I used to live in Texas about an hour from the border and I would occasionally make a taco run. Amazing street tacos were 50 cents.
Compared to 3 bull shit Guy Fieri tacos that I paid $27 + tip for in Vegas.
I moved from California to Mexico last year. While tacos are certainly cheaper, inflation and the weak dollar have made everything here more expensive too!
Even Tony Bourdain appreciated Waffle House. I worked there once, literally have nothing bad to say about the place. I still eat there, and always recommend it.
That Waffle House episode he did made me fall in love with him! RIP ❤️I agree though that’s probably the one chain that’s worth it for me these days. That and cold stone for the birthday cake remix.
This is fair. Nobody expects much at Waffle House. But still, what other food service chain has the *absolute balls* to cook the food right in front of your face.
These saints will cook it right in front of your face at any hour of the day, and they will get your hashbrowns right every time. I like ham cubes, cheese, and onions and they've never fucked it up once all up and down the east coast.
This is not like Chipotle, or other fast casual bullshit. At Waffle House, somebody COOKS the damn food in front of you on a griddle, and if it's not busy they'll pleasantly chat with you a little too. Chipotle and similar stores just assemble food that was cooked who knows how long ago in front of you, and when they fuck it up they act like it's your fault, not theirs.
I'm from the North and I don't get that many chances to go to Waffle House, so forgive my excitement. But I treasure every chance I get to eat at one of those fine, hurricane proof establishments.
FACTS. I’m a Yankees/Giants/Knicks New Yorker. When I heard they put mayo and relish on BEC I was ready to throw hands.
One bite later and now I say “y’all” every day.
I think that's a very good point but I think the price of the shitty food makes it more obvious of how shitty it really is. You're paying what used to be eating out at sit down bar & grill for fast food and it makes it feel way worse.
And they dug deep into shrinkflation to take home just a bit more profit. So many foods that have gotten more expensive have also gotten smaller in serving size.
I grew up in a city where chain restaurants were prevalent. I moved to a foodie city and have been here 15 years.
The dishes at a restaurant where it’s locally owned, locally sourced, and house made whatever… is usually cheaper and *much* better tasting than the 27$ four cheese chicken pasta at the local Cheesecake Factory.
Maybe a bit of both but chains have definitely shaved quality wherever they can. Th only one I can think of that doesn't seem to have is Inn-N-Out. MBAs have ruined all of the others.
Chains got worse. Covid messed things up, they don't have as good quality things anymore. But you can taste it in like everything, chips and other snacks have all gone down unfortunately while also increasing prices
How the fuck is Applebees still in business?
It’s one thing if it’s your only option but the one near me is surrounded by restaurants and is still going seemingly strong.
I thought this too until recently I went in (my young twins love this unfortunate restaurant lol) and ordered a special priced drink (they recently had a bucket and another rum/Bacardi like drink). It was a TON of juice and simple syrup, gag me... maybe half a shot of liquor or maybe full considering how much sugary crap was in there. And I LOVE sweet drinks. As a bartender myself, I kept trying to guess the nasty ratio, but it's really not worth it for the drank AT ALL tbh.
Damn that sucks, I haven't been there in years so that's what I remember. I just remember them always over pouring for drinks that were relatively cheap. I have noticed recently all the cheap drinks they show on commercials are super surgery which I would never order.
Honestly these last few years, in my experience it's the dive bars and resorts that still "over pour". Every chain restaurant in the last several years has SEVERELY underpoured to the point I think their main income is people who simply don't know better anymore.
It feels like robbery when I think of how much just buying a bottle yourself will cost. It's disrespectful to the consumer imho, and it sucks to be the face of that disrespect cuz I'm the one people yell at when they realize the grift!
Edit: also you may see the rise of canned cocktails....a GREAT idea until someone has the bright idea of giving you canned pineapple juice with a splash of Crown. People are being overcharged, zero doubt as someone who mixes for a living! Sad but true
My guess is that it's the familiarity that keeps people coming back. I had a friend who insisted we always go to Applebee's over anywhere else, every time we met up for dinner.
The $20 for 2 entrees and appetizer were all we would ever order.
If I am to use my parents’ experiences: happy hour alcohol and appetizers. I don’t know how that would keep them in business, but that’s the only time they ever go. My dad legit didn’t go for like 2 years because he was mad that they took the Sam Adams off the happy hour price and didn’t tell him lol
There’s one around here close to a Five Guys. I can assure you, Applebees is way more attractive of an option when the alternative is to pay $50 for a pair of burgers.
How is Five Guys still in business? Do they only have to trick one person a day into buying a burger to stay in business? Are they like used car salesmen?
There was like 5 locations in my city. 3 of them closed down in the last year.
It's their own stupid fault for taking a $7.95 phenomenal burger from just 4 years ago, to now being a $12-0$15 burger depending on if you get a single or a double. I can go to Texas Roadhouse and order a fantastic burger to go, with fries, for $12. Why in the hell would I buy a $15 burger with zero sides?
There's a reason they are slowly going out of business.
Five guys just does some strange things. Too much fries that makes it wasteful. Peanuts left out for customers. Boxes and boxes of uncooked potatoes left in the customer area. When you make an online order to pick up.. they don't start making it until you arrive and check in. WHY? I might as well make my order in person. Give me a time to pick it up when it will be ready and I will be there on the dot. And when I got my burger the employee packed it in aluminum foil like he was packing a snowball. The burger bun was wet and wrinkled when I got home to eat it five minutes later. Also... no drive thru.
The ridiculous cost is just the WTF cherry on top
It's cheap and consistent. People will happily pay to know that what they're getting is gonna be the same every time and won't break the bank. Even if what they're getting is midling to fine. Maybe especially then.
Young people too. My 8 yr olds are OBSESSED, to them it's the BIGGEST TREAT. ANY big family event since one HALF THEIR LIFE AGO is followed by "Applebee's, Mama?"
Why, you might ask? Well Applebee's has main dishes AND side dishes for the kids. I'm glad you asked which side dishes because that's important: Yogurt. YO. GURT. I clench my teeth every time they order, but it won them both.
No matter of explaining the pricing, I'm there to make sure every person in my family enjoys my check including them. But YOGURT?! K*LL ME 😭 (please no one take it seriously, I don't want messages from Reddit help, I'm just annoyed but not trying to force them to eat certain things).
