Places That Lived Up To The Hype

[Roadtrip635]

They probably lie a lot.

It tastes like they do...... Every time I go there, I'm still in disbelief.....

 

[Runwildboys]

The great thing about the loose ice alternative is that there is zero need for an ice maker or buying bagged ice. Simply fill and refreeze.

Plus, you don't have to dump the remaining ice and water when you're done, then let the cooler dry.

 

[Runwildboys]

It tastes like they do...... Every time I go there, I'm still in disbelief.....

Gotta say, the stuff in that picture looks amazing...and expensive.

 

[Cowpolk]

Krispy Krunchy Cajun fried chicken Lots of them in Louisiana 1 about a mile away from me in South East Oklahoma. They will make a fresh batch if you want to wait about 20 minuets Boudin bites and honey butter biscuits are great also Jambalaya and chicken cracklings are great

 

[Vtwin]

I've only the burger and fries once, and was very disappointed...but to be fair my friend's kid rode his bike to pick up the food and bring it back, so it wasn't exactly as fresh as it could be. Still, the fries were really greasy.

I'm one of those people who like my fries the old fashioned way.

Greasy and just a little salt for seasoning.

 

[SlammedZero]

I like Panera Bread. I thought it was just a sandwich shop until one opened up locally and I really enjoy their menu. I love Asian food and PF Chang's was also surprisingly good for a chain. Everybody has their favorite burger joint and while I live deep in the heart of Whataburger country I'd grab an original 10 stack at White Castle over anything. Their chicken and waffle slider with gravy gets an honorable mention as well.

I ate at a White Castle in Detroit when I was 20. That was so many drinking in my 20s weekends ago though that I literally cannot remember if I liked them or not. lol Will absolutely stop if I ever see one again though.

My thread contributions are Logan's Roadhouse and Texas Roadhouse. My wife and I make reservations for Texas Roadhouse and still wait 30 minutes to an hour before getting a seat. It is still worth the wait though.

I absolutely LOVE Texas Roadhouse. I would have added it to my list, but I don't recall much hype behind it before it arrived in the Boise area. The one we have here is the same in that it is always busy. They finally built another one in Nampa (a suburb of Boise), but that did nothing to change the business at the first one. I swear they could build another, at least 2 in the area, and still be plenty packed.

Five Guys needs it’s own ‘overrated’ thread

Agreed. Wasn't impressed myself.

chik-fil-a

This is one I could have added to my list, but it took me a few times. They finally arrived in Boise like 6-7 years ago, and there was a lot of hype behind it. What is funny though, is that the first couple times I went, I didn't think it was that special. It was good, but didn't live up to the hype for me at that moment. For whatever reason, after my 4th-5th time, it finally clicked with me and I understood. "This place is great!" lol

Oh, and can I add (at least the ones in my area) that they have the most efficient drive-through service ever! If I pull into one and it has a huge line, I will still go through it because they work people through so fast. It's impressive and doesn't sacrifice quality.

 

[VaqueroTD]

White Castle - Disappointed. Not much better than the frozen versions.
Krispy Kreme - Disappointed. Guess I was expecting a combination of heaven and ambrosia in my mouth, but it's just another doughnut.
Latest spicy chicken sandwich - They all taste the same to me.
In N Out - Keep forgetting to go to one when I'm out west.
Advice, don't look to chain restaurants for anything other than a good price.

Here's one that didn't disappoint - Ben & Jerrys! Remember the hype when it first started getting big. Saw the whole documentary on the making of the company (before they sold it) and the type of ice cream they make. Bought one, loved it, and still love it to this day. Best ice cream you can buy at the grocer.

Another one - Vegas. Everyone knows what it is before they go for the first time and the whole "What happens in Vegas..." Probably went 20x before starting getting burned out on it. Still enjoy going to Vegas.

 

[DoctorChicken]

A guy in Poland at the airport McDonald’s told me I should try his favorite breakfast sandwich, the “McMuffin farmerski” with “sos musztardowo‑chrzanowy”. And a half orange juice, half coffee drink.

It was horrible.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Jack in the Box.

When I was stationed in Hawaii, we would gorge ourselves here. Sober or drunk. The standard brands like McDonald's, Wendy's, BK falls well short of Jack in the Box

Nothing beats getting a burger, and a taco with a side of eggs rolls

 

[darthseinfeld]

Ive heard our local grocery chain Wegmans is expanding to more locations. If you are getting one, you need to try their subs. Expectional

 

[darthseinfeld]

Whats your opinions of Sizzler? Another place I frequented in Hawaii. Bad steak, but cheap. A typical Sizzler meal for me would be a steak, chicken breast, bake potato (all of which I believe was the #2), with the all you can eat taco bar. All for like $15

 

[Runwildboys]

Ive heard our local grocery chain Wegmans is expanding to more locations. If you are getting one, you need to try their subs. Expectional

Yeah, I actually heard we're supposed to get Wegmans in CT in the near future.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Yeah, I actually heard we're supposed to get Wegmans in CT in the near future.

