Favorite Chain Restaurant

Freestanding CFA's didn't become a thing until the mid- t0 late-1990s. Before that they were definite mall food court fixtures.

 

Oh my god...ugghh. I have never been there. Now, I doubt I'll ever try it.

 

Pancho's was the place where you could founder on Mexican food. It was the stuff back in the late 1990s.

 

Did it look like this?

 

Newk's chicken salad is on point. I bought a tub of it last night to make sandwiches at home.
They also used to have a fixings table with a bunch of stuff, including these really great pickles that had a unique flavor. I'd load up a couple of little sauce cups with those and eat them as a side. They've gotten rid of the table because of the pandemic, though, and the last time I asked for the pickles they were more generic bread and butter pickles.

Newk's and its southern cousin McAlister's are two of my go-tos when I want a good, quick sandwich. If they go head to head, McAlister's usually gets the nod because of their sweet tea and potato salad.

 

Me and a guy I used to work with became regulars at trivia night at the local B-Dubs. The top three prizes were gift cards, so we rarely paid for a full meal out of our own pocket. We (or at least I) also reached the point of looking at it as free food, so let's sample some shit.
The regular wings are good and the mango habanero wings are awesome. The Thai curry wings might be one of the most disgusting foodstuffs I've ever eaten.

 

The guy who founded McAlister’s Deli went on to found Newks after selling off the former to the private equity folks. And both add to the ridiculous track record of above average small chains that got their start in Oxford, Miss.

 

Caribbean jerk traditional wings knock it out of the park for me.
I also love the street tacos.
Get fries with buffalo dry rub.

 

The Doughboys podcast covered this a lot because it was happening the past couple of years - Sardar Biglari bought the chain in 2008, and he did turn it around for a couple of years after sluggish sales. However, he did it with tighter control of employee wages (they lost one lawsuit about manager overtime, and another one is pending), reducing the money and rapid expansion, the last of which became a huge liability in economic downturns. There was one in Katy, and it closed so early in the pandemic that it has now completely flipped over to another restaurant, with no sign it was ever there.

 

Do you live on the West Coast?

 

Anthony Franco's. Five store chain in NNJ. Always fresh ingredients, never tire of their 'za.