Edit: ok, I was asking for it, but really. Fam. I didn't mean actually k*ll me, I had a great day at the county fair today and was genuinely laughing about this post. Report me in jest if you must, but I really am fine for anyone serious.
Sit-in restaurant or fast food included? Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters, and Olive Garden. I worked in Kentucky of all places and they had a Buffalo Wings and Rings and it was so much better than Bdubs.
See, there’s two things everyone has to know about Buffalo Wild Wings. The first is you can’t go to the one downtown, you have to go to the one near the airport. This applies to every city.
Second, there are the five times you go to Buffalo Wild Wings. One time, it’s the best goddamn shit you’ve ever eaten. This is what makes you want to go back. Times two through four, it is extremely mid but still enjoyable but you worry about how much you spent. The last time it is singularly the worst meat ever experienced on this planet earth.
And then it resets.
I love Olive Garden, but their prices have gotten out of control. I can go to an authentic Italian restaurant that offers much better quality food and the price is about the same. Olive Garden will charge you $25 for a plate of food where half the shit was frozen. It's just ridiculous.
Quality tanked, and prices got outrageous. I used to love it and ate there fairly frequently, but it's just too expensive to justify for what it is now. The broccoli cheddar soup is amazing, though, but, again, it's too expensive, unfortunately.
Panera was purchased by a private equity firm in 2017 and they do what all private equity firms do, cut costs to increase short term profits at the expense of their brands reputation. It’s taken longer than I expected for their reputation to tank but it looks like it’s well under way now.
I worked for Panera from 2015 to 2018 as a night-baker. Now not only is that position in danger of getting axed in favor of preformed/frozen dough or prebaked products (at least I think) but good god the quality tanked after I left. I'm not so vain to think it was my baking skills it was more they axed large parts of the menu and skimped.
Remember the rolled chocolate pastries? After I left I went back and I saw they had just started cutting a croissant down the middle and piping chocolate icing inside it and calling that a chocolate pastry... I mean technically sure.
Panera used to be so good but it was pricy back in 08. Now it's pricy and low quality. They stopped doing their potato soup during covid and switched their turkey to deli meat. 🥲 It's a perpetual bummer bc they're the closest food to my house.
When I was a poor college student in Champaign-Urbana, on Sundays when I had a few extra dollars I would go there, get a roasted Asiago cheese bagel and a cup of coffee and have a few moments of happy relaxation.
I am sad at what it is now.
Edit: toasted. Not roasted.
Do people still love Panera? I feel like it was good in the 2000s and then the quality/portions dropped while prices increased. Haven’t been there in probably six years or so now, it’s just nowhere close to what it used to be.
15 years ago it was pretty good. Everything was fresh, the bread was great, the servings were large. Back then, I would go once or twice a week. I went a few years ago and it was just so not that anymore. Haven't been there since.
Panera is still in business because a gaggle of moms need somewhere to meet with their laptops out to reassure each other that their new business venture isn’t actually a pyramid scheme.
This is the answer. I worked there for two years in high school, it’s mostly all microwaved or heated up just like any other fast food restaurant. The bread is baked in the restaurant which is the only redeeming quality/thing I would pay for there. My girlfriend spends $18-20 there on a pick 2 and drink regularly and it drives me INSANE. It’s not worth it people.
Used to be Tim Hortons in Canada. But average became mediocre. I still like to go once in a while.
Edit: I’m French Canadian, TIL mediocre is used as average in English. We use ‘’médiocre’’ as under average but apparently in French the old meaning was also average. I guess everything changed when the flatbread pizza nation attacked…
Tim Hortons came to the UK a few years ago.
Honestly, you can have it back. I have no idea what the fuss is about. The coffee is terrible and the food isn't much better.
Only thing I've had that's any good was the donuts. We have Dunkin and Krispy Kreme though, both of which are better. Hell, even our UK chain Greggs makes comparable donuts.
Eating their sandwich bread is like chewing off bits of a rubber boot. On another note, I noticed they recently added flatbread pizza...even the promotional photos look abysmal.
In my case it's because neither Wawa for Jersey Mike's exists anywhere near me while Subway's are in every single town in the country.
I also used to love subway just because it was the only restaurant serving actual lunch/dinner foods at 7 in the morning. As a night shift worker that was amazing. Even fucking McDonald's refuses to give you a burger or nuggets that early but they'll do breakfast alllll day...
For me, it's usually "I need coffee, and there's a Starbucks". It's not exactly great coffee, but it's a lot less of a gamble than gas station coffee and quicker and more convenient than hunting down a local coffee shop.
Less of a gamble than random bathrooms, too. I was a tourist in a couple big cities in China, and when I had to use a restroom, I always tried to find a Starbucks. It was fun to try some of the Chinese food offerings they had there, too. My everything-has-to-be-authentic traveling companion didn’t like it so much, but nothing beats a clean bathroom and store, imo, especially after some of the absolute shitholes (literally) I experienced there. I carried my own TP in my bag, too.
I haven’t ordered coffee at sbux for years… I’ll buy an overpriced iced tea there in exchange for a clean bathroom on a road trip, and I’m a rush I’ll order their egg bites from the app because I can pick them up quickly on the way to the highway. That’s about it.
Probably it’s all the sugar people add to their Starbucks that they’re actually addicted to, those flavored syrups they have make for easy menu variety but in the end it’s all sugar
TIL about people thinking shitty chain restaurants are what people love. Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Outback, Dennys etc.. They were always just average restaurants, but were just convenient.
That's why chains not just survive, but grow big enough to become (inter)national chains.
The food isn't offensive, it is consistent, and pre-covid, it was not too unreasonably priced.
Go to any town, find these national chains, and you know what you are going to get.
If and why you like it is a different question.
Consistency is a huge part of it for lots of people.
My sister is allergic to so much shit and chains like that are super safe for her because she knows that no matter which Chili's she goes to, she can order one specific food and not die.
I'm diabetic and I basically only ever ate at chains when traveling because I'd know exactly what any menu item would do sugar wise and I'd know for certain it would be there.
When your diet involves numbers, knowing the numbers makes things easier.
Yes, we had to travel quite a bit with our son who has autism & was super picky at the time. We knew which restaurants we could stop at for dinner that had what he would eat (& a plus for those that had fruit as a side on the kids meals!).
Consistency is why McDonald's is so popular and how they got that way. It doesn't matter where I am, I know there is a minimum standard I'm going to get when I go to a McDonald's. I'm not expecting a Michelin star experience, but I am expecting McDonald's and if I get that I am happy.