You'll love it. Excellent grocery store

 

[Runwildboys]

You'll love it. Excellent grocery store

Not if it's busy! I hate crowds and lines.

 

[SlammedZero]

Whats your opinions of Sizzler? Another place I frequented in Hawaii. Bad steak, but cheap. A typical Sizzler meal for me would be a steak, chicken breast, bake potato (all of which I believe was the #2), with the all you can eat taco bar. All for like $15

I actually am a fan of Sizzler. For a non-fancy steak restaurant, I find their food to be great. I haven't been to one in awhile now that we are talking about it.

Only thing that bothers me about the place is how you order first and then you sit down and eat. I never have cash on me, so I either have to tip before, not knowing what kind of service I'm going to get, or remember to bring cash with me. Otherwise I'm scrambling for a tip because if somebody did a great job waiting on me, they surely deserve a worthy tip.

 

[Vtwin]

White Castle - Disappointed. Not much better than the frozen versions.
Krispy Kreme - Disappointed. Guess I was expecting a combination of heaven and ambrosia in my mouth, but it's just another doughnut.
Latest spicy chicken sandwich - They all taste the same to me.
In N Out - Keep forgetting to go to one when I'm out west.
Advice, don't look to chain restaurants for anything other than a good price.

Here's one that didn't disappoint - Ben & Jerrys! Remember the hype when it first started getting big. Saw the whole documentary on the making of the company (before they sold it) and the type of ice cream they make. Bought one, loved it, and still love it to this day. Best ice cream you can buy at the grocer.

Another one - Vegas. Everyone knows what it is before they go for the first time and the whole "What happens in Vegas..." Probably went 20x before starting getting burned out on it. Still enjoy going to Vegas.

I remember the hype when B&J's first starting making and selling ice cream out of the little place they converted from a service station. At the time, there was no better ice cream. Always a line out the door to get a scoop. Once they started manufacturing at a higher volume they always set up the grocery stores around here with a display of "seconds" that were less than half the cost of a regular pint. I never got a pint of "seconds" that I could tell why it got downgraded. They eventually built another manufacturing plant right in my backyard and I knew a lot of people that worked there. They gave their employees something like five pints a week. It was raining ice cream around here. I got into biking because of B&J's. For the first time in my life I had to be proactive about burning those ice cream calories off.

 

[CouchCoach]

Chick-Fil-A didn't connect with me and I thought the chicken sandwich was bland but my wife and others didn't even think of them as fast food, they were above that. After working with a new owner when I was in radio, I see why so many people love that chain. They are anal about service and cleanliness. To the point that will puit franchisees on notice if they do not meet the minimums, which are higher than the industry norm.

One thing being in radio gives you is a different perspective from both sides of the business. If you watch the employees, particularly the managers, they're not the norm in that industry. They are the benchmark for efficiency and their employees either love working there or they don't work there. Attitude is their image.

The only other chain that comes close that I've seen is Wendy's. I hadn't heard of them closing a store until I was in OK and now here. Both of these markets had their franchises jerked because of health department warnings. And I've heard they scour Yelp, Trip Advisor and others for any bad reviews and then send their mystery shoppers.

Chain store owners must keep in mind as goes one, goes all. Just ask Chipotle. They're still trying to recover nationwide from that ordeal.

 

[CouchCoach]

Five Guys - when they first opened, really good and as time passed, they began to drop in quality. They also changed the way they preseason the burgers.

In-and-Out - ate at the one across from Hollywood High in the 70's and it was great. Ate at the first one in Dallas and it was nothing special, not really close to the LA one. And the fries were a soggy mess.

McDonalds - first one opened in Little Rock in 65 and the only one I could compare it to was Krystal's, the south's version of White Castle, because the burger was smaller. But back then, the competition was not what it is today. What's interesting is that their burger is the same as it was 57 years ago when I first ate one. Then it was acceptable, now I wouldn't eat one.

But those fries, oh those fries. I am a fries guy and I had never tasted anything that good. It was better than the hype and until they had to change the oil out from beef tallow, they were always excellent.

McDonald's fries hit home with me when I met the man that is responsible for the frozen french fry, JR Simplot, when I moved to Boise. He is as much responsible for McDonalds success as Kroc was because without that innovation, they do not take off like that and it was the fries that put them on the map.

 

[CouchCoach]

Whataburger - first time in I thought 'now this is how a burger is put together'. I still prefer the meat in a Whopper because it tastes better but BK doesn't understand the burger for the Southern species.

I grew up in AR and the Hamburger was simple, mustard, pickle and onion. Deluxe was lettuce, tomato and mayo. The Cheeseburger wasn't even a deal back then.

The first Whopper I had had no mustard, instead it had ketchup and mayo and the combination of the regular and deluxe. By all that is Holy, how could this happen? Just who were these devils?

Leave it up to the fine folks at Whataburger to know mustard goes on the burger. Ya want something different, ya have to ask for that. Even McDonalds recognized this in the 80's and did the Classic in some of their markets. The Classic? Mustard.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

I found Shake Shack to pretty ordinary.