Dec.29th Poll- RE: FF Chains that are Roadfood Worthy

buffetbuster


mrchips-
I have found the Rubio's chain can be very inconsistent.  The original location in San Diego was still terrific as of October 2007, but some other Rubio's I have tried (both in San Diego and elsewhere) were not good.  The one at Petco Park was especially bad.

I was disappointed with the fish taco I had at a Rubio's in Huntington Beach.  After reading reports about the San Diego location(s), I had high hopes.  Stale corn tortilla, limp cool fried fish.  Bleh.
 

 
 

For the most part we New Englanders were left out of this poll. We don't have any of those listed in our area although 5 Guy's have recently started to filter in to the region.
We do have Kelly's Roast Beef a chain now, and Boston Chicken both worthy of stopping at in a pinch.
 As Al points out if I were traveling I wouldn't hesitate to visit a chain listed for convience, but I wouldn't seek one out. Hooters that's a different story. Chow Jim

There are a restaurant few chains out there that our worth our patronage.  Most of the time you can usually find one or two items that a chain does well, but it's hard to find one that does one well across the board.

For the across-the-board category, based on my experience, I would have to say that the Long Horn Steakhouses have earned that distinction.

And for smaller chains, of course, Doe's Eat Place, is a winner hands-down.

I could think of some others, but those two come immediately to mind.

When it comes to a chain, It depends on what you want, how hungry you are, and what you'll put up with.

MiamiDon

buffetbuster


mrchips-
I have found the Rubio's chain can be very inconsistent.  The original location in San Diego was still terrific as of October 2007, but some other Rubio's I have tried (both in San Diego and elsewhere) were not good.  The one at Petco Park was especially bad.

I was disappointed with the fish taco I had at a Rubio's in Huntington Beach.  After reading reports about the San Diego location(s), I had high hopes.  Stale corn tortilla, limp cool fried fish.  Bleh.
 

 
 

wow! That doesn't look very appealing. Sort of like a McD's filet o fish on a tortilla.

OK, I admit it! I prefer roadfood, but if I"m on a long drive and a limited exit highway, I have been known to stop at the Arches for a large french fries and a Coke.  (If they ever switch to Pepsi, I"m outta there!) I do the drive-thru only since I'm in a hurry, but I gotta say, I do like those tasty fries, although less so now that the Vegi-types made them change the oil

There is a Pancho's in Mesquite Texas that makes a real good Green Chile Stew, and sometimes has some good Stuffed Bell Peppers. Pretty much everything if good.

Not all Pancho's are this good though.
Joe

joerogo
Ok, Let me answer the following question, once and for all.
What is Roadfood?
 The answer is.....Whatever I say it is! Or whatever The Mayor says it is!  Or whatever Ort. Carlton says it is!

 
Joe,
   I feel honored beyond words. Thank you immensely.
      Seriously, Ort. Carlton in Stellar Athens, Georgia.

Fieldthistle
... fancy city bordellos of erotic, I mean, exotic food.
Take Care, Fieldthistle

 
Oh, Our Beloved Fieldthistle,
   You are a poet beyond words.
   But you overlooked one thing... if you had said "enotic" instead, it would be using some sort of weird botanical term that I have long forgotten. I once referred to a woman friend of mine who worked her way through college as a stripper (!!) as an ENOTIC dancer, and she thought it was incredibly funny... she even got the joke! (Dadgummit, now I can't begin to remember what "enotic" means, as I said... I must be getting senile mumblemumble....
      Absently, Ort. Carlton in 30601-Land.

 Made it to Five Guys new Beaverton, Oregon location and the Chips family was quite impressed. I loved the free peanuts and Trudy loves her meat well done so she was quite happy with the burgers. The fries were good though i find it a touch snooty to put the home town of the potatoes on a message board. The  double cheese was filling. Trudy and I thought it better than In N out and Burgerville but Trudy did not like what she was sure was velveeta on her burger. I was surprised I liked it so much and Sam wants to know when we can return again.