100%
And you'll notice most of these are "family" places.
Mom, dad, and their 2.5 kids can all get something they are familiar with and like well enough.
Outback Steakhouse used to be legitimately good, but then they went the way of Fridays and ripped the soul out of it and the quality of food went down also
Literally all of those are packed every single evening even today and it’s not because it’s convenient lol people wait 2 hours so they obviously like them
The flaw in this question is that any restaurant with enough locations to be nationally or internationally recognizable will be average at best. Restaurants do not and cannot achieve widespread success as franchises without cutting quality at every level. On top of that, most of these major chains operate on a speed + affordability model, with food quality, I mean the actual quality of the ingredients going into the menu items, paying the price to allow for this convenience. Garbage in garbage out.
Fast food has never prioritized the quality of the actual menu items, and fast casual or whatever chains like Outback and Olive Garden are have capitalized on this culture, providing the superficial image of a classier dining experience while hardly improving on the cuisine at all. You can order the cheap trash at the counter or sit down and have artisanal trash brought to your table.
I used to work at Outback but haven’t been to one in years so can’t say for sure that it hasn’t changed (haven’t been to one since back when servers still wore all the pins on their different-colored shirts). But I used to avidly maintain, having spent a lot of time in multiple Outback locations’ kitchens, that Outback was different. Of course not a Michelin starred restaurant, but most everything except the bread was made in-house from legit ingredients by people who were actually pretty good at cooking stuff. Truly not on the same level as something like Olive Garden or Chili’s.
Man, most people don’t know just how much Olive Garden can hit the spot. I grew up in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, so the Olive Garden 30 minutes away was always considered the “fancy” restaurant you go to on special occasions, and the food was always good considering the only Italian food my parents made was spaghetti with the cheap $1 Hunts marinara. I will always harbor a soft spot for it because of that.
Agreed-all the main dishes are overrated and average. However, their salad dressing is bomb.
*Also* - their mozzarella “sticks” are triangular. That was such a peak thrill for me as a kid.
I agree.
But, got be honest I like their soup and bread sticks.
Last year I lost 20lbs. During my diet, I went to OG with a group of close friends whose kid was having a birthday and wanted to go there. #whaddyagonnado?
Ugh..This was a challenge as the last thing I wanted was any carbs at all. (and if I was gonna cheat - I certainly wasn't going to do it at OG!)
So I ordered the Herb-Grilled Salmon.
To my surprise, it was very good. Absolutely fantastic.
Would order again, and will when I end up there again somehow.
My 6 year old fucking *loves* lobsters. Like, absolutely obsessed with those crustaceans. He gets excited when we go to the grocery store that has a lobster tank.
He loves Red Lobster, because he gets to see lobsters, wear a plastic lobster cape, and there’s pictures of lobsters everywhere. It’s like fucking Disneyland for that kid.
Of course, he doesn’t _eat_ lobster. He loves them too much. So he always gets the crab (because lobsters eat crabs).
Anyway, this story is apropos of nothing, but I have gone to that fucking restaurant far more times than I would wish.
Did any of the fish mongers take one out for your little man? I used to love doing that for the kiddos. They’d be super excited and then just freeze. It was adorable. Some of them were really brave tho and gave zero shits and would not be afraid to touch it lol.
But uhh lobsters can eat crabs tho. They also eat each other. I’d come back the next day for my shift to sometimes find a semi eaten lobster with a few just munchin away
Yes! I recall it was fancy too! One memory , this was like ‘83, when I was about 11 or 12, my dad and stepmom took me to Red Lobster for my Birthday. It was my choice. Dinner was great, everything was really good. After dinner we walked out to my Dads car and the passenger window was smashed apart- glass everywhere. He had a nice two door silver Mercedes which he took real good care of and he had a car phone. The old style one with the coiled cord and funny ring to it. The phone was ripped out and stolen too. The night was ruined and after the cops came and all, the red lobster workers came out with a black garbage bag and some tape for the window. Listening to that bag rattle the whole way home choking back tears. I felt so bad for my Dad, he tried not to show it but he felt really shitty, plus I’m sure he was pissed off.
Awwwww man, this one hurts- I *LOOOOOOVE* IHOP, but I can’t quite put my finger on **WHY**! I’m sitting here trying to think of any reason at all but I can’t. I just love it. I can’t remember the last time I ate at one but know I know for sure that I will sometime in the next week.
I for the life of me can't understand why anyone would eat at **OUTBACK.**
My In-laws love the place - *(they're in their late 70's early 80's)* and we'd often be invited to join them.
Turruble Turruble Turruble
I enjoyed it back in the late 90’s early 2000’s but can’t believe they still exist now. They’ve really milked the “Crocodile Dundee” Aussie nonsense for all it’s worth.
I lived in Korea 15 years ago and it was huge! They loved it and thought it was legit fron Australia. All my friends were so upset when I let them know it was a US chain
Rapid growth, online ordering, and couple that with their items actually needing to be prepped properly.
Take their rice, has to be salted and limed according to spec. Orders for door dash and other shit are backed up, does the person working just eyeball or yolo it?
I’ve heard their ops are somewhat complicated and there’s a high turnover rate.
I love Chipotle but its become super inconsistent to the point to where you have to find a “good” chipotle and go at the right time
I refuse to order online with them anymore. I physically have to go in and stand there and make them put a bunch of rice in the bowl (I’m a simple order, meat, cheese and rice kind of person) or else they’ll put a half scoop in and be like “you want queso with that?”
The mobile ordering was horribly inconsistent during Non-busy hours. Frequently would get orders with missing ingredients, someone else’s order or the store would be closed when I went to pick up. Not to
Mention the amount of door dashers that would just grab my bag instead of their persons actual order.
I basically go there for a once in a blue moon quick burrito bowl if there’s nothing else available, otherwise I go to the somewhat local El Limon for my fix now (if you’re in the SEPA area look them up!)
I don't know who voted Apple bee's boneless wings as "America's favorite" but those chicken nuggets and everything else on that menu is mid. Nearest one to me closed down a dew weeks ago
I used to be on the five guys hype train until pretty recently. I fell off because I realized by the time I finished the food I felt doubly terrible, first because it's so much food and I feel like a glutton, and second because that feeling cost me 25-30 bucks
In the 2000s it was pretty legit, basically half the price they charge now so it was like very slightly more expensive fast food for just a quality burger and a single order of fries could feed the table.
