Name a chain restaurant you once loved but haven't been back in years, for whatever reason! (Doesn't have to be 'because they suck'...I used to go with my family to Burgerville USA all the time, but then we moved 2500 miles away from the nearest one, so that was that.)
The personal blog of author Kelly Sedinger, chronicling the adventures of one overalls-clad wanderer.
12 comments:
Carroll's - does that still exist anywhere? But I stopped in the mid-1970s, when they forced their way into the village of New Paltz, with its hideous orange facade. We boycotted it, and it did not stay ;ong.
I used to go to Denny's with my buddies all the time. They were open all the time so we'd usually go really late after a movie or something, get a Grand Slam Breakfast. We'd gather 'round a booth talking all night and drinking coffee. Sometimes I'd go home as the sun was coming up completely wired and unable to sleep.
Stopped doing that after I got married and had a family. Denny's is a whole different experience when you have kids. We also moved to a small town that doesn't have one.
Chi Chi's. We used to eat there all the time. Loved the place. My wife even worked there for a while.
In the midwest, there is a chain called Braum's. It's an old-fashioned fast food restaurant plus a local dairy/farm market. They make the best chocolate malts ever. I lived in places that had Braum'ses between 1996-1999, but they have yet to open a KC-area store. Last year, I drove about 30 miles out of my way after a family vacation at Melvern Lake to have one of those legendary malts, and it was worth it.
My mom and I used to go to a BBQ place called Love's. I think they were only in California. The chain eventually went out of business. I still remember the particular flavor of their BBQ sauce.
Bojangles. Popeyes is actually better, but there isn't one around. Bojangles had a breakfast chicken on a biscuit that was mighty good, and the dirty rice was a good side dish.
The Border Cafe...a small chain in the Boston area. I used to go to the Cambridge MA restaurant religiously. Then I moved to Cupertino, and then to China.
Friendly's. I think they went bankrupt? Or at any rate, there aren't any outside of the Northeast or eastern Midwest that I know of. The food wasn't that great but I loved their ice cream creations when I was a kid.
Also, Noble Roman's. They used to be a wonderful pizza place (their deep dish was great, if incredibly calorific). Haven't seen one in years except as little places in gas stations, and I expect the pizza would be a sad shadow of its former self.
Chick-Fil-A, for the same reason you don't go to Burgerville USA anymore.
They're all over the South where I grew up, but the only one in my area is in the student union at the U of M. It's a part of town I rarely go to, the hours are limited, and parking is a hassle.
I don't know if this counts but Burger King, of all places, has really gone to hell around here.
Applebee's. I'm not sure why. We used to live near one and ate there several times a year but now even if we're away from home, looking for something to eat and see an Applebee's we don't stop there.
I don't eat at Applebee's any more either - that's because one time when I went to the one nearest me I received AWFUL treatment as a solo diner. It was not a busy time - after the lunch hour on a weekday and they were not busy.
I waited forever, got attitude from the waitress, had several people ask me "You're sure you're not waiting for someone else" (WTH? How would I not be sure of that).
I got such a feeling of "We don't understand or like single women dining here" so I never went back.
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