I wrote this for my website a while ago.
Let's read it together (new notes in red):

GREGG's APPROVED CHAINS
Overall, STAY AWAY FROM CHAINS.  BUT, there are a number of chains that are okay.  In no particular order ...
- Steak and Shake
- Farmer Boys
- White Castle
- El Pollo Loco
- Z Tejas ... It has been a while ... Catfish beignets.  I like them far more than the PF Changs that always seems to be next door.
- Bucca de Beppo  WEB
- Skyline Chili
- Original Pancake House
- House of Blues ... HOB has gone more and more downhill with every visit lately.  They should now be off my list.

- Boston Market
- Pappa-(anything)  WEB
- Bertucci's ... I hear they are going downhill as they get corporate.

I suspect, if I thought about it I'd be able to add a few more ...

Maybe:
- Waffle House
- Stonewood Grill (although I have not been there yet, I trust those who have.)
- Taco Del Mar
- Longhorn (I trust Ellen).

I had my first Gold Star Chili the other day and won't be adding it.

I hear that Pollo Loco is now baking their chickens and only finishing them up on the grill.  I haven't been since hearing this but it might make a big difference in overall taste and texture.

I hope I heard wrong.  It's a chain I've always liked.

Roadfood-worthy chains, huh? Let's see.... Waffle House ( breakfast ONLY ), Huddle House ( same as WH ), Lone Star Steakhouse, Gold Star Chili, Skyline Chili ( much better than Gold Star ), Red Robin, Steak n Shake, Runza, Biscuitville, Hardee's ( breakfast only ), Tudor's Biscuit World ( the " pintos n' cornbread with fried potatoes and onions " lunch is a very KY / WV regional dish ), Zel's Roast Beef, Famous Dave's ( unless non-chain BBQ is nearby ), Red Hot & Blue
( same as Dave's ), Portillo's, Schoop's, Lee's Famous Recipe ( better than KFC, that's for damn sure ), O'Charley's... and that's about it.

wheregreggeats.com


I wrote this for my website a while ago.
Let's read it together (new notes in red):

GREGG's APPROVED CHAINS
Overall, STAY AWAY FROM CHAINS.  BUT, there are a number of chains that are okay.  In no particular order ...
- Steak and Shake
- Farmer Boys
- White Castle
- El Pollo Loco
- Z Tejas ... It has been a while ... Catfish beignets.  I like them far more than the PF Changs that always seems to be next door.
- Bucca de Beppo  WEB
- Skyline Chili
- Original Pancake House
- House of Blues ... HOB has gone more and more downhill with every visit lately.  They should now be off my list.

- Boston Market
- Pappa-(anything)  WEB
- Bertucci's ... I hear they are going downhill as they get corporate.

I suspect, if I thought about it I'd be able to add a few more ...

Maybe:
- Waffle House
- Stonewood Grill (although I have not been there yet, I trust those who have.)
- Taco Del Mar
- Longhorn (I trust Ellen).

I had my first Gold Star Chili the other day and won't be adding it.

Not bad Greg, but you forgot Culver's.

Jim

My lousy memory!! I forgot a really good chain that I definitely consider to be roadfood: the K&W cafeteria chain based down in Winston-Salem NC. Roughly 40 locations in the Carolinas and Virginia, plus one in Bluefield WV. Big handsome cafeterias with great food - I never make one of my twice-a-year roadtrips down to Tarheel-Land without at least one meal at K&W. Recommended!!! 

wheregreggeats.com


I wrote this for my website a while ago.
Let's read it together (new notes in red):

GREGG's APPROVED CHAINS
Overall, STAY AWAY FROM CHAINS.  BUT, there are a number of chains that are okay.  In no particular order ...
- Steak and Shake
- Farmer Boys
- White Castle
- El Pollo Loco
- Z Tejas ... It has been a while ... Catfish beignets.  I like them far more than the PF Changs that always seems to be next door.
- Bucca de Beppo  WEB
- Skyline Chili
- Original Pancake House
- House of Blues ... HOB has gone more and more downhill with every visit lately.  They should now be off my list.

- Boston Market
- Pappa-(anything)  WEB
- Bertucci's ... I hear they are going downhill as they get corporate.

I suspect, if I thought about it I'd be able to add a few more ...

Maybe:
- Waffle House
- Stonewood Grill (although I have not been there yet, I trust those who have.)
- Taco Del Mar
- Longhorn (I trust Ellen).

