Restaurants

[Trista]

I used to be a carhop at a drive in restaurant called Burgermaster in Olympia WA. I think there were some in the Seattle area. The one in Olympia closed down, which is sad because the burgers were dang good. Cooked when you ordered it.

I love going to locally owned restaurants and try to stay away from corporate restaurants, I used to be a server at The Olive Garden a decade ago and I my stomach still churns when my friends want to go there.

I once worked at a hotel and every tuesday we would get a tour bus (or two or three) come in and they all would aske me where to eat and I would always recommend the local italian restaurant 2 blocks away, because it was very good and some of them would ask me about Chili's right across the street. My response was "Have you eaten at Chili's before?" they say yes and then I say "well, then you know what its like!"

one tuesday I guess they all listened to me and 2 busses full of people went to the italian restaurant because the restaurant called me and said "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" I guess they had nobody come in until the tour bus people came in. The next day the owner called my manager and had us all come to over for a free meal. They bought us 2 bottles of wine, 2 appetizers, dinner and dessert for 8 of us. It was soooo gooood.

I haven't been to Burgermaster in years, however I know the locations of multiple ones in the Seattle area (including right in the thick of Aurora, ahem). I am definitely a fan of made-to-order stuff. I had Chipotle today for the first time in several months and well, let's just say that if I ate nothing but Chipotle for the rest of my life, I would be a happy camper. Granted, they aren't the healthiest, but I go vegetarian, with no guacamole or sour cream, double black beans, and so forth. I can't resist the chips though-made fresh many times a day.

I think part of the appeal of the chain restaurants is that they tend to be more oriented for the family. They don't care as much about a gourmet meal; they want somewhere that the whole family could go. Also they are good for travelers, who want to eat at a restaurant but don't know about the good local ones, and don't want to search. When we always went to Birch Bay (a sleepy little town just south of the border) we always went to the various restaurants in the area, because there weren't many, or any, chains in the area. We would go to the Pig & Pancake when we were in Seaside (on the Oregon coast)-they're a north Oregon-based chain that is like a Denny's and your choice of casual restaurant, but better (they had a full espresso bar service to the table, so back when we went-I was still eating fish at that time-I had fish & chips and a coconut white mocha for breakfast). We always ask about where the great local restaurants are.

That being said, when in Seattle do NOT eat at the Space Needle restaurant. You're essentially paying for the view, because the food is abysmal. It's just north of downtown and you can catch the monorail (or the 3 or 4 bus) into downtown, where unlimited food opportunities await.

[MRD]

I haven't been to Burgermaster in years, however I know the locations of multiple ones in the Seattle area (including right in the thick of Aurora, ahem). I am definitely a fan of made-to-order stuff. I had Chipotle today for the first time in several months and well, let's just say that if I ate nothing but Chipotle for the rest of my life, I would be a happy camper. Granted, they aren't the healthiest, but I go vegetarian, with no guacamole or sour cream, double black beans, and so forth. I can't resist the chips though-made fresh many times a day.

I think part of the appeal of the chain restaurants is that they tend to be more oriented for the family. They don't care as much about a gourmet meal; they want somewhere that the whole family could go. Also they are good for travelers, who want to eat at a restaurant but don't know about the good local ones, and don't want to search. When we always went to Birch Bay (a sleepy little town just south of the border) we always went to the various restaurants in the area, because there weren't many, or any, chains in the area. We would go to the Pig & Pancake when we were in Seaside (on the Oregon coast)-they're a north Oregon-based chain that is like a Denny's and your choice of casual restaurant, but better (they had a full espresso bar service to the table, so back when we went-I was still eating fish at that time-I had fish & chips and a coconut white mocha for breakfast). We always ask about where the great local restaurants are.

That being said, when in Seattle do NOT eat at the Space Needle restaurant. You're essentially paying for the view, because the food is abysmal. It's just north of downtown and you can catch the monorail (or the 3 or 4 bus) into downtown, where unlimited food opportunities await.

That's exactly why people go to chains. And a lot of chains are located off exit ramps near Interstate highways.
A lot of people don't want to search for a resturant and they know that at a chain, what the prices are ahead of time and what the food is like.

