwide chain or just in this area. And for any chicken lovers in the DFW area (Garland and Roanoke), Babe's chicken is the absolute best ever!!!!!!

Tabbyking

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 08:59 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
cathie, maybe the defensive driving is so people know which way to go along the food tables!! have you been to a hometown buffet? i was wondering if they are similar. we don't have golden corrals around here. are they new? maybe they just didn't get this far west yet!

we have a lot of real corrals, though...i just wouldn't want to eat in any of them LOL

Mamie316

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 08:59 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
We don't have Golden Corral around here but it does sound like Hometown Buffet.

Cathie

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 09:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I have never heard of Hometown Buffet but it sounds like they are similar.

I just googled Golden Corral and they only have two locations in CA, Stockton and El Centro, vs. 85 locations here in TX, so it is definitely more visible here.

Eliz87

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 09:05 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes, I think it IS similar to Hometown Buffet (there's also one of those not too far from here), but this is the first time I've seen steak made the way you want it featured on a buffet (or else I don't get out much haha).

Tabbyking

Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 09:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
wow on the steak made the way you want it!!
other than that, i think maybe the buffet seems similar to hometown. salad bar, pasta bar, taco and burrito bar, ham, roasts they carve pieces off for you, ribs (thursday!), fish, chicken (hot wings, too!), mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravies, and the dishes sometimes alternate a little--they may have salisbury steak or lasagne or scalloped potatoes...they also have great finger foods, such as fried zucchini, okra, etc. then there are many desserts and beverages and a soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt machine with various sauces and toppings.
okay, who made me hungry!!!

Twinkie

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 01:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
First of all I have to say, who would go to Olive Garden and order their own salad??? The salad they serve at each table is the best I've ever had anywhere! I love to go there and just have the salad and breadsticks and a side of alfredo sauce for dipping the breadsticks into. That's a full meal for me. I love the salad dressing they use in their salad too. And all you can eat salad is a big plus.

Red Lobster, love it! They have a great lobster fondue appetizer that isn't always on the menu but they usually have it if you ask for it. Creamy lobster with great sauce in a wonderful bread bowl. And their prices are great. Oh, and I love their caesar salad and the cheesy biscuits.

Applebee's has a great appetizer platter that includes most of their appetizers and is really good and enough for 2 people.

Texannie

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 06:00 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Cathie, there are CiCi's all over the place in Houston. It was started by an SMU boy!

My dd loves nothing more than a buffet! LOL Steak Country or chinese buffets are her favorite.

Ohiomobprincess

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 08:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
My favorite chain restaurants are Don Pablos, Applebees, The Olive Garden, TGI Friday's, and Chipotle. The salad and breadsticks at the Olive Garden are the BEST! I usually get full and have to take my entree home in a "to-go" bag!

Lostintheglades

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 08:38 am EditMoveDeleteIP
OMG Twinkie...you just reminded me. There was a restaurant here a few years ago that had the best lobster Bisque I've ever tasted. They served it with sour cream and caviar on top of the crust. Huge chunks of lobster.....man...I'm hungry!

Tabbyking

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 08:40 am EditMoveDeleteIP
twinks, at the time we went to olive garden, they didn't serve 'a salad at each table'! at least not the one we went to (that was in january 97 in northern california--i remember the date because we went to a friend's photography exhibit before dinner). they may now have that great salad at that olive garden location, but i haven't gone since!

my husband loves black angus or stuart anderson's--but i think it's very expensive and Outback seems to be as good but a little less money.

Bigd

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 08:56 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I love to go to On The Border - mexican - great sour cream & chicken enchiladas and queso.

The best chain I know only has 3 locations. The name is Lambert's Cafe. Their food is good, they start feeding you as soon as you are seated, and it's a fun place. The locations are in Sikeston and Ozark MO, and Foley, AL. If you pass one you should stop.

Kady

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 09:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Lambert's sounds very familiar. Is that the place where they throw the rolls? If so I've been to the one in Ozark, MO. :)

Bandit

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 09:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Twinkie-my DH and my father-in-law both order ranch for their salad at Olive Garden. Isn't that just awful?!!?

I nearly gagged.

Tabbyking

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 09:18 am EditMoveDeleteIP
where else do they throw the rolls?! i have never been to a lambert's but i remember a place throwing rolls...and not just food fights i started in elementary school. now i'll have to think on it! i can't recall if i went someplace years ago that threw rolls or if my husband told me about himself going to a place that threw rolls. man, have you been married too long when you can't tell your own memories from your spouse's?! :)

Babyruth

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 09:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
LOL, Tabby!

Eliz87

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 09:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Tabby, maybe it was Dick's Last Resort? That is the place where they basically throw the food on the table and the waiters/waitresses are intentionally rude. Lots of fun but go with a sense of humor!! :-) (The food is mostly BBQ and actually quite good.)

Bigd

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 10:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Yes! Lamberts is the "Home of the Throwed Rolls" see this link http://www.throwedrolls.com/

Tabbyking

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 01:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
wow, i didn't even know 'throwed' was a word!!

Hippyt

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 02:05 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I like Chili's, they have great black bean burgers. And,Olive Garden's Portobello Mushroom ravioli is good too. You can't beat Golden Corral for the salad bar.

Twinkie

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 03:07 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
ACK! Ordering ranch dressing at Olive Garden???

I saw the home of the thrown rolls on the Food Channel!

Not1worry

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 03:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
We love Golden Corral, we call it "The Trough". The pot roast is wonderful and everyone in my picky family can find something they like.

I like the food at Olive Garden, but always hate the dining experience. At our restaurant, you will always wait at least 10 minutes to be seated. Doesn't matter when you go. You could be the only people in the entire building and they'll make you wait. I think they feel it gives you the impression that this is THE place to eat, even though everyone knows it's a chain. Service is usually really slow too, not a place to go unless you have a few hours.

We love Red Lobster. When my husband got back from Afghanistan, we didn't even go home. We went straight from the flight line to Red Lobster. The stuffed mushrooms, the cheese/garlic biscuits, and the seafood alfredo - my fantasy meal!

We have Rock-Ola cafe here. They make heart attack fries, covered with cheese and bacon.

Not too crazy about On the Border, Tony Roma's, Joe's Crab Shack or Applebees.

Lostintheglades

Wednesday, November 19, 2003 - 05:37 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
They had a special on that "throwed" rolls place not to long ago on either 20/20 or one of those news shows....looked like a lot of fun.