Chain restaurants
Tasty in a series
One of the greatest things about our travels is exploring the culinary offerings at our vacation destination.
In the USA, there is an almost endless supply of fast food chains. However, these should only be a limited topic on this page. Rather, we would like to share our experiences with family dining restaurants. These serve the segment between fast food and fine dining.
Warning:!!! If you're hungry right now, you should only continue reading here after you've eaten.
A note on tipping in the U.S.
The service in restaurants is usually extremely friendly and courteous. Everyone tries to do everything right for the guest, even if the guest is in the wrong, he usually remains king. Restaurant waiters have a very low basic salary. Therefore, a satisfied guest is expected to tip between 15% - 20%. You should stick to this, because the waitresses live from these tips. Taxes are also added to the restaurant bill.
...by the way, German guests do not necessarily have the reputation of giving good tips. Maybe we can all make an effort together to change this impression.
Trinkgeldsituation seit der Corona Pandemie: Vielleicht hat der ein oder andere die aktuelle Trinkgelddiskussion, die sich seit Corona entwickelt hat verfolgt, denn während und nach der Pandemie hat sich einiges geändert. Wir versuchen das hier ohne Wertung zu schildern und wollen jedem selbst erlauben sich ein eigenes Bild zu machen und gegebenenfalls Konsequenzen zu ziehen. Was sich geändert hat. Trinkgelder werden sehr oft schon auf der Rechnung ausgewiesen starten sehr oft bei 18% und enden nicht selten bei 35%. Tipps werden nicht nur in den bisher üblichen Restaurants erwartet in denen man bedient wird, sondern so gut wie überall wo man etwas bezahlen kann. So wurden wir nicht nur bei McDonalds aufgefordert ein Trinkgeld zu geben, sondern auch in ganz normalen Geschäften in denen man z.B. Haushaltsgegenstände kaufen konnte. In den USA ist es üblich das der Kunde die Angestellten zum goßen Teil bezahlt und nicht der Arbeitgeber. Jeder der die USA bereist sollte sich deswegen dessen bewusste sein das die ausgewiesenen Preise so gut wie nie Endpreise sind. Neben Steuern kommt auch immer ein nicht unerheblicher Trinkgeldanteil zum Preis hinzu.
Our favorite steakhouse chains
Saltgrass
Description: The first restaurant opened in Houston in 1991. The name refers to the salty meadows on the Texas Gulf Coast where the cattle graze.
The menu offers everything you would expect from a good steakhouse. The atmosphere can perhaps be described as rustic chic. In any case, you feel well taken care of as a guest.
Our rating: Saltgrass is by far our favorite steakhouse chain. Unfortunately, you can't find them everywhere, but whenever we come across a restaurant on our travels, we enjoy the deliciousness. Most of the restaurants are in Texas. Some are in the bordering southern states and a few in Colorado and Nevada.
So far, everything we have eaten in the various restaurants has been very very good. The meat quality is great and the various dishes are creative and unusual. Everyone will find something to eat here, even if you are not a big steak lover.
Our recommendation!!!
Longhorn Steakhouse
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Atlanta in 1981. There are now over 400 restaurants. They are distributed almost all over the country. On the homepage there is a store locator where you can check if there is a restaurant nearby.
Here, too, you'll find a rich and varied menu that offers everything from steak to burgers.
Our rating: Besides Saltgrass, Longhorns is our second favorite steakhouse chain. Second place because we've had excellent meals a few times, but there have also been meals that didn't live up to expectations. On the whole, we've always been satisfied here, too.
We can also recommend Longhorns.
Our favorite Family Diner chains
Old Chicago
Description: The first restaurant opened in Boulder, Colorado in 1976. In the meantime, there are also numerous restaurants from Old Chicago spread across the country. You can use the Location Finder on the homepage to search for restaurants near you.
The chain's specialty is pizzas and freshly tapped draft beer. Besides pizza, however, there are also numerous alternatives such as pasta, salads, burgers and sandwiches.
Our rating: We stumbled upon a branch of Old Chicago rather by accident in 2017 and immediately fell in love. Inside, it reminds us a bit of a sports bar. It's cozy and inviting.
But the best part is, of course, the really delicious pizzas. You can choose practically everything and thus create your own personal pizza.
If you like to eat pizza and drink a freshly tapped beer with it, you won't be disappointed here.
The Cheesecake Factory
Description: The Cheesecake Factory was founded in the 1950s as a bakery specializing in cheesecakes in Detroit, Michigan. The founder's son later opened a restaurant that sold sandwiches as well as a selection of his mother's cheesecakes.
This is how the current concept was developed over the years. In the meantime, you can find more than 200 branches worldwide.
The offer includes numerous cheesecakes, as well as a huge selection of pasta dishes, burgers, salads, sandwiches and much more. The Cheesecake Faktory has one of the most extensive menus we've ever seen in a restaurant.
Our rating: The Cheesecake Factory is actually always a good idea, although our huge enthusiasm has now subsided somewhat. Not because we don't like it anymore, but because the hype about it has worn off a bit. Of course, we'll still like to go to one of the restaurants, but we probably won't be making any big detours in the future.
The cheesecakes we have tried so far have been much too sweet for our taste. They look super tasty, but we like other, not so sweet, pastries better. Especially when you consider that a piece of cheesecake costs from $9.
Olive Garden
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1982. There are now well over 800 restaurants worldwide.
On the menu you can find all kinds of delicacies from the American-Italian cuisine. The presentation corresponds to that of an Italian trattoria.
Our rating: When we can't stand burgers and steaks any longer, we like to eat at Olive Garden. The highlight is actually the fresh salad and the delicious breadsticks that come with every main course. You can eat as much of it as you want, so it's not uncommon that you don't make it through the main course.
For those who want to add a little variety to their meal plan, we can definitely recommend Olive Garden.
Chilis
Description: The chain's first restaurant opened in Dallas, Texas, in 1975. There are now more than 1600 of these casual dining restaurants nationwide.
A wide variety of dishes from the American-Mexican cuisine are offered. Here really everyone will find something to eat.
Our rating: We like Chilis very much, because there is a lot of choice besides the usual burgers and sandwiches. We often share the menu for 2 people here. This consists of a divided appetizer and a main course for each. For 20$ it offers a great price/performance ratio. Also the other dishes on the menu that we have tried so far, have always tasted good. We can definitely recommend Chilis for a delicious meal.
Texas Roadhouse
Description: The chain was founded in February 1993 by Wayne Kent Taylor in Clarksville Indiana. In the restaurants you will find mainly dishes of the Texan-Southwestern cuisine. Above all, however, there are steaks in all possible variations.
Our rating: Texas Roadhouse is as good as always a solid choice. You'll find quite a good price-performance ratio in the mid-price segment here.
Corky´s BBQ
Description: Corky's BBQ is a very small chain by comparison. There are only 9 stores in total in 4 southern states (Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas). The first restaurant was opened in Poplar in 1984 by Don Pelts. His vision was to sell Memphis Style BBQ in a relaxed atmosphere.
Our rating: During our tour in October 2016 we visited the restaurant in Poplar. We enjoyed it very much. We can recommend the chain and would eat here again, should we ever be on the road again in the south of the USA.
Tip: Don't forget to buy a bottle or two of the extremely delicious homemade BBQ sauce.
