United States of America Restaurant Tips by grandmaR

Restaurant Name: A&W All American Food

When I had my first child and my husband went out to sea (US Navy) I used to drive from Norfolk home to Baltimore up Route 17 to Route 301. In those days (1961-1964) there weren't many restaurants along the way. There was however a place where one could get corn dogs. A corn dog is a hot dog on a stick covered with corn batter and deep fried. I learned to love corn dogs.

A&W not only has corn dogs (these days they are nuggets instead of on a stick) but they also have root beer floats - another yummy but not too good for you item.

This is one of the oldest chains in the U.S. Their website says:

One hot day in June of 1919 in Lodi, California an entrepreneur named Roy Allen mixed up a batch of creamy root beer and sold the first frosty mug of this delightful beverage for one nickel...&W Root Beer® is the world's number one selling root beer and is still mixed fresh daily and sold at hundreds of A&W® restaurants.

Allen purchased the formula for his root beer from a pharmacist in Arizona. To this day, the unique blend of herbs, spices, barks and berries remains a proprietary secret.

With the success of his first root beer stand in Lodi, Allen soon opened a second stand in nearby Sacramento. It was there that what is thought to be the country's first "drive-in" featuring "tray-boys" for curb side service, opened up.

By 1933, the creamy beverage was such a success that there were over 170 franchised outlets operating in the mid-west and west. To insure uniform quality for the namesake beverage, Allen sold A&W Root Beer® concentrate exclusively to each franchise operator.

A standard core menu for the restaurants was introduced in 1978...It was at this time that A&W Restaurants, Inc., the wholly-owned restaurant franchise subsidiary was formed.

A&W has changed through the years and in the 1980s expanded into some Oriental countries. In 2000, Yorkshire Global Restaurants, Inc., became the parent company for A&W® and Long John Silver's® (which is now part of A&W).

Favorite Dish: They have the normal burgers, fries, chicken, bacon cheeseburgers and the like, but they also have a Coney Island cheese dog, chili dogs, onion rings, cheese fries, chili cheese fries, cheese curds and today I saw shrimp and fish on the menu.

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Theme: Autogrill/Rest Stop
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Try the link below to find the closest one
Website: http://clients.mapquest.com/aw/mqlocator?link=find

Restaurant Name: Applebees Neighborhood Grill & Bar

There are 1,585 Applebee's in 49 out of the 50 United States (none in Hawaii) and they also have international locations in Bahrain, Canada, Egypt, Greece, Honduras, Kuwait, Mexico, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

They advertise themselves as a neighborhood bar and grill. The website says:

"Each Applebees Neighborhood Grill & Bar is designed as an attractive, friendly, neighborhood establishment featuring moderately priced, high-quality food and beverage items, table service and a comfortable atmosphere that appeals to all ages. As "America?s Favorite Neighbor?," each Applebee?s restaurant reflects its local neighborhood. The decor conveys this theme with photographs and memorabilia highlighting hometown heroes, local schools and area history."

We stopped for lunch in Miami in January, and I got a cheese quesidilla and Bob got a half fried chicken salad which was too much for him to eat. I got an apple chimicheesecake for dessert (all pictured)

Favorite Dish: They have steaks, fajitas, chicken, fish and BBQ on the main menu, and they also have salads, appetizers, sandwiches, desserts, and a children's menu. Since it is a bar and grill they also offer alcoholic drinks.

I like the following entrees:
Fiesta Lime Chicken
Grilled boneless breast marinated in lime juice and topped with a Mexi-ranch and Jack-cheddar sauce, and served with crisp tortilla strips, Southwest rice and pico de gallo.

Honey Grilled Chicken
Sweet, sweet chicken! Marinated flame-grilled chicken breasts basted with Applebee's Honey Pepper Sauce. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and garlic toast.

Riblets
A hearty portion of our famous Riblets basted with your choice of Applebee's Signature Barbecue Sauce or Applebee's Honey Barbecue Sauce. Served with barbecue baked beans, fries and cole slaw. Also available in a smaller portioned basket served with fries.

I feel they are a little light on the desserts - they normally offer the following none of which is a favorite of mine:

Triple Chocolate Meltdown
This rich and magnificently moist chocolate cake is topped with both dark and white chocolate. Its fudge-filled center will erupt upon first bite, richly rolling into vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate fudge.

White Chocolate and Walnut Blondie
Say hello to the eighth wonder of the world! Your blondie is baked with pecans and topped with a scoop of ice cream and chopped walnuts. Served warm and covered at your table with a rich, sizzling maple butter sauce.

