🧑‍🍳 🍔🍕🥪 You can only eat from 5 restaurants the rest of your life (stipulations included), which 5 do you choose?

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

I was thinking about this last week. Had a tough time coming up with the 5 on my list, but I'm happy with it.

The stipulations... You can only eat from 5 different restaurants for the rest of your life (free of charge and just assume all are available to you). You must choose every meal from one of their daily menus. And the restaurant must be a chain with at least 12 locations. Which 5 places are you choosing?


My 5 are...

1- Cheesecake Factory- This is all about quantity of choices over quality, but their stuff isn't as bad as some food snobs make it out to be. Their phonebook thick menu would give a ton of options to choose from to keep things fresh... plus I do like cheesecake.


2- Moe's Original BBQ- BBQ, catfish, and some of the best wings you can find, with good sides to choose from plus different daily specials to keep things interesting and give more variety. Moes isn't the best BBQ by any means, but it's one of the best BBQ chains, which is what I need for this.


3- Giordano's- Chicago deep dish and thin crust Pizza, pasta, lasagna, Italian beef sandwiches. Again, Salads and soups. I love a good salad.


4- Metro Diner- Needed something for breakfasts, and they fit the bill. As a bonus, their lunch/diner menu is pretty good too with good variety.


5- The Capital Grille- Salads, steaks, chops, seafood, chicken, good sides, and deserts. A little bit of everything for high end dinners. This would be my go to on most nights for supper.



It would be hard for me to give up Mexican food, but I wouldn’t want to replace any of those 5 with a Mexican spot. It’s close though. Same for Chinese food.

 

[TerryP]

4- Metro Diner- Needed something for breakfasts, and they fit the bill. As a bonus, their lunch/diner menu is pretty good too with good variety.

IF we're talking about the same place and I'm pretty sure we are, they make a pretty mean burger.

 

[Bamabww]

And the restaurant must be a chain with at least 12 locations.

Only big city people allowed to participate I guess.

 

[Bammerboy321]

1. Metro Diner is a good one. Surprisingly, their fish and chips are really good.

2. Another Broken Egg Cafe is one my wife and I love.

3. Toyko Joe's. I believe it's only out West, but it is damn good. Had it in Colorado.

4. Jack Browns. Good burgers; great beer.

5. Don't judge but Popeyes on base. The one at Redstone just hits the spot every time

 

[PurlJam]

1. Texas Roadhouse: It's usually a hit or miss in a lot of areas, but the one in Florence has always been a hit with me.

2. Cheddars: Much like Mr. Van de Graaff on The Cheesecake Factory, it's more of the quantity of choices.

3. BWW: I just like their wings, cheese curds and beer and their burgers are pretty good too, if I choose that option.

4. P.F. Changs: I gotta have a Chines food option.

5: Juicy Seafood: I gotta have a low country boil option too.

I'll throw a standby to replace any of the 1st 5 in there. Ted Montana's

 

[Krimson]

Surin of Thailand

Chuy's

Longhorn

Bonefish

Waffle house

 

[Bammerboy321]

Surin of Thailand

Chuy's

Longhorn

Bonefish

Waffle house

Bonefish is very solid.

 

[Krimson]

Bonefish is very solid.

Had to have some seafood in there

 

[TerryP]

5. Don't judge but Popeyes on base.

If we were to judge Popeyes on its base, which would be chicken, and we've seen 'em run out ...

 

[TerryP]

Had to have some seafood in there

Ha! I guess I need to have something off of their lunch or dinner menu. I've only eaten brunch there.

 

[Krimson]

Ha! I guess I need to have something off of their lunch or dinner menu. I've only eaten brunch there.

It was difficult for me to remember 5 places that I've eaten at that met Brandon's criteria. I would honestly just keep paying at other places but I don't mind eating at those 5 though waffle house is about the only one I actually pick, rest have been meeting others for food.

 

[It Takes Eleven]

First off, I had no idea Metro Diner had that many locations. I've only seen and eaten at the one on 280 in Inverness, taken my mom there a few times. And, by the way, damn you for not cutting off the minimum locations at ten, which is how many Dreamlands there currently are. Add to that, I'm an independent restaurant fan, so this hurts to pick chains over the small guys.

1. Publix - The meat and three, fried chicken and deli sandwiches are all covered.
2. Tupelo Honey - They've fallen off as they've franchised, but they are the best option for New Southern cuisine based on your criteria.
3. Ted's Montana Grill - I love the bison, wife loves their veggie burger.
4. Houston's - I love their food and service.
5. The Capital Grille - Another top notch chain.

 

[TerryP]

It was difficult for me to remember 5 places that I've eaten at that met Brandon's criteria.

This.

Quite funny to me ... seems the only two everyone may have in common are Waffle House and now Publix. You're not a sandwich guy but I feel comfortable saying you've never heard someone complain about the fresh subs from Publix.

 

[TerryP]

1) Chart House. It's the only chain for seafood I can think of that fits with the requirements. I've only eaten at the one off the Savannah River.

Like working class America, so far I've done 20 percent of the work.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Only big city people allowed to participate I guess.

We could all survive off a single meat and 3 place out in the country.

Seriously, if I could just choose one place, even though it's gone now, it would be a place like Llyod's on 280. Or Nikki's West. I'd do without breakfast and be just fine. And fat.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

1) Chart House. It's the only chain for seafood I can think of that fits with the requirements. I've only eaten at the one off the Savannah River.

Like working class America, so far I've done 20 percent of the work.

There are some others... like Landry's. But seafood places, like BBQ places, don't make for great chains, IMO.

 

[Brandon Van de Graaff]

Surin of Thailand

Chuy's

Longhorn

Bonefish

Waffle house

I had no idea Surin was a a chain. There is (was?) one in Tuscaloosa and I figured it was some local standalone. And damn Chuy's... the one gere closed a while back. Somewhere, I have a gift card for there still that I need to use. It'll likely never get redeemed.

 

[Krimson]

There are some others... like Landry's. But seafood places, like BBQ places, don't make for great chains, IMO.

I'd say restaurants don't make for great chains. Hard enough to keep up with quality control/consistency at 1, finding people with the same standards/capabilities as the originator seems near impossible.

 

[TerryP]

There are some others... like Landry's. But seafood places, like BBQ places, don't make for great chains, IMO.

I'd say restaurants don't make for great chains.

He beat me to the answer. Although, your response may make me reconsider eating at Landry's. I haven't. The one in Myrtle is in a tourist trap, literally. It's in an area called "Broadway at the Beach" (isn't on the beach) which also has places like Paula Dean's and Wahlberg's. There are amusement park areas around a man made lake, bridges from one side to another ... you get the picture.

Can a legit seafood place grow into more than a few locations?

 

[Krimson]

He beat me to the answer. Although, your response may make me reconsider eating at Landry's. I haven't. The one in Myrtle is in a tourist trap, literally. It's in an area called "Broadway at the Beach" (isn't on the beach) which also has places like Paula Dean's and Wahlberg's. There are amusement park areas around a man made lake, bridges from one side to another ... you get the picture.

Can a legit seafood place grow into more than a few locations?

Landry's isn't bad, if I'd thought about it I probably would've listed it instead of bonefish, but it ain't an OG wolf bay lodge either.