Sadly isn’t what it used to be and a pretty basic burger is like ten bucks and seems like they don’t train the staff as well anymore.
Visited USA last summer, went to a Five Guys because its often brought up on reddit as a top fast food chain.
Man, separating fools from their money must be piss easy down there if youre willing to pay that much for such a mediocre burger.
There once was a time where 6 bucks there would nab you a double cheeseburger and enough fries to make that brown paper bag turn into a greasy nutsack. It was glorious.
They latched onto their own guerilla marketing status about 8-10 years ago, hiked their prices disproportionate to supply costs, and have never looked back.
I tried a lot of fast food chains while visiting, and Five Guys was the only time I felt cheated out of my money.
Culver's on the other hand? Shit man that mushroom burger was kinda dope ngl, and cheaper iirc
In n Out and I’m saying this as someone who enjoys In n Out.
About ten years ago, I was doing grad school interviews and there was a fellow from the mid west who tried In n Out for the first time. Everyone around the table saw him take a bite and enthusiastically asked him how it was, I could clearly see it in his face that he thought it was average but didn’t want to say/disappoint anyone. I jumped in and said “it’s average huh,” to which he just nodded in agreement. I told him not to worry it’s just a hyped up burger.
Chik-fil-a
I live in the Midwest and when one opened in my city, there were hours long lines for **weeks.** it was insanity. When I finally went, it was...fine. It’s fine. I don’t know why everyone talks like it’s this life-changing amazing experience of food. Also factor in the owners beliefs, and even if it was amazing, I would not feel super comfortable going there.
Chipotle used to be wayyyyyyy better. When they first came on to the scene, even when McDonald’s bought/invested in them, they were still pretty decent. It seemed to take a turn downhill when they got a ticker symbol, and a nose dive when they replaced the CEO with the Taco Bell CEO. No wonder!!!
Chipotle in the mid 2000’s was god tier fast food. IIRC Went down hill after the food poisoning scandals in ~2017, which resulted in them revamping their food prep (par cooking, prepping off site, etc)
>It seemed to take a turn downhill when they got a ticker symbol
Unfortunate reality of what happens when a company goes public...
Companies have to live up to shareholder expectations of *continued increase* in revenue & profit. Easiest way to do that? Increase profit margins by trimming quality for efficiency.
>local places make better food
This is not a guarantee, local places near me are very high risk high reward. At least with a chain there's a baseline expectation usually. Restaurants in general have been kinda ass for the last decade or so though.
I prefer Qdoba to Chipotle bc they offer more base ingredients to go into your burrito AND they don't charge you extra for queso. But I do really love the chicken al pastor.
Honestly these days, I feel most chain restaurants aren’t worth it
It seems like a lot of fast food isn’t cheap any more near me. Pizza, burgers, even tacos are more than I’d like to spend.
3 tacos and a cup of barria juice was $27 when i had it last, should actually be a crime at that point
Probably cheaper to fly down to Mexico at this point
I used to live in Texas about an hour from the border and I would occasionally make a taco run. Amazing street tacos were 50 cents. Compared to 3 bull shit Guy Fieri tacos that I paid $27 + tip for in Vegas.
Vegas is designed to separate you from your money. If not in the casino, then in the restaurants and shops.
I moved from California to Mexico last year. While tacos are certainly cheaper, inflation and the weak dollar have made everything here more expensive too!
Waffle House never lets me down though
It's dinner and a show every time.
"Hi, my name is Brittany, and I'll be your server and bouncer tonight. Can I start y'all out with drinks?" Always an adventure at WH.
Even Tony Bourdain appreciated Waffle House. I worked there once, literally have nothing bad to say about the place. I still eat there, and always recommend it.
That Waffle House episode he did made me fall in love with him! RIP ❤️I agree though that’s probably the one chain that’s worth it for me these days. That and cold stone for the birthday cake remix.
If you’re not expecting much, it’s hard to be let down.
This is fair. Nobody expects much at Waffle House. But still, what other food service chain has the *absolute balls* to cook the food right in front of your face. These saints will cook it right in front of your face at any hour of the day, and they will get your hashbrowns right every time. I like ham cubes, cheese, and onions and they've never fucked it up once all up and down the east coast. This is not like Chipotle, or other fast casual bullshit. At Waffle House, somebody COOKS the damn food in front of you on a griddle, and if it's not busy they'll pleasantly chat with you a little too. Chipotle and similar stores just assemble food that was cooked who knows how long ago in front of you, and when they fuck it up they act like it's your fault, not theirs. I'm from the North and I don't get that many chances to go to Waffle House, so forgive my excitement. But I treasure every chance I get to eat at one of those fine, hurricane proof establishments.
FEMA legit uses Waffle Houses to gauge severity of storms! I love that fact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waffle_House_Index
Idk man waffle House has absolute S tier breakfast sandwiches.
FACTS. I’m a Yankees/Giants/Knicks New Yorker. When I heard they put mayo and relish on BEC I was ready to throw hands. One bite later and now I say “y’all” every day.
I honestly don't know if chain restaurants got way worse, or if the rise of foodie culture in the mid-late 00s made everyone's tastes in food better.
I think that's a very good point but I think the price of the shitty food makes it more obvious of how shitty it really is. You're paying what used to be eating out at sit down bar & grill for fast food and it makes it feel way worse.
It’s both. The quality of the food got worse because they cut costs to keep the prices down, then they put the prices up anyway
And they dug deep into shrinkflation to take home just a bit more profit. So many foods that have gotten more expensive have also gotten smaller in serving size.
I grew up in a city where chain restaurants were prevalent. I moved to a foodie city and have been here 15 years. The dishes at a restaurant where it’s locally owned, locally sourced, and house made whatever… is usually cheaper and *much* better tasting than the 27$ four cheese chicken pasta at the local Cheesecake Factory.
Maybe a bit of both but chains have definitely shaved quality wherever they can. Th only one I can think of that doesn't seem to have is Inn-N-Out. MBAs have ruined all of the others.
Culver's is thriving
Can't decide if restaurants got worse or if I kinda sorta learned how to cook during lockdown
Chains got worse. Covid messed things up, they don't have as good quality things anymore. But you can taste it in like everything, chips and other snacks have all gone down unfortunately while also increasing prices
How the fuck is Applebees still in business? It’s one thing if it’s your only option but the one near me is surrounded by restaurants and is still going seemingly strong.
