How Much Change/How Many Mistakes do you Tolerate?

[Mileron]

I've only been to one Red Robin, in Waldorf MD, and the service was great, but the food was mediocre.
I prefer (and miss!) Fuddruckers for my burgers. Both in my area closed this summer due to franchise disputes.

Outback in my area is stellar, food and service-wise.
Chili's is eh for me, because EVERYTHING is spicy, and I don't tolerate spice well. They even put that spice mixture on their salads! Yeesh. I've had 2 decent meals there lately though, maybe 7/10.
Red Lobster is hit or miss. We happen upon two locations and sometimes the food is good, and sometimes not so much. That very inconsistency is why we've stopped going more than once a year.
When we still had Lone Star, I never had a complaint. The location that I frequented, though, closed once about 8 years ago after a spate of chicken-related problems for about five or six months, reopened under new management, with major upgrades inside, and it was actually more busy than the Outback across the highway until it closed suddenly 2 years ago.

Slightly more upscale/pricy:
Longhorn is fantastic
Bonefish is lightyears better than Red Lobster
Melting Pot is awesome, we try to go on Restaurant Week

Buffets are a wholly different story, though.

[Vladius]

Let's see...

Five Guys- Not a bad burger, a bit greasy for my taste. Also I'm not a big fan of the fries. If they only left them in the fryer for a little longer. I don't mind them floppy but not that floppy.
Applebees- Mediocre would be a better was of describing it. I used to love the Shrimp Fettucine Alfredo but got burned too many times, they apparently don't believe in using deveined shrimp.
Pizza- I'm having a rough time of it. Papa John's sauce gives me heartburn. Pizza Hut tastes fake, especially the stuffed crust pizza. Lately I've gone almost totally small time with local italian places, much better pizza IMO.
Carrabba's- I love eating there. My favorite item is the Pasta Weesie. The only problem is that I have, more than once gotten sick off of it. And I mean literally throwing it all up 30 mins after eating. I'm not allergic to anything I know of much less eggs or even shrimp. I'm at a loss on it.
Wendy's- For forever I've wanted them to make a spicy chicken sandwich with ranch and cheese, they finally do it and the chicken patty goes to shit, yay!
McDonalds- I haven't been able to eat there ever since watching Supersize Me. Even though I believe Morgan Spurlock was not the ideal test subject. And also force feeding yourself is never a good idea. Also, am I the only person in America who thinks the Big Mac is a pile of shit.
Burger King- I wish they would quit screwing around and put the Western Whopper back on the menu. The only problem is finding a way to keep the bun from sliding off.
Golden Corral- Like many other buffets. Do they all buy recycled food or something?

[Mileron]

Golden Corral- Like many other buffets. Do they all buy recycled food or something?

One of the Golden Corral locations near me closed for almost a year (also due to franchising problems) and in the meantime a new one was built about 10 miles away (closer to my office).
The first one reopened a couple months before the second's grand opening, but the food is much better at the newer one.
They both have problems with the smell from the bathrooms leaking out into the restaurant, though

The only thing I can eat at BK without stomach problems is the original chicken sandwich, so I don't really count them.
I can't eat at Wendy's or McD's.
Chick-fil-a has a bunch of locations around here, and I even occasionally stop there for breakfast, but it's not a first choice.

Cheesecake Factory just doesn't wow me. M'Lady loves it, loves loves loves it (verbatim quote, natch) but I find the food sub-par for the price and the ambience is like working in an echo chamber.

Never been to McCormick & Shmick. Heard it's pretty bad from several people.

Ruby Tueday's hasn't been bad, but again it's a last ditch choice.

California Pizza Kitchen is pretty good, though the seating area of the local store is small.

Pizza - I could never safely eat Domino's or PJ's so instead we stick to the mom-n-pops. Much better quality.

Mexican - I prefer Pancheros over Baja Fresh, but those are still miles better than Chipotle or Qdoba.

I don't frequent Sodium Stadium, I mean Panera, as much as I used to - leaving there thirsty after two drink refills was a bit extreme, plus after witnessing the manager change a ceiling tile DURING lunch rush OVER a food station, I got a refund and walked out.
There's no Cosi near my office, but I found one while geocaching the other day and stopped for lunch. Had gone to one in DC and it was pretty darn good both times.

