Favorite Chain Restaurant

Now that I live in Texas and have experienced some new chains, some thoughts:

- Checkers / Rally's is very meh, but at least it's cheap. It seems like the same quality food as Jack in the Box - another new chain for me - but half the price. JitB does attempt Taco Bell-like tinkering with its menu though; seems like they're trying out some weird new shit every time I visit.

- Whataburger is pretty good. I like the burgers slightly less than Five Guys, but more than the McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King level, and it's proper fast food as opposed to Five Guys. Plus, they have some chicken options. However, Whataburger is sometimes like Chick-Fil-A, in that people are OBSESSED with it here, and there will sometimes be 10-car deep drivethru lines, making it a non-starter.

- Taco Cabana is fine, but there are so many great TexMex options, it's never my #1 choice. Mostly the option for breakfast and late night, since they're open. (Taco Bell is its own trash delicacy that is worth it independently of its status as "Mexican" food.)

- I haven't been to Buc-ee's yet because of the pandemic.

- Luby's is closing for good by August 2021, according to Wikipedia. Fuddruckers presumably will be suffering the same fate. Not sure if I'll make it to either, or if I want to, before they wind things down.

 

Salt Bae is the most overrated individual in the food space right now.

Anybody eating at one of his restaurants is an idiot.

 

I always thought Fuddruckers was just ok, and I wondered how such mediocrity got a foothold across the U.S.

I asked my mom where she wanted me to take her on Mother’s Day, and she said Cracker Barrel. We don’t live in the south or a rural area.

 

better be a 3-finger pour for $92

 

One of the things that was surprising to find out during COVIDtimes is how many "good" restaurants we think of as standalones are really part of a "corporate group" of restaurants.

 

Just FYI, Buc-ee’s is decidedly NOT a restaurant. Though you can definitely get all sorts of stuff to eat there.

Also, I will confirm that Whataburger is considered a Texas national treasure.

Finally, Luby’s is closing? Where will the old people eat now?

 

GOLDEN Tomahawk.

Which is somehow almost four times more expensive than a run-of-the-mill Tomahawk.

 

I've been told the brisket at Buc-ee's is good, plus, they sell all sorts of junk, haha. Seems like the kind of place I want to go to in-person. It's more that I'm barely driving during the pandemic, and the Buc-ee's is on the way out of town on 10, so I haven't been by it.

And yeah, Luby's owns Fuddruckers, and announced plans to liquidate by August 2021. They announced it during the pandemic, so there weren't a ton of buyers at that point, but plenty of chains went out of business at that time. (Old Chicago, I think Friendly's might have filed for bankruptcy too.)

 

Buc-ees is a whole experience. They have their own brand of every possible road trip snack food, plus a few other sandwich type things. And yes, I know I'm about to be totally roasted for what I say, but their Beaver Nuggets are overrated.

Half of my local Buc-ees is things like t-shirts, coolers, etc. It also has 96 gas pumps.

 

And — most important of all — it has THE WORLD’S CLEANEST BATHROOMS. And no one else’s are even close.

 

You have never been to a Nordstrom store.

 

That's because those restrooms are so huge that they can literally take a firehose and blast it clean every night, after giving the dirtiest commodes the once-over.