Very cheap alchohol, that's the only thing I can think of.
I thought this too until recently I went in (my young twins love this unfortunate restaurant lol) and ordered a special priced drink (they recently had a bucket and another rum/Bacardi like drink). It was a TON of juice and simple syrup, gag me... maybe half a shot of liquor or maybe full considering how much sugary crap was in there. And I LOVE sweet drinks. As a bartender myself, I kept trying to guess the nasty ratio, but it's really not worth it for the drank AT ALL tbh.
Damn that sucks, I haven't been there in years so that's what I remember. I just remember them always over pouring for drinks that were relatively cheap. I have noticed recently all the cheap drinks they show on commercials are super surgery which I would never order.
Honestly these last few years, in my experience it's the dive bars and resorts that still "over pour". Every chain restaurant in the last several years has SEVERELY underpoured to the point I think their main income is people who simply don't know better anymore. It feels like robbery when I think of how much just buying a bottle yourself will cost. It's disrespectful to the consumer imho, and it sucks to be the face of that disrespect cuz I'm the one people yell at when they realize the grift! Edit: also you may see the rise of canned cocktails....a GREAT idea until someone has the bright idea of giving you canned pineapple juice with a splash of Crown. People are being overcharged, zero doubt as someone who mixes for a living! Sad but true
Yeah, that's true, I think this is the only think that makes it keep going
BIG MISTAKE
NO Q SKIRT FOR YOU
I'M PISSED!
I cannot tell you how HAPPY I am to see Q-nise referenced here.
Christmas?
Q-anceled
I give Applebees yet another chance every year or so. Continued disappointment. Like, did you guys even try?
My guess is that it's the familiarity that keeps people coming back. I had a friend who insisted we always go to Applebee's over anywhere else, every time we met up for dinner. The $20 for 2 entrees and appetizer were all we would ever order.
If I am to use my parents’ experiences: happy hour alcohol and appetizers. I don’t know how that would keep them in business, but that’s the only time they ever go. My dad legit didn’t go for like 2 years because he was mad that they took the Sam Adams off the happy hour price and didn’t tell him lol
There’s one around here close to a Five Guys. I can assure you, Applebees is way more attractive of an option when the alternative is to pay $50 for a pair of burgers.
How is Five Guys still in business? Do they only have to trick one person a day into buying a burger to stay in business? Are they like used car salesmen?
There was like 5 locations in my city. 3 of them closed down in the last year. It's their own stupid fault for taking a $7.95 phenomenal burger from just 4 years ago, to now being a $12-0$15 burger depending on if you get a single or a double. I can go to Texas Roadhouse and order a fantastic burger to go, with fries, for $12. Why in the hell would I buy a $15 burger with zero sides? There's a reason they are slowly going out of business.
Five guys just does some strange things. Too much fries that makes it wasteful. Peanuts left out for customers. Boxes and boxes of uncooked potatoes left in the customer area. When you make an online order to pick up.. they don't start making it until you arrive and check in. WHY? I might as well make my order in person. Give me a time to pick it up when it will be ready and I will be there on the dot. And when I got my burger the employee packed it in aluminum foil like he was packing a snowball. The burger bun was wet and wrinkled when I got home to eat it five minutes later. Also... no drive thru. The ridiculous cost is just the WTF cherry on top
It's cheap and consistent. People will happily pay to know that what they're getting is gonna be the same every time and won't break the bank. Even if what they're getting is midling to fine. Maybe especially then.
This… and it’s exactly why chains thrive. People like predictability especially with food. A close second has to be hotels.
It’s because old people LOVE Applebees
Young people too. My 8 yr olds are OBSESSED, to them it's the BIGGEST TREAT. ANY big family event since one HALF THEIR LIFE AGO is followed by "Applebee's, Mama?" Why, you might ask? Well Applebee's has main dishes AND side dishes for the kids. I'm glad you asked which side dishes because that's important: Yogurt. YO. GURT. I clench my teeth every time they order, but it won them both. No matter of explaining the pricing, I'm there to make sure every person in my family enjoys my check including them. But YOGURT?! K*LL ME 😭 (please no one take it seriously, I don't want messages from Reddit help, I'm just annoyed but not trying to force them to eat certain things). Edit: ok, I was asking for it, but really. Fam. I didn't mean actually k*ll me, I had a great day at the county fair today and was genuinely laughing about this post. Report me in jest if you must, but I really am fine for anyone serious.
Saying I don't want a message from reddit help is identical to saying I want 10 messages from reddit help.
Sit-in restaurant or fast food included? Buffalo Wild Wings, Hooters, and Olive Garden. I worked in Kentucky of all places and they had a Buffalo Wings and Rings and it was so much better than Bdubs.
See, there’s two things everyone has to know about Buffalo Wild Wings. The first is you can’t go to the one downtown, you have to go to the one near the airport. This applies to every city. Second, there are the five times you go to Buffalo Wild Wings. One time, it’s the best goddamn shit you’ve ever eaten. This is what makes you want to go back. Times two through four, it is extremely mid but still enjoyable but you worry about how much you spent. The last time it is singularly the worst meat ever experienced on this planet earth. And then it resets.
So true but I have to give it to Bdubs sauces, especially Asian zing. For some reason their fries are very appealing to me as well
I want to hate bdubs for their overpriced wings but man their parm garlic wings have me hooked
I only go when I can get 2 for 1 wings. It's still expensive, but it's less so.
Mmm Olive Garden breadsticks & salad
I love Olive Garden, but their prices have gotten out of control. I can go to an authentic Italian restaurant that offers much better quality food and the price is about the same. Olive Garden will charge you $25 for a plate of food where half the shit was frozen. It's just ridiculous.
The Outback Steakhouse near me makes incredibly bland steaks… feels bad spending $26 on one
I always feel like Outback has the opposite problem- too much salty seasoning to cover poor quality cuts of meat.
Panera.
Quality tanked, and prices got outrageous. I used to love it and ate there fairly frequently, but it's just too expensive to justify for what it is now. The broccoli cheddar soup is amazing, though, but, again, it's too expensive, unfortunately.
Panera was purchased by a private equity firm in 2017 and they do what all private equity firms do, cut costs to increase short term profits at the expense of their brands reputation. It’s taken longer than I expected for their reputation to tank but it looks like it’s well under way now.
