A chain restaurant that people love, but you can't stand?

[mco65]

Bob Evans (not sure how widespread they are).

Not in Georgia, but my wife likes to eat there every time we visit Ohio.. i suppose once a year aint bad.

 

[lynxstch]

Olive Garden , Taco Bell, and KFC (got food poisoning from there)

 

[easyas123]

I LOVE all of those especially Waffle House! I don't understand how you can proudly hate a place you've never set foot in? The Buffalo Wild Wings here is pretty gross but it's the only one I've been to so I'm not sure if they're all bad.

Easily! The two near me are visibly gross and dirty on the outside, punctuated by clusters of employees smoking by the front and back door. So yeah I judge them by the conditions on the exterior of the property - if they don't mind being gross on the outside I go with the presumption that they are gross on inside.

 

[Lori74]

burger king- hate flame broiled anything...
chick fil a- its just chicken, i dont get the big deal, and super salty
i-hop

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Not sure I can think of a chain that I like... so I'd say almost all! Nando's Peri Peri and Z Burger might be the only ones I like, but many others like them, too.

 

[LovesTimone]

Taco Bell... omg just the smell makes my stomach roll...

5 guys is another spot, just the smell make my stomach hurt... that greasy smell... yuck

Chilis - the menu just lacks imagination, they do make a good margarita... but that's about all.

Applebees, they took away onion peels which was a family favorite... another spot that needs to step it up.

Waffle house in Florida.... just disgusting... Now Waffle house in Georgia completely different, clean and fairly decent food, I think the difference is that they have to post the inspection ratings and that makes a big difference...

 

[luvsJack]

Taco Bell... omg just the smell make my stomach roll...

5 guys is another spot, just the smell make my stomach hurt... that greasy smell... yuck

Chilis - the menu just lacks imagination, they do make a good margarita... but that's about all.

Applebees, they took away onion peels which was a family favorite... another spot that needs to step it up.

Waffle house in Florida.... just disgusting... Now Waffle house in Georgia completely different, clean and fairly decent food, I think the difference is that they have to post the inspection ratings and that makes a big difference...

There is one Waffle House in Panama City that is very good. But just the one honestly. There is another just down the road that is awful.

Restaurants here have to post their inspection ratings, I guess I just assumed everywhere did.

 

[amcnj]

I guess I can usually find something to eat almost anywhere. There are definitely places I prefer over others and also places where there are certain items I would never order again. And certain individual chain stores that are badly run or otherwise unappealing for some reason. I can’t think of an entire chain that I definitely would never enter again.

burger king- hate flame broiled anything...
chick fil a- its just chicken, i dont get the big deal, and super salty
i-hop

As an aside, how are Burger King hamburgers cooked now? Are they really still flame broiled? Decades ago there used to be a conveyer belt right behind the counter that took the burgers into a visible flame box, and then dropped them into a bin at the end.

 

[smiths02]

Applebee's/Chili's/Ruby Tuesday...there are just too many local counter service places around here that are good to waste time on those

Carrabba's/Macaroni Grill...I wouldn't avoid them and I don't dislike them...just don't understand what makes them better than Olive Garden

IHOP...I have coworkers who LOVE it. I would just as soon eat at Waffle House and spend less money (and I find IHOP about as clean as Waffle House

But the one I won't eat at is Taco Mac...it is like Chili's or Applebee's...just low quality, no imagination, overpriced. I am not a beer drinker or sports watcher so maybe that is why?

 

[Lori74]

I guess I can usually find something to eat almost anywhere. There are definitely places I prefer over others and also places where there are certain items I would never order again. And certain individual chain stores that are badly run or otherwise unappealing for some reason. I can’t think of an entire chain that I definitely would never enter again.




As an aside, how are Burger King hamburgers cooked now? Are they really still flame broiled? Decades ago there used to be a conveyer belt right behind the counter that took the burgers into a visible flame box, and then dropped them into a bin at the end.

no idea how they do it, its just gross to me. i like it on a flat top at least

 

[smiths02]

I do love Chick-Fil-A for some reason. The food is just ok. I always get the sandwich with fries... the thing that I love about Chick-Fli-A is they are quick. the cars can be wrapped around the building for drive up (which they usually are) and they are still quicker than McDonalds with 1 or 2 cars in the drive up.. At Chick-Fil-A, its not the food that keeps me coming back, its the service. 2nd to none, IMO.

I'm not from the South, but I've lived here 1/2 my life now. I like the chicken at Chick-Fil-A. I also like Polynesian sauce and their lemonade (and they have Diet Lemonade that is actually good!). I also like that they have grilled nuggets. They are also always very clean, efficient, rarely get the order wrong (and if they do they don't treat you like a criminal, they usually just let you keep the wrong one and make you a new one!), and they usually have clean, indoor playgrounds.

 

[smiths02]

Easily! The two near me are visibly gross and dirty on the outside, punctuated by clusters of employees smoking by the front and back door. So yeah I judge them by the conditions on the exterior of the property - if they don't mind being gross on the outside I go with the presumption that they are gross on inside.

Most of them are gross on the inside as well. My family still loves it. It is fun to go with my kids because it is not busy at 5-6pm, and even if my kids are loud, we are better than a bunch of drunk people at 2am LOL

 

[TheConsciousness]

IHOP, Cracker Barrel, and Chipotle.

 

[sunshinehighway]

The one I really can't stand is Fridays. Last time I was there, i got that pecan chicken salad. I bite into the chicken to find it's cold, not cold cold but that gross slightly warm cold. The waitress took it back. It took forever for it to come back out and the waitress told me it too so long because they made me a totally new one. Yeah, no. The piece I had cut was there so I know it wasn't new. It was also so over microwaved that it was soggy, rubbery and smelled weird. Super gross.

 

[TeresaBelle]

Most of them are gross on the inside as well. My family still loves it. It is fun to go with my kids because it is not busy at 5-6pm, and even if my kids are loud, we are better than a bunch of drunk people at 2am LOL

We KNOW it's dirty! Mind your business Atlanta Journal Constitution!

Baaaahaaaahaaaa… I love this video!

 

[BrianL]

4. California Pizza Kitchen. No folks. This is NOT California style pizza. It's an abomination.

The first time I went to California, to LA as part of a website covering the video game expo, the boss had one rule: NO CPK! He was not going to eat at CPK no mater what, and advised us to follow his lead. Well, My sister lived in LA at the time, and she and BIL pick me up from the airport. We ar were looking for something to eat, and it was a bit late. All we could find open near us was...CPK. My BIL hates it too, but my very first meal in LA was there. It wasn't that impressive either. Oh well.

I don't tend to like chain restaurants at all either, not sit-down places anyway. Fast Food is a different story, though I still trend toward the smaller chains.

 

[weluvdisneyx4]

All of them are better then cooking and cleaning after a 12 hour day at work.

THIS!!!!

 

[cabanafrau]

I haven't been to many of the ones mentioned here, but I can say I do not get the appeal of Buffalo Wild Wings at all. I know so many people who go there on a semi regular basis, but I have no need to ever set foot there again. My husband went with some friends and I was dying to hear his opinion and he wound up saying the exact same thing. I mean it seems a fairly simple concept, chicken wings, how can they screw up such a simple idea? I will say that I have been to Cheddar Barrel a couple of times and they do serve a decent oatmeal.

 

[monorailsilver]

Olive Garden-used to go occasionally while dating dh but we went once since we were married and well I am 1/2 Italian and dh told me I cook better then what we ate.

Red Lobster-um..I live in New England/CT!

 

[dgthree]

Applebee's & Domino's are the two I dislike most intensely