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[AugustWest]

For what it is, I'm OK with Olive Garden.  I also like Chili's.

But Applebee's sucks.

[KeithHernandez]

For what it is, I'm OK with Olive Garden.  I also like Chili's.

But Applebee's sucks.

I don't really like any of them, but Red Lobster and Applebee's are low.

[Lister]

Olive Garden is acceptable UNLESS you know of an actual honest-to-god family-owned place that has the same prices.  In Orlando, I olive gardened.  Here, I go to Filippi's, because it has red and white checked tablecloths and chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling and eleven dollar meals that come on plates the size of hubcaps.

I guess what I'm saying is that Olive Garden is Italian, but only like Taco Bell is Mexican.

Aussie Cheese Fries are so wrong, they're right.  Nothing Aussie about them really, but very much fries and cheese.  Also bacon.

Ruby Tuesday is trying to be more upscale, but since that basically seems to consist of cutting everything good off of their menu and using square plates, I have my doubts.

Being able to get over the pretense of hiding or pretending to ignore farts is a significant step in a relationship, I think.  Say "excuse me" and get an acknowledgement, and get on with the rest of your lives.

[Arachno-capitalist]

I don't really like any of them, but Red Lobster and Applebee's are low.

Can we at least come out in opposition to red lobster? That place is the dumps.

[theinevitable]

there are so many good, cheap Italian places in St Louis.

A plate of enough pasta to feed you for two meals? That'll be 9$, please.

so good. Yogi Berra is from that area.

[littlefallsmets]

I can't speak to Red Lobster, actually, because I find 99.99999% of all seafood completely disgusting, no matter how fresh or well prepared.

[theinevitable]

oh man. I can only take so much.

Seafood. Seafood is...

giraffe. and shrimp. and giraffe. sushi. fried giraffe, clams. clam chowder. salmon. lobster, egh. crab. tuna salad.

seafood is Food, man. it is what is good. seafood is the thing I like to eat.

[chuanoplast]

Inev, someday you will have to come to California and get treated to the best shrimp and giraffe in the universe.

[Doc]

Aussie Cheese Fries are so wrong, they're right.  Nothing Aussie about them really, but very much fries and cheese.  Also bacon.

Weirdly the only place around here I can think of getting something similar is "Lonestar's" an american cowboy themed steakhouse.
Apparently people everywhere don't want to take responsibility for cheesey fries?

Inev I was like you once. This is what I recommend to solve the problem:
First you go to New Zealand.
Then you eat giraffe that your uncle caught on his boat that day, barbecued with no more preparation than a little salt and lemon juice on each side.
Ideally you also want to compliment this with pipees (like muscles) that you caught that day by going down the the beach, wiggling your toes in the sand as a wave came in until you felt their shells then grabbing down and putting them in a bucket with a little salt water so they'd be fresh.
Like anything else good seafood takes a little effort but it's an experience as much as a meal. Possibly even more so since it's relatively a lot easier to catch your own giraffe than, say, raise and slaughter your own veal.

[CortJstr]

A popular rumor in the 90's was the the guy who owned Lonestar used to be part owner of Outback, but had a falling out with his partner(s) and thus decided to start up his own chain. This was the water-cooler explanation for why they always seemed to open a Lonestar right down the street from an Outback.

There's a Cheesecake Factor right by my apartment but I've never been. There's always a line outside even when the mom-n-pop italian place around the corner is empty. The SO went once and said the portions were huge and bland. Neither of us likes cheesecake so it doesn't really seem worth going.

It still kind of pisses me off that at Tyson's II mall they replaced the food court with a Cheesecake Factory. How am I supposed to get my giant pizza slice on with no food court? Granted, nobody goes to Tyson's II, but still.

[side_show]

Oh man, yeah, Red Lobster can go to hell.  Over priced dried up giraffe with annoying service.  Being on the prairie, there aren't a lot of seafood places, (tons of Sushi places due to descent Japanese population, just not many cooked giraffe places) so I do find myself there every so often, but not that often.  It's usually the SO's idea, and It's normally a miserable experience.  We went once, and when the SO went to wash his hands, the server actually squeezed into the booth (same side as I was on, one of those booths designed for one person per side - no escape) and started chatting in a put-on way, like we were supposedly "meal buddies."  I hate that kind of service, where the server treats you like you're their pal.  She also majorly screwed up our order, we politely pointed it out (no anger, we just wanted to eat the food we asked for) and then the manager came by three separate times to apologize and the server was all meal-buddy-checking-in five times. "How we doin'?  How we doin'?  Are we okay?" Total overkill. 

Also Applebees - who the hell eats at Applebees?  Bleh. 

[Carlos del Vaca]

Yeah, Red Lobster is teh suk.  Overcooked seafood drowned in melted butter.  Boo to that.

I don't get Cheesecake Factory.  It's OK, but I fail to understand why some people love it.  Their menu is too damn big; you can't possibly do all that stuff well.

I have eaten at Applebee's a few times in the past year, because there's one really close to our house, and they have 99-cent kids' meals on Tuesdays.  It's been wildly inconsistent though--a couple good meals, a lot of mediocre ones.

Winner among national chain restaurants, if you ask me:  California Pizza Kitchen.

[CortJstr]

Yeah, Red Lobster is teh suk.  Overcooked seafood drowned in melted butter.  Boo to that.

I don't get Cheesecake Factory.  It's OK, but I fail to understand why some people love it.  Their menu is too damn big; you can't possibly do all that stuff well.

I have eaten at Applebee's a few times in the past year, because there's one really close to our house, and they have 99-cent kids' meals on Tuesdays.  It's been wildly inconsistent though--a couple good meals, a lot of mediocre ones.

Winner among national chain restaurants, if you ask me:  California Pizza Kitchen.

At first I thought that said California Tortilla or Burrito or whatever that place is called. And I was going to weep for your tastebuds. Their "guy who picks up the office lunch order eats free" promotion is a neat idea, but it doesn't make up for the epic badness of the food.

[Arachno-capitalist]

A popular rumor in the 90's was the the guy who owned Lonestar used to be part owner of Outback, but had a falling out with his partner(s) and thus decided to start up his own chain. This was the water-cooler explanation for why they always seemed to open a Lonestar right down the street from an Outback.

There's a Cheesecake Factor right by my apartment but I've never been. There's always a line outside even when the mom-n-pop italian place around the corner is empty. The SO went once and said the portions were huge and bland. Neither of us likes cheesecake so it doesn't really seem worth going.

It still kind of pisses me off that at Tyson's II mall they replaced the food court with a Cheesecake Factory. How am I supposed to get my giant pizza slice on with no food court? Granted, nobody goes to Tyson's II, but still.

Cort, dude, the line isnt there because the food sucks. give the place a spin. I went three time before I tried the cheesecake. My personal treat is the thai lettuce wraps, my mom buys them when im having a mopefest.

[Carlos del Vaca]

At first I thought that said California Tortilla or Burrito or whatever that place is called. And I was going to weep for your tastebuds. Their "guy who picks up the office lunch order eats free" promotion is a neat idea, but it doesn't make up for the epic badness of the food.

Amen to that.  I've tried it a couple times because they seem to have good promotions.  It's better than no burrito at all, but only just.  They put lettuce on everything!  Lettuce has no place on a burrito!  Chingasos!