Chain Restuarants

[SteelBlue]

Originally Posted by surfah33

Claim Jumpers is a good one. Their fresh baked Idaho is great. A giant stuffed potato with all the trimmings.

I went to a Claim Jumper for the first time on Friday in Sacramento. Great place.

[jay santos]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Never heard of Baja Fresh. I will have to watch for it.

Yes, Benihana's is good. But not so much for the teppanyaki. That's an americanized thing that you would never see in Japan. But their sushi bars are usually quite good.

I think of teppanyaki as the same as yakiniku which I was served several times in Japan.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by jay santos

I think of teppanyaki as the same as yakiniku which I was served several times in Japan.

Yes, that's probably the closest match. But it's still quite a bit different. We cook yakiniku quite a bit at our house. It is a popular food in the Kansai region where I served my mission. The type of meat and how it is marinated is different. As are the sauces. But the biggest difference is the whole "show" concept with the chef doing the fancy stuff with the knives. I never saw anything like that in Japan.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy teppanyaki. And I don't care that much that it's not "authentic". But I find the sauces they typically use to be pretty bland. I would take yakiniku any day.

[marsupial]

I can't think of a single chain restaurant that I would pay to eat at. Now, if someone is taking me out and insists on a chain, well, I never pass up a free meal.

The worsts are:
Cracker Barrel (actually, I would pass up a free meal here)
Applebees

This is fast food, but as far as burgers go, I really like Back Yard Burgers. They are based in Memphis and have spread throughout the southeast. I even saw one in Dallas.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by marsupial

I can't think of a single chain restaurant that I would pay to eat at. Now, if someone is taking me out and insists on a chain, well, I never pass up a free meal.

The worsts are:
Cracker Barrel (actually, I would pass up a free meal here)
Applebees

This is fast food, but as far as burgers go, I really like Back Yard Burgers. They are based in Memphis and have spread throughout the southeast. I even saw one in Dallas.

Good luck in Mississippi. That is one place where the local restaurants are worse than the chains. There are exceptions, but not too many.

[YOhio]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Good luck in Mississippi. That is one place where the local restaurants are worse than the chains. There are exceptions, but not too many.

That surprises me. I've always thought of the South as having a lot of good hometown food.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by YOhio

That surprises me. I've always thought of the South as having a lot of good hometown food.

Well, if you consider boiled vegetables and deep-fried everything to be good food, you would probably like it.

[Cali Coug]

Texas Roadhouse is one of my favorites. They have one in Elk Grove here, and a few others, but I think it is nation-wide. Delicious steak.

Outback is just awful.

[marsupial]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Good luck in Mississippi. That is one place where the local restaurants are worse than the chains. There are exceptions, but not too many.

We haven't eaten out yet. I imagine you're right. I don't like most Southern food, however, Memphis BBQ grew on me after four years of taking whomever visited us out to eat it.

[RockyBalboa]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Never heard of Baja Fresh. I will have to watch for it.

Yes, Benihana's is good. But not so much for the teppanyaki. That's an americanized thing that you would never see in Japan. But their sushi bars are usually quite good.

Baja Fresh is pretty good. They opened up a few places in Utah, used to be right next to the Buca Di Beppo in Midvale and I believe they were in Bountiful and Layton as well, but after 1-2 years they all closed down here. Otherwise they're in most other states.