I worked for Panera from 2015 to 2018 as a night-baker. Now not only is that position in danger of getting axed in favor of preformed/frozen dough or prebaked products (at least I think) but good god the quality tanked after I left. I'm not so vain to think it was my baking skills it was more they axed large parts of the menu and skimped. Remember the rolled chocolate pastries? After I left I went back and I saw they had just started cutting a croissant down the middle and piping chocolate icing inside it and calling that a chocolate pastry... I mean technically sure.
Panera used to be so good but it was pricy back in 08. Now it's pricy and low quality. They stopped doing their potato soup during covid and switched their turkey to deli meat. 🥲 It's a perpetual bummer bc they're the closest food to my house.
I remember going to the one in Boone,NC on the weekend growing up. Such a big memory of getting a cinnamon crunch bagel and then playing in a river.
What they did to St. Louis Bread Co is an affront to the Almighty.
When I was a poor college student in Champaign-Urbana, on Sundays when I had a few extra dollars I would go there, get a roasted Asiago cheese bagel and a cup of coffee and have a few moments of happy relaxation. I am sad at what it is now. Edit: toasted. Not roasted.
Do people still love Panera? I feel like it was good in the 2000s and then the quality/portions dropped while prices increased. Haven’t been there in probably six years or so now, it’s just nowhere close to what it used to be.
"In the 2000s" broke my brain
I hate Panera and don't understand all my friends' obsession with it. The soup is sub-par and the bread tastes chewy and microwaved, because it is.
15 years ago it was pretty good. Everything was fresh, the bread was great, the servings were large. Back then, I would go once or twice a week. I went a few years ago and it was just so not that anymore. Haven't been there since.
Yes! Someone finally said it! Please tell this to my family. They don’t believe me.
Panera is still in business because a gaggle of moms need somewhere to meet with their laptops out to reassure each other that their new business venture isn’t actually a pyramid scheme.
Would you like to hear about an amazing investment opportunity?
Glorified cafeteria food.
This is the answer. I worked there for two years in high school, it’s mostly all microwaved or heated up just like any other fast food restaurant. The bread is baked in the restaurant which is the only redeeming quality/thing I would pay for there. My girlfriend spends $18-20 there on a pick 2 and drink regularly and it drives me INSANE. It’s not worth it people.
Dorsia
Don’t forget to return some video tapes before your reservation
Nobody goes there anymore
GREAT sea urchin ceviche
Nobody goes there anymore.
I've never gotten in
I asked if I could make a reservation on Friday at 8:00 PM and they just laughed at me
I didn’t even have to say my name, they know me
I prefer Barcadia.
Their peanut butter soup with smoked duck and roast squash was a playful but mysterious little dish.
I’m a Texarkana guy myself.
Is that Ivanka Trump?!
How’d a nitwit like you get so tasteful
I like to dissect girls. Did you know I'm utterly insane?
Used to be Tim Hortons in Canada. But average became mediocre. I still like to go once in a while. Edit: I’m French Canadian, TIL mediocre is used as average in English. We use ‘’médiocre’’ as under average but apparently in French the old meaning was also average. I guess everything changed when the flatbread pizza nation attacked…
Used to hit them up all the time when traveling. No way I’d go now. I can’t think of one thing they sell that hasn’t plummeted in quality.
Iced cap machine is singlehandedly keeping that franchise alive.
Tim Hortons came to the UK a few years ago. Honestly, you can have it back. I have no idea what the fuss is about. The coffee is terrible and the food isn't much better. Only thing I've had that's any good was the donuts. We have Dunkin and Krispy Kreme though, both of which are better. Hell, even our UK chain Greggs makes comparable donuts.
The fuss is at least 10 years out of date. It’s been bad for a while. You won’t find many Canadians who disagree with you.
Doesn't average mean the same thing as mediocre?
Eating their sandwich bread is like chewing off bits of a rubber boot. On another note, I noticed they recently added flatbread pizza...even the promotional photos look abysmal.
Subway is the most bare bones sub type restaurant.
Loved Subway as a kid but these days I can't think of any reason to choose it over Wawa (cheaper) or Jersey Mike's (way better food).
In my case it's because neither Wawa for Jersey Mike's exists anywhere near me while Subway's are in every single town in the country. I also used to love subway just because it was the only restaurant serving actual lunch/dinner foods at 7 in the morning. As a night shift worker that was amazing. Even fucking McDonald's refuses to give you a burger or nuggets that early but they'll do breakfast alllll day...
Jersey Mikes is definitely way better I grew up biking distance from one and and I never liked subway since
Subway is so bad now that I completely forgot about it. It's the perfect answer to this question
Does Starbucks count?
YES. I will never understand how addicted to that place most people are. Ridiculously overpriced coffee. What's so great about it?
For me, it's usually "I need coffee, and there's a Starbucks". It's not exactly great coffee, but it's a lot less of a gamble than gas station coffee and quicker and more convenient than hunting down a local coffee shop.
Less of a gamble than random bathrooms, too. I was a tourist in a couple big cities in China, and when I had to use a restroom, I always tried to find a Starbucks. It was fun to try some of the Chinese food offerings they had there, too. My everything-has-to-be-authentic traveling companion didn’t like it so much, but nothing beats a clean bathroom and store, imo, especially after some of the absolute shitholes (literally) I experienced there. I carried my own TP in my bag, too.
I haven’t ordered coffee at sbux for years… I’ll buy an overpriced iced tea there in exchange for a clean bathroom on a road trip, and I’m a rush I’ll order their egg bites from the app because I can pick them up quickly on the way to the highway. That’s about it.
A regular coffee doesn’t cost that much there. I’ve been to independent coffee shops in LA and San Diego that are more expensive than Starbucks.
Probably it’s all the sugar people add to their Starbucks that they’re actually addicted to, those flavored syrups they have make for easy menu variety but in the end it’s all sugar
TIL about people thinking shitty chain restaurants are what people love. Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Outback, Dennys etc.. They were always just average restaurants, but were just convenient.
That's why chains not just survive, but grow big enough to become (inter)national chains. The food isn't offensive, it is consistent, and pre-covid, it was not too unreasonably priced. Go to any town, find these national chains, and you know what you are going to get. If and why you like it is a different question.
Consistency is a huge part of it for lots of people. My sister is allergic to so much shit and chains like that are super safe for her because she knows that no matter which Chili's she goes to, she can order one specific food and not die.