Me, I love to find local places and will search them out before I go, but a lot of people don't want to spend the time or the money on guides.

I heard that before the Lady and Sons got so popular, that it wasn't a buffet and the food was better. Now that there is a line that starts forming at 9 am for the 11 am opening, they have switched to accomadate as many people as possible and a buffett is quicker for table turnover.

[schmoo2]

I'm a chain restaurant person - I like consistency. even worse, I have like 1 or 2 dishes I would order at each one. I don't step outside my box very often and it takes a long while to try something new. It may be weird, but I'm happy that way.

[iguanachocolate]

When I was travelling with my parents as a child we would always eat at chains on the way to or from a place, but once we got where we were going, it was always local restaurants or mom and pop shops. of course, most of the time we were hiking or camping, so we'd eat trail food or camp food. Even if we weren't camping or hiking, we were usually renting a cottage somewhere, so we would cook our own stuff, experimenting with the local delicasies.

My favorite thing ever? Fresh pineapple when we in Hawaii. I'll never forget that we could buy an entire pineapple for about 50 cents and it was absolutely perfect.

[luvsginger]

The best pineapple I ever had was one that I bought at a Farmers Market in Hilo, HI. OMG...it was so sweet and juicy.....I will never forget that pineapple! The funny thing was it was really small, I think it was a Kona Gold or something like that. My dad grew up in HI and he showed us the proper way to cut up a pineapple when we were little. One of my fondest memories was arriving at my grandparents house in the dark after a long flight in from the mainland and stepping on what we thought were mushy potatoes on the ground which we later found out to be mangos. My cousins still grow mangos and papayas, there is nothing that compares to fresh tropical fruit right off the plant.

[queenb]

I heard that before the Lady and Sons got so popular, that it wasn't a buffet and the food was better. Now that there is a line that starts forming at 9 am for the 11 am opening, they have switched to accomadate as many people as possible and a buffett is quicker for table turnover.

I can vouch that it was good before Paula Deen became a big deal, and there were even lots of things to eat that, while not likely the healthiest, were not overly buttered, greasy, etc. and it was very, very, good.
Unfortunately that always seems to be what happens when restaurant owners become 'stars' the way they are today.
Mrs. Wilkes boarding House was always really good in Savannah as well, until it became nationally known. Now, it's the same story as lady and Sons-- a tourist trap.

[MRD]

I can vouch that it was good before Paula Deen became a big deal, and there were even lots of things to eat that, while not likely the healthiest, were not overly buttered, greasy, etc. and it was very, very, good.
Unfortunately that always seems to be what happens when restaurant owners become 'stars' the way they are today.
Mrs. Wilkes boarding House was always really good in Savannah as well, until it became nationally known. Now, it's the same story as lady and Sons-- a tourist trap.

Same thing happened to the Pirate House in Savannah too.

[karna68]

I'm a chain restaurant person - I like consistency. even worse, I have like 1 or 2 dishes I would order at each one. I don't step outside my box very often and it takes a long while to try something new. It may be weird, but I'm happy that way.

You're not alone, I'm the same way.

[Missyboxers]

That's great! I don't understand why people choose to go to chain restaurants. There are so many great restaurants in the city I live in and there is absolutely no reason to go to a chain restaurant. I could see if you live in an area where there is no choice but living in SF, it's a culinary dream!!!

Right there with you, assuming that you exclude additional branches of local institutions (i.e. John's on Bleecker, which has spread to various parts of town). I cannot imagine why anyone would set foot into chains in a city where I often have trouble deciding what I want because there are too many choices!

As all of us have gotten older, we've very much moved away from chains. We've started strategically mapping our departure times on road trips based around where we'll be able to stop for a given meal at a local place we know or in a city where we can find something local.

[MRD]

ANd now after a few seasons of Diner's, Drive in's and Dives on Food network, I'd look up any restaurants on their website in the places I was going and visit them. There have been a few I've seen on that show that I want to make a special trip to that city to eat there.

But I can say I have eaten at 3 of the featured restaurants and all 3 were good.