Chain restaurants
Tasty in a series
Let's start with a few general remarks
One of the greatest things about our travels is exploring the culinary offerings at our vacation destination.
In the USA, there is an almost endless supply of fast food chains. However, these should only be a limited topic on this page. Rather, we would like to share our experiences with family dining restaurants. These serve the segment between fast food and fine dining.
Warning:!!! If you're hungry right now, you should only continue reading here after you've eaten.
A note on tipping in the U.S.
The service in restaurants is 99% of the time extremely friendly and attentive. Everyone goes out of their way to please the guest; even if the guest is in the wrong, they are usually still treated like a king. Waitstaff in restaurants have a very low minimum wage. That’s why a satisfied guest is now expected to leave a tip of between 18% and 30%. You should stick to this, as waitstaff rely on these tips to make a living. Taxes are also added to the restaurant bill. Since it sometimes happens that tips and other unclear additional charges are added to the bill, it’s always a good idea to check it carefully and, if necessary, ask what you’re paying for.
Our favorite steakhouse chains
Saltgrass
Description: The first restaurant opened in Houston in 1991. The name comes from the salty meadows on the Texas Gulf Coast where cattle graze. The menu offers everything you would expect from a good steakhouse. The atmosphere could perhaps be described as rustic chic. In any case, guests feel well looked after.
Our rating: Saltgrass is by far our favorite steakhouse chain. Unfortunately, you can't find them everywhere, but whenever we come across a restaurant on our travels, we enjoy the deliciousness. Most of the restaurants are in Texas. Some are in the bordering southern states and a few in Colorado and Nevada. So far, everything we have eaten in the various restaurants has been very, very good. The meat quality is superb and the various dishes are creative and exceptional. Even if you are not a big steak lover, you will find something to your taste here.
Our recommendation!!!
Longhorn Steakhouse
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Atlanta in 1981. There are now over 400 restaurants. They are distributed almost all over the country. On the homepage there is a store locator where you can check if there is a restaurant nearby. Here, too, you will find a rich and varied menu offering everything from steak to burgers.
Our rating: Besides Saltgrass, Longhorns is our second favorite steakhouse chain. Second place because we've had excellent meals a few times, but there have also been meals that didn't live up to expectations. On the whole, we've always been satisfied here, too.
We can also recommend Longhorns.
Our favorite Family Diner chains
Old Chicago
Description: The first restaurant opened in Boulder, Colorado in 1976. In the meantime, there are also numerous restaurants from Old Chicago spread across the country. You can use the Location Finder on the homepage to search for restaurants near you. The chain specializes in pizzas and freshly tapped draft beer. In addition to pizza, there are also numerous alternatives such as pasta, salads, burgers, and sandwiches.
Our rating: We stumbled across an Old Chicago branch quite by chance in 2017 and fell in love with it straight away. Inside, it's a bit like a sports bar. It's cozy and inviting. But the best thing about it is the really delicious pizzas. You can choose practically everything on your pizza yourself and put together your own personal pizza. If you like pizza and enjoy a fresh draft beer with it, you won't be disappointed here.
The Cheesecake Factory
Description: The Cheesecake Factory was founded in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1950s as a bakery specializing in cheesecake. The founder's son later opened a restaurant that sold sandwiches and a selection of his mother's cheesecakes. Over the years, this evolved into the concept we know today. There are now over 200 branches worldwide. In addition to numerous cheesecakes, the menu also includes a huge selection of pasta dishes, burgers, salads, sandwiches, and much more.
Our rating: The Cheesecake Factory is actually always a good idea, although our huge enthusiasm has now subsided somewhat. Not because we don't like it anymore, but because the hype about it has worn off a bit. Of course, we'll still like to go to one of the restaurants, but we probably won't be making any big detours in the future. The cheesecakes we've tried so far have been far too sweet for us. They look delicious, but there are better pastries for our taste. Especially when you consider how much a single slice of cheesecake costs.
Olive Garden
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1982. There are now well over 800 restaurants worldwide. The menu features all kinds of delicacies from American-Italian cuisine. The decor is reminiscent of an Italian trattoria.
Our rating: When we can't stand burgers and steaks any longer, we like to eat at Olive Garden. The highlight is actually the fresh salad and the delicious breadsticks that come with every main course. You can eat as much of it as you want, so it's not uncommon that you don't make it through the main course. For those who want to add a little variety to their meal plan, we can definitely recommend Olive Garden.
Chilis
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Dallas, Texas, in 1975. There are now more than 1600 of these casual dining Restaurants. Angeboten werden verschiedenste Gerichte aus der amerikanisch-mexikanischen Küche. Hier findet wirklich jeder etwas zu essen.
Our rating: We like Chilis very much, because there is a lot of choice besides the usual burgers and sandwiches. We often share the menu for 2 people here. This consists of a divided appetizer and a main course for each. For 20$ it offers a great price/performance ratio. Also the other dishes on the menu that we have tried so far, have always tasted good. We can definitely recommend Chilis for a delicious meal.
Ford´s Garage
Description: Ford's Garage is a casual dining chain designed in the style of a mechanic's garage. The first restaurant opened its doors in Fort Myers in 2012. There are now 21 restaurants in four states. The chain also has a licensing agreement with Ford that allows the restaurants to use the Ford name and logo. In front of the restaurants, you will usually find one or two vintage Ford cars. Inside, everything is decorated like a car repair shop. Even the sinks are made from old car tires. The menu offers everything you would expect from an American diner, from salads to burgers to steaks.
Our rating: We enjoyed it very much. From the ambiance to the service to the delicious food, the visit was an all-around positive experience. We would eat in a restaurant of the chain again at any time.
Bubba Gump Shrimp
Description: Bubba Gump is actually a nationwide restaurant chain, but because it is something special, it is included here. The restaurants were inspired by the movie Forest Gump, which was released in theaters in 1994. The first restaurant opened in Monterey in 1996. The restaurants mainly offer shrimp in all variations and fish dishes. Inside the restaurants, there are countless references and decorations from the movie. You can always discover something new.
Our rating: Since we like Forest Gump, it was clear that we would visit one of the restaurants at some point. In 2000, we finally did so in Honolulu. Since then, we have always eaten at one of the restaurants whenever we have had the opportunity during a vacation. In addition to the great atmosphere, we also love the location of the restaurants. They are often located somewhere by the water, so you can enjoy a great view while you eat. We can recommend a visit, not only for fans.
....and if you don't know the movie, you should definitely check it out.
Texas Roadhouse
Description: The chain was founded in February 1993 by Wayne Kent Taylor in Clarksville Indiana. In the restaurants you will find mainly dishes of the Texan-Southwestern cuisine. Above all, however, there are steaks in all possible variations.
Our rating: Texas Roadhouse is as good as always a solid choice. You'll find quite a good price-performance ratio in the mid-price segment here.
Corky´s BBQ
Description: Corky's BBQ is a very small chain by comparison. There are only 9 stores in total in 4 southern states (Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas). The first restaurant was opened in Poplar in 1984 by Don Pelts. His vision was to sell Memphis Style BBQ in a relaxed atmosphere.
Our rating: During our tour in October 2016 we visited the restaurant in Poplar. We enjoyed it very much. We can recommend the chain and would eat here again, should we ever be on the road again in the south of the USA.
Note: Don't forget to buy a bottle or two of the extremely delicious homemade BBQ sauce.