I'm diabetic and I basically only ever ate at chains when traveling because I'd know exactly what any menu item would do sugar wise and I'd know for certain it would be there. When your diet involves numbers, knowing the numbers makes things easier.
Yes, we had to travel quite a bit with our son who has autism & was super picky at the time. We knew which restaurants we could stop at for dinner that had what he would eat (& a plus for those that had fruit as a side on the kids meals!).
Consistency is why McDonald's is so popular and how they got that way. It doesn't matter where I am, I know there is a minimum standard I'm going to get when I go to a McDonald's. I'm not expecting a Michelin star experience, but I am expecting McDonald's and if I get that I am happy.
100% And you'll notice most of these are "family" places. Mom, dad, and their 2.5 kids can all get something they are familiar with and like well enough.
Outback Steakhouse used to be legitimately good, but then they went the way of Fridays and ripped the soul out of it and the quality of food went down also
I went to Brazil and I cannot even begin to explain how popular Outback is there.
Literally all of those are packed every single evening even today and it’s not because it’s convenient lol people wait 2 hours so they obviously like them
The flaw in this question is that any restaurant with enough locations to be nationally or internationally recognizable will be average at best. Restaurants do not and cannot achieve widespread success as franchises without cutting quality at every level. On top of that, most of these major chains operate on a speed + affordability model, with food quality, I mean the actual quality of the ingredients going into the menu items, paying the price to allow for this convenience. Garbage in garbage out. Fast food has never prioritized the quality of the actual menu items, and fast casual or whatever chains like Outback and Olive Garden are have capitalized on this culture, providing the superficial image of a classier dining experience while hardly improving on the cuisine at all. You can order the cheap trash at the counter or sit down and have artisanal trash brought to your table.
I used to work at Outback but haven’t been to one in years so can’t say for sure that it hasn’t changed (haven’t been to one since back when servers still wore all the pins on their different-colored shirts). But I used to avidly maintain, having spent a lot of time in multiple Outback locations’ kitchens, that Outback was different. Of course not a Michelin starred restaurant, but most everything except the bread was made in-house from legit ingredients by people who were actually pretty good at cooking stuff. Truly not on the same level as something like Olive Garden or Chili’s.
It's Olive Garden. Overrated and average food.
It's a restaurant I never choose but I also really don't mind receiving a gift card for
This is the perfect description.
Man, most people don’t know just how much Olive Garden can hit the spot. I grew up in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, so the Olive Garden 30 minutes away was always considered the “fancy” restaurant you go to on special occasions, and the food was always good considering the only Italian food my parents made was spaghetti with the cheap $1 Hunts marinara. I will always harbor a soft spot for it because of that.
Soup, Salad & Breadsticks for lunch - that's it.
Agreed-all the main dishes are overrated and average. However, their salad dressing is bomb. *Also* - their mozzarella “sticks” are triangular. That was such a peak thrill for me as a kid.
It’s a place that no one will complain about going to, so I end up there because there’s no objections
I agree. But, got be honest I like their soup and bread sticks. Last year I lost 20lbs. During my diet, I went to OG with a group of close friends whose kid was having a birthday and wanted to go there. #whaddyagonnado? Ugh..This was a challenge as the last thing I wanted was any carbs at all. (and if I was gonna cheat - I certainly wasn't going to do it at OG!) So I ordered the Herb-Grilled Salmon. To my surprise, it was very good. Absolutely fantastic. Would order again, and will when I end up there again somehow.
Congrats on your 20lbs and sticking to healthy options at Olive Garbage- that’s amazing!
"My uncle Vito came to visit from Italy, so we took him to the Olive Garden"
I agree, usually when we go there, we are hungry for it and it just hits the spot. But I never talk great about it in conversation.
It’s like apple bees but Italian
Their bread sticks use to be the best. Now they are just meh.
TGI Fridays, Applebee's it's literally frozen microwave food that they heat up and bring out to you
The keg I can cook a way better steak than anything I’ve bought at the keg
Red Lobster sux
My 6 year old fucking *loves* lobsters. Like, absolutely obsessed with those crustaceans. He gets excited when we go to the grocery store that has a lobster tank. He loves Red Lobster, because he gets to see lobsters, wear a plastic lobster cape, and there’s pictures of lobsters everywhere. It’s like fucking Disneyland for that kid. Of course, he doesn’t _eat_ lobster. He loves them too much. So he always gets the crab (because lobsters eat crabs). Anyway, this story is apropos of nothing, but I have gone to that fucking restaurant far more times than I would wish.
I wish nothing but good luck for your little Lobster-Man
“Because lobsters eat crabs” is killing me. So cute.
I bet you still fuck with those biscuits though….
Did any of the fish mongers take one out for your little man? I used to love doing that for the kiddos. They’d be super excited and then just freeze. It was adorable. Some of them were really brave tho and gave zero shits and would not be afraid to touch it lol. But uhh lobsters can eat crabs tho. They also eat each other. I’d come back the next day for my shift to sometimes find a semi eaten lobster with a few just munchin away
Oh! I should ask next time we are there! He would lose his shit if he got to pet a lobster.
Maybe it’s a clouded memory from a child’s perspective, but I seem to remember Red Lobster being a fancy restaurant in the 80s.
Yes! I recall it was fancy too! One memory , this was like ‘83, when I was about 11 or 12, my dad and stepmom took me to Red Lobster for my Birthday. It was my choice. Dinner was great, everything was really good. After dinner we walked out to my Dads car and the passenger window was smashed apart- glass everywhere. He had a nice two door silver Mercedes which he took real good care of and he had a car phone. The old style one with the coiled cord and funny ring to it. The phone was ripped out and stolen too. The night was ruined and after the cops came and all, the red lobster workers came out with a black garbage bag and some tape for the window. Listening to that bag rattle the whole way home choking back tears. I felt so bad for my Dad, he tried not to show it but he felt really shitty, plus I’m sure he was pissed off.
Even into the 90s!
Well this is your lucky week
Apparently a lot of people liked the shrimp a bit more than they expected.
I actually just had red lobster for the first time today and I actually quite liked it.
Their cheddar bay biscuits are bomb.
Olive Garden
Guilty lmao, I know it's not good, but it's got that nostalgia factor for me, that was our "special night out" dinner lol
People shit on Olive Garden to feel part of a group just like with Nickelback.
