I am not a gourmet, I guess I would be considered a foodie, it doesn't take much to make me happy, I tend to like simple food done well with decent portion size so I don't leave hungry and may have left overs for the next days lunch and of course I enjoy good service, I'm not demanding and consider time of day and how busy a place is when grading service.
We are fortunate to have a plethora of restaurants around us because we have a MLB spring training facility nearby that's big business in the spring ! they are clustered in that area both chain and mom and pop, the usual Olive garden, Cheese cake factory, P.F. Changs etc... along with the usual fast food joints.
My wife is big on gift cards and usually carries several in her wallet so in case were out and the urge hits or I get the usual "I forgot to take something out of the freezer" yesterday was such a occasion.
We were running errands and it was nearing dinner time, so what cards do you have I asked ? well she had a Texas Road House card
she said , HOORAY I love Texas Road house here's why. Maybe we are lucky and just have a great location with a good manager,
I know its a big chain but we have never had a bad meal there ( my wife is a extremely picky eater) there is enough on the menu to keep most people happy, the service has always been excellent (they must train their staff well) always very courteous , our server yesterday was outstanding and on the ball !! with out being intrusive ( I hate intrusive) with out even asking she provided to go boxes with even lids for the little condiment containers made sure we had extra rolls to bring home and just as we were about to leave she shows up with a
roadie ice tea for me to take out (must have been my charming good looks ) cant beat that !! that's why Texas Road house is one of my favorites !! what's yours ?
P/S my last trip to the Cheese cake factory was a little disappointing, Good service food blah and average.

 

I can’t remember the last time I ate at a restaurant. Prolly at Christmas when visiting family.

 

I like to go to the local non chain ones where I live. I just moved to this town 3 years ago, and talking about Texas Roadhouse, in this town, I don't know whats going on there, but every time I drive by, even early 5PM, the lot is full and people ever where, and 1-2 hour wait. Must be good?

 

In our nearby 1880s town of 10,000, restaurant chains cannot locate stores within the city limits. That keeps the Mom and Pop eateries in business, which keeps it interesting for residents and the 1.5 million yearly tourists.

There is a Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, and Whataburger outside of town. I've not been to one of those in what seems like half a lifetime.

When I'm in San Antonio, I pick out a different small Taqueria, Tex-Mex, or Mexican nearly every time. The best ones slaughter grass-fed cows according to Mexican tradition so they can keep the unusual bits. Anyone for Menudo? (Cow stomach soup.)

 

I rarely go to a restaurant except with company.

 

Local only. I could mention our favorites but it wouldn't mean anything to anyone who doesn't live here.

 

Or a Hispanic boy band.

 

I love mom and pop joints and support them when I can, I find at least in My case they are usually deli's which make great sandwiches there are two Italian deli's and two eastern European (Polish ) deli's that come to mind, unfortunately like bakery's their numbers are declining.
Not to long ago I saw a documentary about the decline of the great American Jewish deli's, interestingly enough they did not site competition
from chain eatery's for their demise because they said those places do not sell deli style food they stated the biggest problem was the cost of quality supply's stating it was just to high and to put a quality product on the table the menu prices were to high and profit margins to thin, who wants to pay $15 for a sandwich and a bag of chips one of the Katz boys said.
I do enjoy my Texas Roadhouse stops but enjoy my deli stops too.

 

On this side of the Mississippi, wife and I enjoy Cracker Barrel restaurants; I believe originated in Tennessee. I don't think you see them much in the west.

 

They are all over. There’s one about 2 miles from my house right off I-10.

 

Yup same here about 2 miles away right off the loop 101, I like their catfish, my wife likes the chicken and dumplings. Another good mom and pop place, Jim’s really good sandwiches and a really good Ruben they don’t skimp on the corned beef !!

 

I'm just waiting for the day they all open back up normally and open their inside dining.

There's a sub sandwich shop here that's been open since the 80s and they make excellent sammitches. Two years since the plague started and they're still stuck in drive-thru mode. Which wouldn't be so bad except every sandwich is made to order and you might sit in that drive-thru line an hour to even get to the order window. Not this hillbilly. It's not a problem of help either because they're family-owned and fully staffed. I guess they're making more money not maintaining a dining room and restrooms.

