Love:
Chains-- Steak and Shake, Culvers
Regional/Local (Northern Virgina)
Rays the Steaks-- best steaks ever
District Taco-- love everything but especially their fish and El Pastor tacos
Lost Dog Cafe-- great sandwiches
Hate:
Wendy’s
On that same note, I’ve never seen any other fast food restaurants (except maybe in an airport or something of that nature) that’s as busy as the local Culver’s is every time I go there.
I’m fine with cheap chains, Steak and Shake, Cracker Barrel, or Friendly’s, where you can get a meal for under $10 and get back on the road. I’ve been to PF Chang’s twice and thought the food was really bad, so sweet and sticky, and incredibly overpriced. I’d put Cheescake Factory in the same category but they do have a large menu and one can probably find something better there. I’m really not a food snob, I just want to get my money’s worth.
I wouldn’t eat at Friendlys if they paid for my meal. The service is terrible, the food is horrible, and the ones around here are pretty dirty. Now…get ice cream to go…that’s another story. Love their ice cream!
I thought PF Changs was over priced.
There are so many good local Asian restaurants, I can’t imagine going to a chain.
I’m going to add my favorite ice cream place…East Coast Custard…in NE Ohio…they have the frozen custard recipe from Euclid Beach, a long since closed amusement park. Best frozen custard on the planet!
I know this is sacrilege for you midwesterners, but I don’t get the frozen custard hoopla. I had heard about it for years and was underwhelmed when I finally had a chance to try it.
I don’t like soft serve ice cream either. High butterfat, scoopable ice cream or gelato for me, please.
Well, Culvers does it very well, with plenty high butterfat content. The flavors are very good. We all have different tasts.
On hate for national chains, there’s probably a lot I’m just not thinking of but some I’ve seen mentioned in this topic:
Panera Bread - How much meat do they use? 3 ounces? 1/4 of what they should use (especially for the price - it’s not cheap)? Expensive and bad. That said their cookies are pretty good. Occasionally when walking by one (used to happen when I was in college) I’d stop in and get a cookie.
PF Changs as I mentioned before. Only been there once but the sauce they used was disgusting and didn’t taste at all of sesame (the name of the dish was “sesame chicken”).
Subway - Way too low on the meat.
Pizza Hut - It’s the worst of the Domino’s/Papa John’s/Pizza hut major national brand pizza grouping.
Another like I see mentioned here, Old Chicago. Their food is pretty decent, and their prices between 10 pm and midnight are really good ($3/pint, $2.50/personal size pizza with 2 toppings). Two of us can go in and each get a pizza and a beer and it’s $11.
Another like, not sure of their area exactly but Firehouse Subs is pretty good. I usually get the “engineer” sub which is turkey, swiss, and mushrooms. Double meat medium (like 9 inches) sandwich, chips, and drink is like $11 I think? With double meat it’s about 10 oz I think.
@doschicos Being a California born and bred gal, I’d never even heard of frozen custard until my son went to school in CT. He insisted we go for dessert, and I was luke warm on the idea. Until I took a bite! Rita’s Swedish Fish gelati (a slushy with vanilla custard on the bottom, and a bit on the top) is to die for. Of course we could only indulge when we flew 3k miles to visit. Until that happy day they appeared at our local mall. My waistline was not thrilled, but the rest of me sure was!
Culver’s has very good burgers. The ice cream, I’m kinda “meh” on.
I haven’t heard Shade Shack from NYC, it went IPO not too long ago, is the food any good?
“I like the explosion of food trucks, especially gourmet taco trucks.”
Marination Mobile… mmmm… 
http://www.marinationmobile.com/#about
They became so popular they had to open a couple of brick and mortar stores.
A few years ago, we were in NYC and there was a line out the door at Shake Shack every time we walked past - especially late night. When they opened one here in London, my son and I tried it and were underwhelmed. I prefer Five Guys burgers and fries (the only premium US chain here). Their shakes were good however.
Any Chicagoans for Oberweis? It’s a local ice cream chain.
“I haven’t heard Shade Shack from NYC, it went IPO not too long ago, is the food any good?”
It’s Shake Shack. It’s part of Danny Meyers restaurant group - though since the IPO I think it must be completely separate from rest of his company. Pretty good for fast food. I’ve only been when we go to the track in Saratoga (they set up temp. one at the track during the season.)
“Pizza Hut - It’s the worst of the Domino’s/Papa John’s/Pizza hut major national brand pizza grouping.”
They’re all gross!
I’m not saying any of them are good, but at least in my opinion, Pizza Hut is the worst of the 3.
It really depends on the operator. Some Pizza Hut locations are not bad and others awful.
Would anyone care to weigh in on food choices at rest stops along the highways/freeways? Yucch. Wonder how healthier choices could somehow make it into those rest stops. Anyone know? It would be such a wonderful thing to actually have better choices when doing road trips. There’s a chain here in New England called Fresh City that you see at rest stops, but that’s the only choice. And they are not at all rest stops. It’s basically fast food or nothing 
I remember going to an underground mall in Montreal several years ago where their food court had real fresh salads, vegetables, fruits, real feta cheese, real nuts, etc. I was amazed and so sad that our country can’t figure out how to do that. It was awesome: you started with lettuce on the bottom of the container and you told them what to add…it was still really reasonably priced considering. Places like that here in the US charge much more. But I’d still rather pay a bit more to have better choices. Anyone else agree?
Anyone know who makes the choices or what foods are at rest stops? Time to get into the 21st century. Not even families with young children would want only fast food as their only selection.
The autostradas in Italy have amazingly good food.
If we are on a long road trip we either pack a small cooler with healthy food or set aside an extra hour or so to get off the highway to a real restaurant. It’s fun checking out independent restaurants in other places. We’ve had some great meals that way.
ewww…rest stop food. I have a serious complaint regarding Nathan’s hot dogs. I saw one in NJ, at a rest stop, and had to try one. Aren’t they famous? Now I’m wondering, famous for what?! I was so sick afterwards.