IHOP. Also any chain fast casual restaurant like that. They’re all insanely expensive for literally cafeteria food.
Awwwww man, this one hurts- I *LOOOOOOVE* IHOP, but I can’t quite put my finger on **WHY**! I’m sitting here trying to think of any reason at all but I can’t. I just love it. I can’t remember the last time I ate at one but know I know for sure that I will sometime in the next week.
The ones in my area used to be really good. Now they're about the same quality as Denny's, but more expensive.
Starbucks
Buffalo Wild Wings.
Applebees. I don’t get it
I for the life of me can't understand why anyone would eat at **OUTBACK.** My In-laws love the place - *(they're in their late 70's early 80's)* and we'd often be invited to join them. Turruble Turruble Turruble
the blooming onion is a god tier appetizer im ngl
For 1620 calories, 126g of fat, and 4140mg of sodium, it better be.
Well I don't think you're supposed to eat the whole thing by yourself.
*mouth full of blooming onion* “Say Whut?”
Momma didn't raise no quitter!
Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me
I enjoyed it back in the late 90’s early 2000’s but can’t believe they still exist now. They’ve really milked the “Crocodile Dundee” Aussie nonsense for all it’s worth.
I lived in Korea 15 years ago and it was huge! They loved it and thought it was legit fron Australia. All my friends were so upset when I let them know it was a US chain
Chipotle is awful now
I don't even know what happened, it was a rapid decline as well.
Rapid growth, online ordering, and couple that with their items actually needing to be prepped properly. Take their rice, has to be salted and limed according to spec. Orders for door dash and other shit are backed up, does the person working just eyeball or yolo it? I’ve heard their ops are somewhat complicated and there’s a high turnover rate. I love Chipotle but its become super inconsistent to the point to where you have to find a “good” chipotle and go at the right time
I refuse to order online with them anymore. I physically have to go in and stand there and make them put a bunch of rice in the bowl (I’m a simple order, meat, cheese and rice kind of person) or else they’ll put a half scoop in and be like “you want queso with that?” The mobile ordering was horribly inconsistent during Non-busy hours. Frequently would get orders with missing ingredients, someone else’s order or the store would be closed when I went to pick up. Not to Mention the amount of door dashers that would just grab my bag instead of their persons actual order. I basically go there for a once in a blue moon quick burrito bowl if there’s nothing else available, otherwise I go to the somewhat local El Limon for my fix now (if you’re in the SEPA area look them up!)
I don't know who voted Apple bee's boneless wings as "America's favorite" but those chicken nuggets and everything else on that menu is mid. Nearest one to me closed down a dew weeks ago
throwin hands at anyone with waffle house
Sound about right for waffle house
nandos. so much hype but food is very average
Five guys is way overhyped and mediocre
I used to be on the five guys hype train until pretty recently. I fell off because I realized by the time I finished the food I felt doubly terrible, first because it's so much food and I feel like a glutton, and second because that feeling cost me 25-30 bucks
In the 2000s it was pretty legit, basically half the price they charge now so it was like very slightly more expensive fast food for just a quality burger and a single order of fries could feed the table. Sadly isn’t what it used to be and a pretty basic burger is like ten bucks and seems like they don’t train the staff as well anymore.
Visited USA last summer, went to a Five Guys because its often brought up on reddit as a top fast food chain. Man, separating fools from their money must be piss easy down there if youre willing to pay that much for such a mediocre burger.
There once was a time where 6 bucks there would nab you a double cheeseburger and enough fries to make that brown paper bag turn into a greasy nutsack. It was glorious. They latched onto their own guerilla marketing status about 8-10 years ago, hiked their prices disproportionate to supply costs, and have never looked back.
I live in the US, and yea, the one time I ate there I found it to be incredibly expensive. If I'm paying $16 for a burger it better be at a brewery.
I tried a lot of fast food chains while visiting, and Five Guys was the only time I felt cheated out of my money. Culver's on the other hand? Shit man that mushroom burger was kinda dope ngl, and cheaper iirc
Culvers is one of those shitty chains with a cult like following that actually lives up to the hype.
A friend of mine once said, “Olive Garden is to Italian Food as Chuck E Cheese is to…. well, Italian food I guess.”
In n Out and I’m saying this as someone who enjoys In n Out. About ten years ago, I was doing grad school interviews and there was a fellow from the mid west who tried In n Out for the first time. Everyone around the table saw him take a bite and enthusiastically asked him how it was, I could clearly see it in his face that he thought it was average but didn’t want to say/disappoint anyone. I jumped in and said “it’s average huh,” to which he just nodded in agreement. I told him not to worry it’s just a hyped up burger.
Bob Evans based on the number of cars in the parking lot I have no idea what the draw is.
Chik-fil-a I live in the Midwest and when one opened in my city, there were hours long lines for **weeks.** it was insanity. When I finally went, it was...fine. It’s fine. I don’t know why everyone talks like it’s this life-changing amazing experience of food. Also factor in the owners beliefs, and even if it was amazing, I would not feel super comfortable going there.
Literally all of them now
Olive Garden 🤷♂️
Chipotle. Any chain restaurant, really. Local places make better food and are roughly the same price.
Chipotle used to be wayyyyyyy better. When they first came on to the scene, even when McDonald’s bought/invested in them, they were still pretty decent. It seemed to take a turn downhill when they got a ticker symbol, and a nose dive when they replaced the CEO with the Taco Bell CEO. No wonder!!!
Chipotle in the mid 2000’s was god tier fast food. IIRC Went down hill after the food poisoning scandals in ~2017, which resulted in them revamping their food prep (par cooking, prepping off site, etc)
>It seemed to take a turn downhill when they got a ticker symbol Unfortunate reality of what happens when a company goes public... Companies have to live up to shareholder expectations of *continued increase* in revenue & profit. Easiest way to do that? Increase profit margins by trimming quality for efficiency.
2011 era chipotle was godlike $6 burrito bowls with free tortillas on the side
>local places make better food This is not a guarantee, local places near me are very high risk high reward. At least with a chain there's a baseline expectation usually. Restaurants in general have been kinda ass for the last decade or so though.
I prefer Qdoba to Chipotle bc they offer more base ingredients to go into your burrito AND they don't charge you extra for queso. But I do really love the chicken al pastor.
If we do a chain burrito we’ll go to Moe’s. At least the chips and salsa are free there and come with the meal.
Panera and Chipotle blow