{"id":3945,"date":"2024-05-09T08:32:57","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T00:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/?page_id=3945"},"modified":"2024-10-23T09:20:04","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T01:20:04","slug":"chain-restaurant-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/restaurant-reviews\/chain-restaurant-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Chain Restaurant Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Whenever possible, I try to eat at independent restaurants.  But that doesn&#8217;t mean that I never go to chains, either because we are traveling and it&#8217;s the most convenient food to find, or because I honestly like the food &#8211; as is the case with Elmer&#8217;s, a chain of family restaurants from the Pacific Northwest, or burger joints like Nation&#8217;s. So here are my reviews. I&#8217;ll have to update that for Elmer&#8217;s next time I&#8217;m in Oregon, though it was just as good as I remembered when I visited in January 2024.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fast Food<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/07\/chain-restaurant-reviews-chipotle\/\">Chipotle<\/a><\/strong><br>Mexican, US nationwide<br>Last visited San Leandro location in June 2024. OK. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/09\/l-a-chow-cupids-hot-dogs\/\"><strong>Cupid\u2019s Hot Dogs<\/strong><\/a><br>Hot Dog chain. Los Angeles<br>Visited in September 2024. OK. $<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/09\/road-restaurant-reviews-ihop\/\">IHOP<\/a><\/strong><br>Breakfast, American, US nationwide<br>Last visited Lebec location in September 2024. OK.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/07\/chain-restaurant-reviews-ikes-love-and-sandwiches\/\">Ike&#8217;s Love and Sandwiches<\/a><\/strong><br>Sandwiches, western US &amp; Florida<br>Last visited San Leandro location in June 2024. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2021\/10\/little-caesars-pan-pizza-deserves-a-thumbs-up\/\">Little Caesar&#8217;s<\/a><\/strong><br>Pizza, US nationwide<br>Last visited San Leandro location in Sept 2021. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/03\/san-leandro-eats-nations-giant-hamburgers\/\">Nation\u2019s Giant Hamburgers<\/a><\/strong><br>Burgers, Bay Area, CA<br>Last visited San Leandro, CA, location in March 2024. Very Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/10\/chain-restaurant-reviews-nick-the-greek\/\"><strong>Nick the Greek<\/strong><\/a><br>Pitas, California &amp; southwest<br>Last visited San Leandro location in October 2024. Very Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/05\/chain-restaurant-reviews-panda-express-is-fast-good-and-cheap\/\">Panda Express<\/a><\/strong><br>Chinese, US Nationwide<br>Last visited San Leandro location in May 2024. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/05\/panera-has-gotten-worse\/\">Panera<\/a><\/strong><br>Sandwiches, US Nationwide<br>Last visited Hayward location in May 2024. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/06\/chain-restaurant-review-popeyes-chicken\/\">Popeyes Chicken<\/a><\/strong><br>Fried Chicken, US Nationwide<br>Last visited Winetka location in May 2024. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-admin\/%E2%80%9Dhttps:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/03\/taco-bell-review\/%E2%80%9D\"><strong>Taco Bell<\/strong><\/a><br>Tex-Mex, US Nationwide. <strong>Boycott<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-admin\/%E2%80%9Dhttps:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/04\/fast-food-reviews-whataburger\/%E2%80%9D\"><strong>Wataburger<\/strong><\/a><br>Burgers, Texas &amp; Nearby states<br>Visited Natchitoches, LA, location in April 2024. Very Good<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bakeries &amp; Desserts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2022\/05\/%ef%bf%bc-85c-bakery-cafe-sells-my-favorite-pastries\/\">85\u00b0C Bakery Cafe<\/a><\/strong><br>Chinese bakery. US Nationwide, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia <br>Occasionally visit San Leandro location. Very Good. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/03\/san-leandro-eats-mochinuts\/\"><strong>Mochinuts<\/strong><\/a><br>Mochi donuts &amp; hot dogs. California<br>Last visited San Leandro, CA, location in March 2024. Very Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/06\/l-a-chow-portos-bakery-cafe\/\">Porto&#8217;s Bakery &amp; Caf\u00e9<\/a><\/strong><br>Cuban Bakery. Southern California<br>Visited Northridge location in June 2024. Very Good. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/02\/new-york-food-aventures-sugar-factory\/\"><strong>Sugar Factory<\/strong><\/a><br>American\/Dessert, Nationwide<br>Visited NYC location in February 2024. Very Good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Family Restaurants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-admin\/%E2%80%9Dhttps:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/04\/dining-in-texas-babes-chicken-dinner-house\/%E2%80%9D\"><strong>Babe\u2019s Chicken Dinner House<\/strong><\/a><br>Chicken, Texas<br>Visited Burleson, TX, location in April 2024. Very good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2021\/10\/bag-ocrab-review\/\"><strong>Bag O&#8217;Crab<\/strong><\/a><br>Seafood, Bay Area<br>Visited San Leandro location in October 2021. OK.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/05\/chain-restaurant-reviews-black-angus-has-gotten-expensive\/\">Black Angus<\/a><\/strong><br>Steakhouse, West Coast<br>Visited San Lorenzo location in May 2024. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/06\/sf-valley-chow-bobs-big-boy-in-northridge\/\">Bob&#8217;s Big Bo<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/06\/dining-in-cambria-las-cambritas\/\">y<\/a><\/strong><br>American, Southern California &amp; Michigan<br>Visited Northridge, CA location in May 2024. OK.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2021\/01\/el-toritos-fiesta-packs-are-a-great-deal\/\"><strong>El Torito<\/strong><\/a><br>Tex-Mex, CA<br>Last got take out from San Leandro location in May 2022. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/06\/sf-valley-chow-gen-korean-bbq\/\">Gen Korean BBQ<\/a><\/strong><br>Korean, CA, FL &amp; AZ. <br>Visited Northridge, CA location in May 2024. Good. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2022\/05\/pacific-catch-in-dublin-is-a-fun-place-for-drinks-seafood\/\"><strong>Pacific Catch<\/strong><\/a><br>Seafood, California<br>Visited Dublin location in May 2022. Very good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-admin\/%E2%80%9Dhttps:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/04\/airport-bites-the-counter-san\/%E2%80%9D\"><strong>The Counter<\/strong><\/a><br>Burgers, selected airports<br>Visited San Diego airport location in April 2024. Good.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/2024\/10\/chain-restaurant-reviews-the-olive-garden\/\"><strong>The Olive Garden<\/strong><\/a><br>Italian, nationwide<br>Visited Hayward location in October 2024, OK. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whenever possible, I try to eat at independent restaurants. But that doesn&#8217;t mean that I never go to chains, either because we are traveling and it&#8217;s the most convenient food to find, or because I honestly like the food &#8211; as is the case with Elmer&#8217;s, a chain of family restaurants from the Pacific Northwest, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":3938,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3945","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3945\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marga.org\/foodblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}