I had my first Gold Star Chili the other day and won't be adding it.

Boston Market?  It's hard for me to get very excited about anything there, and I have had a couple of bad experiences.  I'm glad it's there, a mile from my house, but there is nothing that I relish on the menu.
 
 

I personally love a small chain of chili parlors in the DC metro area called Hard Times Cafe.  I have heard the quality of the food varies from spot to spot, but the Woodbridge, VA one is awesome.  I love their Terlingua Red chili (served chili parlor style--no beans) on anything from chili nachos (with raw jalapeno and fresh pico di gallo) to a "Chilichanga", a large flour tortilla stuffed with choice of chili & cheese, served with the same pico di gallo and fairly fresh tortilla chips.  They also have a great burger, spectacular onion rings and great chili dogs (including half-smokes, which I discovered recently and will dearly miss now that I'm on the west coast)

They would definitely be roadfood if they didn't have 5 or 6 other locations, I;m sure.  www.hardtimes.com

Ort. Carlton.

Fieldthistle
... fancy city bordellos of erotic, I mean, exotic food.
Take Care, Fieldthistle

Oh, Our Beloved Fieldthistle,
   You are a poet beyond words.
   But you overlooked one thing... if you had said "enotic" instead, it would be using some sort of weird botanical term that I have long forgotten. I once referred to a woman friend of mine who worked her way through college as a stripper (!!) as an ENOTIC dancer, and she thought it was incredibly funny... she even got the joke! (Dadgummit, now I can't begin to remember what "enotic" means, as I said... I must be getting senile mumblemumble.... Absently, Ort. Carlton in 30601-Land.

Fieldthistle; Dearfolk,
   Upon accessing a really good dictionary, I find that "enotic" refers to enosis, which is "union; specifically a movement designed to secure the union between Greece and Cyprus."
   Since that enotic dancer was of Greek ancestry, it must have hit home. My cornucoptic apologies to all the sadly-wronged botanists out there, including my late father.
   Next I'll consult before I peck and chirp.
      UnSlavically Doublecheckfully, Ort. Carlton in The Ever-Amazing Athens, Georgia.

I must be the only one that likes Checkers.
Two can dine for 99 and take turns sharing the teeth.

In Los Angeles we have several Campos Mexican restaurants.

For the most part their food is so - so, but they have amazing guacamole burritos.

Bruce and Sue..I agree it is harder for a chain to do it better because for one thing they have so many more opportunities to do it worse.  But, if a chain can do it and there's a few who can, then I think it should be recognized for that effort...Even on roadfood.com. 

I've always had good luck and consistancy in eating at the places I've mentioned on this site over the years..Houston's, J. Alexander's, Cheesecake Factory,  Carrabba's,  Dustin's, etc.  I'm leaving a few more out...

No, none of them are fast food chains.   I too, only eat at them if I have to and then I really get pissed off I had to!   But, I will give McDonald's some credit for having a decent and very reasonable breakfast.  The one meal where their quality is ok with me. 

I think they use an excellent sausage patty and their eggs are fresh, the English muffin is ok.  Even the pancakes are ok with me. Coffee is ok, too.  It's when they start with lunch that I have to say no thank you.  The meat these guys use...Jeez .  OOPS...There is one exception....WHITE CASTLE.  No, I can't explain it

Baah Ben


I think they use an excellent sausage patty and their eggs are fresh, the English muffin is ok.  Even the pancakes are ok with me. Coffee is ok, too.
 

 
I find McDonald's sausage patty totally lacking in flavor. I really like their coffee, though. But about their eggs:
 
Fresh? No. Liquid? Yes.
 
From McDonald's:
 
"Scrambled Eggs (2):
Pasteurized whole eggs with sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid and monosodium phosphate (all added to preserve color), nisin (preservative). Prepared with liquid margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color). CONTAINS: EGG AND SOY LECITHIN"
 


 

Oh Oh.................................no Egg McMuffin for me this morning!

DougS
I must be the only one that likes Checkers.