Sizzling Apple Pie
A twist on grandma's apple pie, this is certainly one of our sweetest Skillet Sensations?. Layer after layer of apple resides on a light, flaky crust. Topped with walnut streusel, a rich caramel butter sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Fudge Brownie Sundae
A fudge walnut brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and hot fudge sauce on top. Big enough to share, but you won't want to.

The only problem with Applebee's is that it is sometimes noisy, and sometimes crowded especially during Happy Hour.

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Theme: American
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Directions: Check for your local Applebee's at the website
Website: http://www.applebees.com/index.php

Restaurant Name: Arby's

Arby's was founded by the Raffel brothers in 1964 as a franchise roast beef sandwich restaurant. They wanted to use the name "Big Tex," but were unsuccessful in negotiating with the Akron businessman who was already using the name. So they've used the initials RB for the Raffel brothers (although it could also stand for Roast Beef) pronounced Arby's, .

The first Arby's restaurant opened in Boardman, Ohio, on July 23, 1964, serving only roast beef sandwiches, potato chips, and a beverage. Today, more than 500 licensees operate more than 3,000 restaurants worldwide.

Now they are also associated with T.J. Cinnamons Classic Bakery which was designed to provide fast-food concepts with a breakfast, snack, and dessert dual-brand that can easily and affordably be added to any existing restaurant and also with Pasta Connection.

They have also established the Arbys Foundation which supports the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Favorite Dish: I first started coming to Arbys because I liked the curley fries with cheese. When I was working, and driving to the Eastern Shore of MD (specifically Salisbury) for inspections, I found that the franchises there had a side of frozen custard which I LOVE, but which is not in any other Arbys.

Arby’s menu features roast beef, chicken, turkey, SideKickersâ appetizers, signature Horsey Sauceâ and Arby’s Sauceâ , a Light Menu, four kinds of potato products

I particularly like the BLT or the

Beef n Cheddar sandwich (Roast Beef, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Red Ranch Sauce, Onion Bun), although the

Roast Chicken Club (Roast Chicken, Mayonnaise, Shredded Lettuce, Tomato, Pepper Bacon, Swiss Cheese, Sesame Seed Bun), the

Chicken Club Salad (Iceberg/Romaine/Spring Mix, Chopped Chicken Fingers, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Pepper Bacon, Cucumbers, Grape Tomatoes and Diced Hard Cooked Egg) or the

Chicken Caesar Wrap (Green Leaf Lettuce, Red Onion Rings, Diced Grilled Chicken, Caesar Sauce, Whole Wheat Tortilla Contains 16 g Net Carbs) is probably better for me.

Arby's is another fast food place which is light on the desserts. It has milkshakes, but not much else.

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Theme: Fast Food
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: (800) 487-2729
Address: check URL for location nearest to you
Directions: All over the US (concentrated east of the Mississippi) and some in Canada.
Website: http://www.arbys.com/locator/

Restaurant Name: Bennigan's Irish American Grill & Tavern

According to the website:
"When D. Bennigan came to America from his native Ireland, he looked for places like the taverns of his homeland. Places where he could relax with family and friends.."

Also on their website under "Fun Stuff" is

"NEW!!! DOWNLOAD BENNIGAN'S RADIO COMMERCIALS!!!
"The Irish spirit celebrates even the smallest things. So do Bennigan's popular new radio ads set to Irish "pub songs" about life's little bonuses that are worth raising a glass to...

"COMPUTER RESTART -- "Oh Mary was word processing as happy as can be, when she clicked the mouse a bit too much and locked up her PC. She thought her computer dead and gone and she was broken-hearted, but everything was fine and dandy after she restarted...."

Favorite Dish: While we were in Miami, we stopped for lunch at a shopping center and ate at Bennigan's

I had the half sandwich/cup of soup selection, and I picked a corned beef sandwich and broccoli cheese soup. I had the Apple Sizzler ($3.99) for desert.

Bob had the American burger. The burger and my sandwich/soup were both $6.29 each and we both drank iced tea.

Our total bill was $21.66

The pictures show the sign over the entrance door, and part of the interior. The photo of the main menu has a hamburger with a steak knife stuck in it with a Killian's sign in the back. I fail to see why having to eat a hamburger with a knife it is is a good thing. There are also pictures of food including the Apple Sizzler. Bob's spoon is a blur as he eats the apple sizzler.