Chinese buffet wise, there's an establishment called "Mandarin Buffet" which, up til recently, had good food, if slightly expensive - 15.99 for dinner buffet.
Then back in March, a new place opened up a few miles in the other direction called "Hibachi Supreme and Sushi Buffet" (I think that's right) for 8.99 for dinner buffet. Guess which place is empty on Friday nights?
Now, at HSSB, I did have a complaint about the roast pork once (it was actually bad meat) and they took care of it right away, and with the large variety of clientele the bathrooms are never spotless, but they take care of issues quickly.
The other place, Supreme Buffet, changed hands twice in 3 months and closed after the food quality took a nosedive into crapville. Before that had happened, they always had a lunch crowd, between older folks and landscapers/construction/etc.

Texas Roadhouse is one of our favorite places to go - no complaints.

I should start a food blog. Hah.

[Eremius]

am I the only person in America who thinks the Big Mac is a pile of shit.

No.

[Lysandor]

No.

Seconded. I'd rather eat dirt than eat McDonalds.

Sent from my M860 using Tapatalk

[Daph]

The only Red Robin I've ever been to is the one in Roseville, and I can't remember a really bad experience there, with either service or food. To be fair, though, I've never gone there for dinner, only lunch mid-afternoon on a Saturday after one of my daughter's games.

I will also add that Chili's and Outback are consistently good.

Over the past couple months we've been to that Red Robin 3 times...1st time they gave my mom the wrong burger, took it back (supposedly to scrape off the spicy sauce) and returned with an entirely new burger 10 minutes later when almost everyone else had finished eating. 2nd time they brought my daughter the wrong burger, but she ate it any way, and last Saturday they brought me the wrong tea, and my mom's martini was delivered about 10 minutes after the other drinks were served and just before dinner arrived. While these things individually are no big deal, when they consistently happen its annoying.

[Bonlainy]

Over the past couple months we've been to that Red Robin 3 times...1st time they gave my mom the wrong burger, took it back (supposedly to scrape off the spicy sauce) and returned with an entirely new burger 10 minutes later when almost everyone else had finished eating. 2nd time they brought my daughter the wrong burger, but she ate it any way, and last Saturday they brought me the wrong tea, and my mom's martini was delivered about 10 minutes after the other drinks were served and just before dinner arrived. While these things individually are no big deal, when they consistently happen its annoying.

Wow, not good at all. I actually haven't been there since, probably, around this time last year, and it sounds like they've gone downhill. I only go when my daughter wants to eat there, so the next time she does I'll see what happens, unless I can talk her out of it and just go to The Counter!!!

Never been to McCormick & Shmick. Heard it's pretty bad from several people.

I've been to both locations here in Sacramento, and both have had great service and outstanding food, and while it is a chain, I would put it in the same category as Red Lobster, Chilis, et al, it's quite a bit more upscale than those. At Red Lobster I usually pig out on the cheese biscuits and then eat small.

[Ialnyien]

Outback is by and far my favorite franchise restaurant. Always good meal, with (generally) consistently good service.

Olive Garden is a close second, although one of the two close to me I will not go to typically due to service.

Texas Roadhouse is also good, although the last two times have been disappointing.

[Mileron]

We've written off Applebees.

A new store was opened in a majorly-renovated strip mall where a Walmart was built.
Our first visit there, we waited almost 10 minutes for a server, nearly 8 minutes for drinks, waited 12 minutes for appetizers, and more than ten minutes after our appetizer plate was cleared we received our entrees. What should have been a 45 minute stop took almost twice as long.
The manager was indifferent to our complaints and basically gave off an aura of IDGAF.

A Red Robin will be opening in a local mall in the near future. I'd be willing to give it a second go.

Out of the two local BBQ places, one is now preferred (even if it is three times farther away); their business has picked up quite a bit since being featured in a local foodie magazine. Plus it's summertime, so more people are in the BBQ frame of mind.

