< User talk:(WT-en) Justfred


(This page may at some point move to United States/Chain restaurants )

Talk

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I've been thinking about chain restaurants. On the Carlsbad (California) page under Eat is this:

  • Benihana - part of a chain of Japanese restaurants. Their food is good, and they prepare it entertainingly right in front of you.
  • Claim Jumper (south of town on I-5) - part of a chain of tasteful Old West themed restaurants featuring large proportions of good food. Especially recommended is the steak.
  • Coyote Bar & Grill - mostly featuring Southwestern and Mexican food, a wide range of tequilas, and live bands.

These places are everywhere. Why does the Carlsbad page need to explain the concept of Benihana?

In general I don't like chain places, even though I do eat in them (yeah, I like Outback). I know restaurants, or even major chains, don't deserve their own page. But it seems like a page of United States/Chain Restarants could explain and link to all of these once, allowing individual pages to mention them (if necessary) and refer to the Chain Restaurants page (or to the individual restaurant anchor on that page - not really sure yet if that's possible). I would guess that restaurant chains are more common in the US, though there are world chains (mostly US-based) like McDonalds and Subway - Yoshinoya is the counter example, based in Japan. That page could as usual be broken down by budget, or eventually by ethnicity. The city page could mention anything special about the chain site, like "Located by the beach" or "One of the original of this chain before they turned floofy".

Personally, I've been moving the local places up above the chains on the cities I'm familiar with, where appropriate. Yeah, maybe even the locals eat at the Sizzler more often than at Big Joe's Owl Cafe - but the Owl has a lot more local colour. And one of the common US travel experiences I've noticed, is that after a while all these places look like everywhere else - If you're sitting in Chili's, you can't tell whether you're in Austin or Janesville Wisconsin or Coeur d'Alene except perhaps for the weather or the way a few people talk. And yet, if I'm in one of these places I'm hesitant to try the local places because I've had more than a few disappointments - which is why the reccommendations of WT or some other travel guide are useful.

Of course the same is true for Buy (Fry's, Macy's) and Sleep (Holiday Inn Express or Sleep/Quality/Comfort/Clarion) chains.

Considering what do to about it. Should probably run this over to a Pub or other talk page--Justfred 12:22, 28 September 2006 (EDT)

I'm also trying to think how to best focus this on the traveller, rather than having it be a canonical list of trivia. I'm personally tempted to throw in things like trademark sayings, but this probably isn't relevant. This is why I haven't moved this to public yet. Just experimnenting. (later) I decided to remove this. Spokesdogs, etc aren't relevant to a traveller - what is is what kind of food they serve.

But I'd love to hear other people's opinions.--(WT-en) justfred 15:35, 5 October 2006 (EDT)

Eat

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Some of these would be regional that should be noted. ?Is there a cutoff for how many? I'd think at least a dozen unless they're particularly notable. Local chains should probably be on their own regional/local pages.

Each should have a brief discussion. Many have colorful histories (I'm particularly fond of the Colonel)!

I'm sure most of these have websites as well that would be useful to link.

They should probably be alphabetical.

Why do people eat in chain restaurants? Because it's predictable. You know going in what the choices are going to be, about how much it's going to cost.

Cafes

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  • Starbucks -- Coffee. One of the fastest-growing chains in the world, they currently plan to have over 40,000 locations worldwide.
  • Seattle's Best -- Coffee
  • Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf -- Coffee
  • Winchell's - Donuts
  • Yum Yum - Donuts

Specialty

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  • Panera Bread - fresh-baked breads.
  • Baskin Robins (aka "31 Flavors") - Ice Cream
  • Coldstone Creamery - Ice Cream, with hand-mixed toppings.

Fast Food

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Fast food is, for better or worse, an American way of life. Statistics show that most Americans eat fast food at least once a week. This is often pointed to as the reason for American obesity, heart disease, diabeties, and other ailments. American fast food has also spread out across the globe - the first McDonalds in Moscow in the '80s was a noteworthy event and, some feel, a precursor to the westernization of that country. It is said that no two countries with McDonalds have been at war with each other.

  • McDonalds -- Burgers. The ubiquitous example of all that is bad about fast food and American cultural imperialism.
  • Burger King -- Burgers. The largest competitor with McDonalds, their trademark burger is the "Whopper".
  • Carl's Jr -- Burgers. Formerly owned and operated by Carl Karcher, who started the chain from a small hot-dog stand in Los Angeles. One of the distinctions with Carl's is, if you're dining inside the restaurant they bring your food out to you.
  • Hardee's - Burgers.
  • Green Burrito -- Mexican. Americanized mexican food. Often paired with Carl's Jr.
  • La Salsa -- Mexican.
  • Wendy's -- Burgers. Dave Thomas... Wendys burgers are square. They also serve chili, and often have a small salad bar.
  • Jack In The Box -- Burgers. Any of Jack's menu items can be ordered at any time - burgers for breakfast, egg sandwiches for dinner. Some locations are open 24 hours.
  • Subway -- Sandwiches. One Subway advertising campaign showed "Jarrod" who lost a lot of weight by eating Subway for lunch every day.
  • Schlotzky's -- Sandwiches. Their bread is similar to a New Orleans "muffaletta".
  • Togo's -- Sandwiches. Mostly italian-style, the menu of sandwiches is numbered.
  • Del Taco -- Mexican
  • Taco Bell -- Mexican.
  • Whataburger (Northwest) -- Burgers
  • Yoshinoya -- Japanese
  • Waffle House -- Breakfast
  • Pollo Loco -- Mexican-style chicken
  • KFC -- Chicken. Formerly "Kentucky Fried Chicken", they now offer broiled chicken as well, although most of their sales are the Orignal and Extra Crispy varieties. Some also have outstanding biscuits.
  • Church's -- Chicken
  • Pioneer -- Chicken
  • Long John Silver's -- Fish
  • White Castle -- Burgers. Famous for their tiny "sliders". (Midwest)
  • Pizza Hut -- Pizza
  • Straw Hat -- Pizza
  • Round Table -- Pizza
  • Little Caesar's Pizza Pizza -- Pizza. This low-end restaurant's standard promotion is two pizzas for the price of one.
  • Arby's -- Roast beef sandwiches
  • Friendly's -- (not sure if this is fast food or family-style)

Budget

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For about the same price range as fast food, these chains are considered preferable to some.

  • Rubio's -- Mexican "San Felipe Style" Fish Tacos (West)
  • In N Out -- Burgers (Southwest)
  • Zankhou -- Chicken

Diners

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Diners and "Family Restaurants" are particularly American.

  • Denny's
  • Coco's
  • Baker's Square
  • Marie Callendar's

Mid-range

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  • Fuddruckers -- Build-it-yourself hamburgers.
  • Chevy's -- Mexican
  • Texas Roadhouse -- Roadhouse
  • Ruby Tuesdays
  • Outback -- Australian-themed
  • Chilis -- Tex-mex.
  • Islands -- Burgers
  • Rainforest Cafe
  • Tony Roma's -- Ribs
  • Sizzler -- "Family" steakhouse
  • Claim Jumper
  • Samys Woodfire Pizza
  • Fish Market -- Fish (Southwest)
  • Olive Garden -- Italian
  • California Pizza Kitchen -- Pizza

Splurge

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  • Morton's -- Steakhouse
  • Houston's -- Steakhouse
  • Ruth's Chris -- Steakhouse
  • Benihana -- Japanese
  • Wolfgang Puck -- Pizza

Vegetarian

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(I'm not really sure there are veggie chains.)

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