Alright I'm Going Out To Eat Tonight - What Restaurants Should I Be Avoiding?......

[aletier_v]

20. I eat at restaurants about 400 times per year

Been doing that for several years.

1) chains exist for a reason - quality control and predictability. I eat at local restaurants but what I've discovered is that many local recommendations are based on QUANTITY of food & price, not quality. I'd say about 1/2 of the local restaurants don't measure up to good chain restaurants.

2) Places I like - PFChangs. I know many people dislike it, often Asian people, but the quality/price point are great for me, but it's not A LOT of food (which I like, since I'm not a growing child anymore).

Claim Jumper for beef ribs & meat. You can't find beef ribs, generally. CJ serves too much food, though.

Cheesecake Factory - awesome depth of selection. Very few local restaurants can carry this level of diversity and pull it off. I ate an interesting Morrocan chicken there last week.

McCormick & Schmicks - I'm not a seafood eater but they carry a small range of other things. I had a parmesan-encrusted chicken last week & NY strip steak, both were quite good (but steak was $40).

Macaroni Grill - It's okay. It's gone cheaper during the recession but I still eat there occasionally.

You can't find good breakfast places in some cities. Phoenix had an awesome local chain called The Egg & I, something like that. Lately I've been eating breakfast at Silver Diner, which is a Virginia chain, it's not as good as Egg and I but it's the best I've found so far.

I've been eating at a place called Clyde's in Reston, VA lately, I had an unbeatable rosemary chicken two weeks ago for something like $13, really great price for what I got.