DougS; Dearfolk,
   Choose your poison herein:
   1) Checkers I liked just fine; it was Richard Nixon I couldn't stand.
   2) I play pretty badly, but maybe we can get together sometime and play a game or two.
   3) If the supermarket would hire a couple of new ones, I'd enjoy going there more.
      Checking My List And Making It Twice, Ort. Carlton, Going Backwards in Athens, Georgia.

Checker's is Rally's, the whole operation is pretty much identical between the two. we have the Rally's version here in Louisville, but I have seen Checkers as far North as Tennessee. Strictly a drive-thru or walk-up-outside Burger stand. Some have picnic tables, some don't.
   We will stop at Rally's when time is important or it's directly on the way to somewhere else for us.

Hey Michael:

When I get their Sausage Egg McMuffin ( 2 for $2 dollars) the white is clearly separated from the yolk so how can that be a liquid egg?  I've opened the english muffin up many times and actually what I don't like is the yellow yolk is almost cooked like a hard boiled egg, but it is distinctly separate from the egg white.  The texture sure seems like an egg that has been placed in some sort of round mold and then fried to a timed doneness.

What gives?  Maybe you are kidding around or just stirring it up as usual?  If want to trash Mickey Dee's..Hey, be my guest, but I sure think I've been eating a fresly made egg in my Sausage Egg McMuffin.

I respectfully disagree with you on their sausage.  One of the best pattied versions excluding a hand made version, of course, IMHO. 
 
But, let's stick to the eggs.....

Baah Ben


Hey Michael:

When I get their Sausage Egg McMuffin ( 2 for $2 dollars) the white is clearly separated from the yolk so how can that be a liquid egg?  I've opened the english muffin up many times and actually what I don't like is the yellow yolk is almost cooked like a hard boiled egg, but it is distinctly separate from the egg white.  The tectuire sure seems like an egg that has been placedin some sort of round mold and then fried to a timed doneness.

What gives?  Maybe you are kidding around or just want to trash Mickey Dee's..Hey, be my guest, but I sure think I've been eating a fresly made egg in my Sausage Egg McMuffin.

I respectfully diagree with you on their sausage.  One of the best versions IMHO.  But, let's stick to the eggs...

Look a little more closely at my post.
 
"Scrambled Eggs (2):"
 
It was about their scrambled eggs. The eggs they use for the McMuffins are cooked in a Teflon ring to get the shape, and they come from actual eggshells. Several years back they used a different product for their McMuffins. The eggs came fully cooked in a long tube (I have no idea how it was done, but there was yolk down the center and white all around the yolk) and they were sliced and heated to order.

Michael Hoffman

Baah Ben


I think they use an excellent sausage patty and their eggs are fresh, the English muffin is ok.  Even the pancakes are ok with me. Coffee is ok, too.
 

 
I find McDonald's sausage patty totally lacking in flavor. I really like their coffee, though. But about their eggs:
 
Fresh? No. Liquid? Yes.
 
From McDonald's:
 
"Scrambled Eggs (2):
Pasteurized whole eggs with sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid and monosodium phosphate (all added to preserve color), nisin (preservative). Prepared with liquid margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservative), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color). CONTAINS: EGG AND SOY LECITHIN"
 


 

I do like the McDonald's breakfast sandwiches when on the road, but I do not like to yellow folded egg.  so, I just ask for a round egg on any sandwich I order, then I get a real egg, not a folded yellow rubbery egg thing.

One other chain that has been written about by the Stern's is Capt'n Benny's. I believe there are several in the Houston area and i ate at one when i visited Austin last fall, Decent oysters and beer but not  as good as the Acme oyster bar in new orleans or Pal's Shanty in Portland, Oregon.

mr chips


One other chain that has been written about by the Stern's is Capt'n Benny's. I believe there are several in the Houston area and i ate at one when i visited Austin last fall, Decent oysters and beer but not  as good as the Acme oyster bar in new orleans or Pal's Shanty in Portland, Oregon.

I wouldn't consider that a chain.  4 in Houston and 1 in Austin I think.  All owned by family.  I haven't been in several years but I always thought they were pretty good, much better than any fast food seafood place I've ever been too (LJS, Capt. D's, etc).

When did the Stern's comment on it?

dexmat-
It is reviewed in both the 2008 and 1992 Roadfood books.