Do chain restaurants deserve more respect?

March 4, 2023·Darcie

My friends know that I love to cook, bake, and dine at nice restaurants, and sometimes this makes them self-conscious about food or dining out. If we are talking about a recent restaurant meal they enjoyed they might say something like "You probably wouldn't like that place, it's not very fancy, just a chain restaurant." While I have on occasion made snarky comments about these kinds of establishments, the truth is that I have eaten at plenty of them over the years and I've mostly liked my meals. I generally concur with the comments made by Food and Wine's Darron Cardosa, who says we should give chain restaurants the respect they are due.

How to make Olive Garden-style garlic breadsticks from The Kitchn

Cardosa correctly notes that the enjoyment of a restaurant meal has as much to do with the company of our dining companions as it does the food. He also notes that there are many reasons that people like chain restaurants: they are predictable, generally affordable, and they offer foods that are familiar. Not everyone can afford a prime ribeye at Peter Luger's, but they might be able to swing a steak dinner at Longhorn for a special occasion.

Reading this article reminded me of the gag on the sitcom Will and Grade where their friends wanted to eat at Olive Garden but Will and Grace are so turned off that they lie about their plans so they don't have to go there. While not my first choice of places to dine, if my friends really wanted to eat at Olive Garden I would go have a bowl of pasta e fagioli and more breadsticks that I would like to admit, and be happy because I was eating with friends.

6 comments

theglutteryMarch 5, 2023

Chain restaurant, fast food franchise, or Michelin-starred establishment: the medium is irrelevant. It is still going to come down to who is in the kitchen. My very first job was at a Sonic Drive-In and there was one specific cook who could use the frozen, uninspiring ingredients on hand, add some sauces/seasonings he had brought from home, and turn them into something incredible.

Until recently, my wife and I were regularly eating at a Cheddar's restaurant near our house, because after an unintentional visit, the food was consistently well above the quality I would expect from that sort of restaurant. Whoever was in the kitchen obviously left, we had a miserable experience, and we haven't been back.

The problem is that these situations are rare and finding them can be exceedingly difficult. And as much as I would love to search for them, I don't relish the thought of all of the mediocre (at best) meals that I would have to stomach to do so.

breakthroughcMarch 5, 2023

I’m also known to be snarky about chain restaurants. My husband and I sometimes pair up with some guys at a different income level for bridge tournaments so we let them choose where to go for the dinner break. They want to go to Red Lobster or Olive Garden. I have grown to appreciate that while not great these restaurants offer a really good value. You can have a big full meal just for a little more than what fast food costs. I can enjoy a plate of perfectly okay fish tacos and biscuits on our way to victory.

Kitiara121March 5, 2023

"...and be happy because I was eating with friends."

This statement is everything no matter where you are eating.

brigitmMarch 7, 2023

Of course it's wonderful to be with friends and family no matter what; I've gone to chain restaurants when that was the majority wish, and I'm sure I will again. Consistency does have its appeal when you're in an unfamiliar area. And most Americans, even those of us who tend to avoid chains, probably have one or two we're fond of for nostalgic reasons (I still miss Howard Johnson's, and occasionally I want Friendly's or White Castle).

Tthe Cardosa article, though, seems a bit broad and defensive. That nostalgia for a specific atmosphere and taste of your childhood is understandable, but why should that transfer to chains as a whole? I may have happy childhood memories of the chocolate chip pancakes at IHOP, but that doesn't make me think Denny's or some other chain I never went to is worth trying just because it's also a chain.

I agree that it would be snobbish and foolish to judge restaurants entirely by price point or the luxuriousness of ingredients, but I don't think most people who are leery of Applebee's or Chili's are comparing them with Per Se. Here in New Jersey I'm comparing them with our local, family-owned diners, pubs, hot dog and hamburger joints, and ethnic restaurants. I've never been anything but disappointed in chain Italian, not because it doesn't compare with some alta cucina spot in Rome (where I've never been) but because it doesn't compare with what I can get at Vinnie's on the corner for very little more.

Too, there are reasons beyond food that many of us would rather support local business as much as possible. Vinnie's expresses the dreams and the personality and the history of a real family, not a corporate focus group. The money I spend there goes to my neighbors, and back into the local economy. And I prefer a streetscape with localisms and quirks and individuality to one of anonymous, plastic sameness.

Kjohns101March 10, 2023

I was surprised when reading Jacques Pepin’s autobiography, The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, to learn he was the head chef along with Pierre Franey at Howard Johnson’s for 10 years. Pepin developed and refined the food for Howard Johnson’s including the fried clams and famous clam chowder. I don’t know if any American chain restaurants now have any chefs of this caliber. I loved Howard Johnson’s. It was always a treat in my youth. By the way, The Apprentice is a good read.

valente347March 20, 2023

Joyful company at a meal makes up for the most mediocre food. My dad always overcooked the turkey at Thanksgiving, but I would never trade those memories of him and my mom "negotiating" the oven space each year.