Nah, Olive garden is great, and so are many medium-to-higher tier chain restaurants. Claim Jumper, Cheesecake Factory, BJ’s Brewery, Old Spaghetti Factory, Charthouse… all good, solid places.
About the only trendy chain restaurant I think is overrated is Chipotle.
I think both Habit and Islands are specific to the West.
Personal anecdote time!
I used to work at this great little independent restaurant. Our head chef / kitchen manager got into a screaming match with the owner and walked out, leaving his sous to take his place. Two weeks later, the sous did the same thing and we got a new chef. I liked the sous, and when I found out that he had taken over as the kitchen manager at the new Olive Garden I figured I would give the place a try. I went in and ordered some type of alfredo dish - I can’t remember the pasta, because the sauce looked and tasted like Elmer’s glue, and that is all I remember. I caught up with him a few weeks later and asked him about it. He said (paraphrased):
"Cosmicfish, at , when someone ordered alfredo, I put some butter in a pan, melted it, added some heavy cream, let it simmer for a few minutes, took it off the heat and stirred in some cheese, salt, and pepper* - toss it with pasta and it’s delicious. at Olive Garden, when someone orders alfredo, I take a packet of sauce from the fridge, heat it in a pan, and toss it with the pasta, and it is what it is." *
This is the problem with chains - they emphasize homogeneity over quality, and rely on industrial process rather than skill, and neither of those are conducive to good food.
*: Yes, this is the traditional way for chefs to leave a restaurant.
*: Yes, only five ingredients, and about the same price as OG. And fantastic, too! *
Oh yes! Old Spaghetti Factory! 
Any else getting hungry now?
^But at least you’re part of the family when you go to Olive Garden!
Speaking of chains, I never ate at Chick Fil A, but I hate the place with a passion. One opened in a big town south of us. I took the bus there, Mr. and I had sushi at Blue C (a chain we like!), and then we spent ungodly amount of time trying to get ONE block to the freeway onramp - the access to the freeway access lane was blocked by the line of cars trying to get to said chicken place! Arrggghhh! There was a cop (!) regulating traffic to get to the place. Un-freak-believable!!!
H loves Frye’s and tries to visit whenever there’s one convenient. He always finds something there!
I’m mostly into small, local ethnic restaurants or chains that are only in our state.
Love the sandwich place at ORD–haven’t been to its main restaurant but when I’m at that airport, I try to grab a bite there for the plane–yum! Their food seems very freshly prepared.
I feel lucky if I’m in an airport and can get to Vino Volo. If the TSA has stolen your shampoo, how nice it is to have a glass of wine and a big, beautiful cheese and meat board!
We have Anthony’s at SEA - it is a local seafood chain. Their halibut and chips… yum.
Haha BB, we love chick-fil-a and were excited to eat there when visiting my mom last week. Chick-Fil-a was busy, super busy every time we stopped or drove by the place.
Our family loves Skyline Chili but I am sure it is acquired taste, maybe just for us lol!
The H and I appreciate a chain that has a light menu or calories posted. That I am sure is us getting old though.
Olive Garden - just no. Someone gave us a gift cert. for Dardin Restaurants so we picked OG instead of Red Lobster. It was just awful.
We rarely eat at chains except Cracker Barrel when we are on the road. and occasionally Applebees when an event goes long and we need a place to eat that is convenient to our house and stays open late. Usually we just go to the diner.
My dad’s company (franchise) is a very well known fast food chain and all I can say is that it it afforded us an extremely nice lifestyle when I was growing up and no worries for them in retirement (he sold out.) I am glad though that I don’t feel any obligation to eat there anymore.
I am amazed sometimes at these chain restaurants and their popularity. Waits of an hour or more at Olive Garden, Outback, Carraba’s, etc.? They’re pretty good and all but is there nothing local and non-chain? Are people afraid of non-chain restaurants? Does anyone cook on the weekends anymore?
^^Yeah, greenwitch, I don’t understand it either. Would rather go local as often as possible or cook at home. Carraba’s we went to once, it was awful. There are definitely more local restaurants to choose from than local stores with clothes and/or gifts, etc. I hope it turns back around to more & more local everything. No matter where you go in this country you see the same stores & chain restaurants. It’s depressing.
I do like Carraba’s more than Olive Garden. Decent wine and good mussels. We have plenty of chain steak places that all seem the same-Texas Roadhouse, Texas Corral, Lonestar, etc. We still have some local, non-chains but where I live they are not in the right price range or very inconsistent. I try them out and pray they are open from month to month.
Where my Dad lives, Virginia Beach, VA, there is always a wait for these chain places. I found that also to be true when I was way out in the country. It’s a bit sad.
The issue of food quality comes up frequently when talking about chain restaurants, but frankly, I think people are missing the point. You don’t go to a chain restaurant for exquisite, high-quality food… you go for consistency, reasonable prices, good/fun atmosphere, and reliability.
I like local restaurants too, but I generally find them inferior to chains in a couple areas: 1) you finally found one you REALLY like and then out of nowhere it goes out of business…, and 2) atmosphere not as refined as what you find in chain restaurants (chains spend a lot of money on architecture and overall design of their restaurants to lure/satisfy customers).
If I want the highest quality food I’ll go to a good local restaurant. If I want to get together with a group of friends and have a decent dinner in a nice setting, I’ll go to a good chain.
I like Ross and TJ. For everything in between I shop online.
I genuinely don’t understand this. I can’t think of any product where I am willing to sacrifice the actual quality in exchange for such things.
It goes out of business because everyone is going to chain restaurants instead.
Yes, they do that to distract you from the awful food. That isn’t a joke, by the way, the décor and activities and assorted gimmicks are all meant to distract you from the fact that the food itself has been cost-reduced to the point where you could make just as good a meal with a microwave and the offerings in the freezer case at the supermarket. Hence the running joke: “Appleby’s, for when you’re too tired to microwave that yourself!”
“It goes out of business because everyone is going to chain restaurants instead.”
One of the possible reasons, but not always the case.
I go to local restaurants for this too. 50 cent oysters on Mondays? I’ll go. 1/2 price flatbread, mussels, and alcohol from 4 to 7. I’ll go too. Drinks with names like “Dr. Evil’s Secret Volcano Lair”. I’ll go. Burmese food, with all of its delicious parts? I’ll definitely go.