I didn't like drive-up windows when they first appeared here in the 70s and I dislike them more now. Even before plague the chains prioritized their drive-thru over inside dining and incorrect orders were frequent. During plague incorrect orders got worse, probably because they knew a customer pushed for time was probably not going to get back in the drive-thru line and waste another half-hour to get it corrected.

So any ressarant that either has no drive-thru or, if they do, has their inside dining area open gets my business.

It's past time to return to some sense of normalcy.

 

Y’all are still closed down? We’ve been back to normal operations for months now.

 

I also support locally owned.

In Englewood Colorado the must go to is The Breakfast Queen. Great family. Great food.
For Italian food we go to Genarro's. We usually do take out anymore. Covid killed the environment that they have always been.

It is tough to go to any restaurant that is better than my wife's cooking. I am so spoiled that way.

Rocketraider where are you located? Everything is open here in Denver.

 

We tried to go to our new Texas roadhouse that they built about 4 miles from home today! We cruised by on purpose after a few garage sales, had or non-olds collector car with us and found out they did not open till 2PM! So much for lunch! We went to Outback a half mile away. Good eats but $58 was salty.

Speaking of locals, we have been supporting the locals a lot! Italian (cuginos best around in 1hr radius) huge portions prices are reasonable, Pancheros and Cancun for Mexican authentic. For asian little Panda best Chinese in Lansing. These all can be reached within 6 miles from home.

Pat

 

My Old man and I do lunch about three times a week, still waiting for the best place. We also go to mostly the ma and pop places, haven't found the best yet but a few really good ones, sometimes the hunt is the fun part of lunch. Getting hungry just thinking about it. Tedd

 

We like Red Robin. I swear this is the only place you can go where the Burger they serve you looks as good as the one shown in their commercials and they have a multitude of gourmet varieties to choose from . The bottomless fry baskets don't hurt either...

 

Chick-Fil-A just opened to inside dining 3 weeks ago. Taco Bell and KFC about 2 months ago. Long John Silver and most other chains are closing at 8pm every night. Wendy's has a sign on the door "dining room closed due to lack of staff" along with a "we're hiring" sign. They have maybe three people working.

Lot of local-owned are operating at severely reduced hours. To their credit the Mexican, Chinese and Italian places are running at their pre-plague hours and doing well.

IDK what the problem is. Any open eatery has a crowd.

 

Lack of customers isn't the problem, it's lack of employees.

 

i was weened on Varsity French fries. If you aren't from Atlanta, you'd never understand. But I still love it and still need a GQ [grease quota]]

 

The Taco Bell in the local truck stop is muy stupido. It's a truck stop, you stay open, if not all night, then at least midnight. But no, they put a chair in the drive through by like seven and shut down at 8:30 or so. I guess they blame it on no one available to help like everyone else does.

 

You know how some countries have mandatory military service? I think the US ought to have mandatory "work in a restaurant / service industry" requirements. Obviously, I'm joking, but I do think it's an important step for kids to take in the job market. I waited tables thru college, my older son is currently at a fast food joint, and I'll make sure my younger son pays his dues, too.

Here's my reason: the rudeness that gets tossed at people working in a retail job by customers. I have never understood why you'd want to be a jackass to someone that is handling your food.

I'm also thinking that the current inflation is going to have people coming back into these jobs. My son's workplace is fully staffed, but there are a couple of the fast food places in town that are still struggling to keep workers. I'm thinking it's also a bad management / ownership issue.

 

Getting uses to a pay check is habit-forming no matter how small. This leads to over time and the need for a car, which leads to a girlfriend and then a babysitter and soon a divorce and up the cor pert ladder you go. Its momentum created by a hamburger... Tedd

 

Just to clarify, be certain your gall bladder is in good shape before digesting

 

One of my favorites:

They do a car show out back on Wednesdays. They still do door service where they hang the tray on your window. Both of the current owners started working there as kids and bought the place a few years ago

https://macsdrive-in.com/

https://fingerlakesclassiccarcruises.com/macs-drive-in