The Afghan place nearby still has terrible takeout timing. They open at 11, I place an order at 11:15, they say "20 minutes", I get there at 11:35, and I'm often waiting until 12:00 or later. I will no longer order takeout from them for work lunch. I told the counter woman this (I think she's the owner's wife) and she just shrugged at me.

During my week in Vegas, I discovered that the breakfast buffet at Sam's Town Casino was pretty damn good, as was the BLT at the sports bar/deli.
I was not impressed at all with Jack-in-the-Box. Food was greasy (bread isn't supposed to slide on paper, food service wrapping or not), bacon was limp and undercooked.
However, the food at the Lil'Ale'Inn in Rachel, NV was fantastic! for being a little "sugar crystal-in-the-desert" place. The people were SO nice.
Raising Cane's chicken tenders were quite good; the mayo-pepper sauce was super-tasty. The cleanliness, not so much. Again, a manager with the IDGAF look.

Oh and I got to eat at a Fuddruckers there. YAY Fuddruckers!

[Bonlainy]

This bump was timely. Last week many of my family from Texas were out here visiting for my daughter's HS graduation, so Sunday we decided on a jaunt to San Francisco at my sister's request. In the past we have gone to McCormick & Kuleto's at Ghiradelli Square, and love the place, so we had a late lunch there. The service was slow as molasses, on a holiday weekend, and the place was only half full. If the food hadn't have been so freaking wonderful I would have written it off right then, but I know we'll go back next time they come to visit, the food and view are too good to just toss aside.

Granted this isn't something we do weekly, or even monthly, but we do try to go a few times a year, and never has it been as slow as it was Sunday. I guess this basically goes to show that even the best places can have off days.

[Alikat Astrae]

I used to think Stuart Anderson's was overpriced medium-quality beef in a dating-bar-and-private-booths atmosphere, but the one in my town has apparently revamped in the last year or two, and the meat-market lounge is now a more traditional bar with sports on screens, and more importantly the food seems better and the prices seem more reasonable. If you'd written them off as a bad bet before, they might be worth a second look. I recommend the Prime Rib.

[Nadiar]

Is it still a Stuart Anderson's? I thought they went out of business and the ones that were doing well just sort of struck out on their own as a "Black Angus" chain.

[Alikat Astrae]

Not according to the Wikitubes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Angus_Steakhouse

[Salamane]

I used to think Stuart Anderson's was overpriced medium-quality beef in a dating-bar-and-private-booths atmosphere, but the one in my town has apparently revamped in the last year or two, and the meat-market lounge is now a more traditional bar with sports on screens, and more importantly the food seems better and the prices seem more reasonable. If you'd written them off as a bad bet before, they might be worth a second look. I recommend the Prime Rib.

I'm not sure how you could conclude the Sunnyvale black angus has improved at all. If you are going to go for a chain steakhouse in the south bay, you're way better off hitting up outback than black angus.

[Alikat Astrae]

Ugh, Outback smells sour and the bloomin onion tasted like it had been fried together with fish.

[Laedria]

Any opinions on Joe's Crab Shack? They tore down Dakota here and looks like that's taking its place. I checked out the menu online and the steampots had me drooling.

[Nadiar]

Ugh, Outback smells sour and the bloomin onion tasted like it had been fried together with fish.

Yes, they fry everything together. Quite a few places do that. My friend has a shell fish allergy, so he can't eat fried food at a ton of places.

[Sehra]

Yes, they fry everything together. Quite a few places do that. My friend has a shell fish allergy, so he can't eat fried food at a ton of places.

This fact explains a lot. Thanks. I hadn't realized.

[Eniarch]

Any opinions on Joe's Crab Shack? They tore down Dakota here and looks like that's taking its place. I checked out the menu online and the steampots had me drooling.

Those are typically what I order when I go, but I'm hardly a foodie to comment against other high-end crab places. Properly cooked, they taste good enough that I've gone back, but I've had a couple where they've overcooked (crab meat glued to the inside of the shell) or where they've missed the spices a bit.

[Alikat Astrae]

Went to something called "A Moveable Feast" today, it's a collection of high-end food trucks that comes together a couple of times per week to make a makeshift food court in the outdoors. Nice ice cream, and a burrito nigh as big as a man's thigh.