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Theme: Steakhouse
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Phone: 800-727-TELL
Address: 13603 South Dixie Highway (route 1)
Directions: Headquarters is in Plano TX. Restaurants are all over the States.
Website: http://www.bennigans.com/ourstory.html

Restaurant Name: Blimpie Subs and Sandwiches

I had not been to a Blimpies until I was visiting Dallas "Old City Park" with our granddaughter. They have no place to eat there, so we drove around until we found the City Deli, which looked like it was a Blimpies. They said they used to be a Blimpie, but they wanted to offer wings, and that wasn't on the approved list of things they could have. So they had the Blimpie sandwiches, but in addition they had wings.

Regular Blimpie cold subs include such items as Ham & Cheese, Roast Beef, Seafood, Tuna, and Turkey. They also have hot and grilled subs like Beef, Turkey & Cheddar, Cuban, Pastrami Special, Reuben, BLT, Grilled Chicken, Buffalo Chicken, Meatball, Steak & Onion Melt, MexiMax, VegiMax and specialty subs like New Orleans blackened chicken.

Also on the menu are salads, wraps, and soups like Chicken Soup with White & Wild Rice, Tomato Basil with Raviolini, Grande Chili with Beans & Beef, Vegetable Beef, Cream of Potato, Homestyle Chicken Noodle, Cream of Broccoli & Cheese and Garden Vegetable

When Bob and I stopped at the Physicians Office Building for lunch, we had a choice of Blimpie or a pizza. Bob got the tuna salad sub.

Favorite Dish: I had thought that Blimpies was somehow related to Wimpies (from the Popeye cartoon). But then I went to the Blimpie website, and it says:

"It all started back in 1964 in Hoboken, New Jersey . . . on Washington Street, to be exact. Tony Conza and two high school friends had $2,500 in borrowed money and a simple idea - make sandwiches the way you would at home. Choose only the finest quality meats, cheeses and toppings, and pile them high while the customer waits for a fresh, tasty, satisfying sandwich.

"All they needed was a name. They wanted to call their sandwiches something other than subs or hoagies - to set them apart from the others. So they started going through the dictionary until they came to the word "blimp." The picture looked like the generous sandwiches they wanted to make. This was their "eureka" moment and so BLIMPIE was born!"

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Theme: Fast Food
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Check the website for the locations near you
Website: http://www.blimpie.com/locator/locator.php

Restaurant Name: Bob Evans

Bob Evans, began making sausage on his southeastern Ohio farm to serve at a 12-stool diner he owned in nearby Gallipolis in 1948. Truck drivers coming through raved about the sausage and bought 10 pound tubs to take home. Bob Evans Farms went public in 1963, and in 1987 they bought Owen's Sausage. There are now 582 Bob Evans and Owens Restaurants. Owens is in TX. Bob Evans is from NY and Michigan in the north to Missouri, Iowa and Kansas in the west to South Carolina and Tennessee in the south. There are also Bob Evan's restaurants in Florida and Mississippi. Bob Evans also owns and operates 86 Mimi's Cafe Restaurants in 12 states

Typically they are open Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m

Favorite Dish: I used to think Bob Evans had pretty ordinary food, and didn't like it much. But one opened near us recently, and IMHO the menu has improved, so we eat there pretty often now. It's quiet and a bit low key.

You can get breakfast.all day (Something like Pot Roast Hash on golden-brown home fries and topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, two eggs and diced scallions with two freshly baked biscuits. Prices range from $2.39 to $7.99 and they also have crepes, waffles, French toast and pancakes.).

We ate most recently at the Bob Evans in Orange City, FL for lunch. Bob had the soup (beef vegetable) and half sandwich (BLT) with rolls for $4.99 and I had spinach salad and 2 biscuits for $5.99

They have a seniors menu for those over 55 which are also less costly.

You will get smaller portions of.
Grilled Chicken Stir-Fry

Fish & Chips
served with French fries and tartar sauce

Regular dinners may have smaller portions served with garlic bread and a garden salad. Choices include:

Sirloin Steak Tips & Noodles
Tender marinated sirloin steak tips with sauteed mushrooms and onions on a bed of wide egg noodles, smothered in thick beef gravy

Spaghetti with Meatballs
Three special recipe meatballs topped with marinara sauce

Or dinners are served with rolls and one side instead of two:

New! Slow-Roasted Turkey Breast
layered over bread & celery dressing

Open-Faced Roast Beef
Fork-tender shredded choice beef

Country-Fried Steak

Meat Loaf & Gravy
With onions and seasonings, and covered with gravy

Or in the case of chicken you get two sides with
One-Piece Grilled Chicken or One-Piece Fried Chicken

They also have children's menus of course.

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Theme: American
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: See website
Website: http://www.bobevans.com/

Restaurant Name: Boston Market

I first became aware of Boston Chicken about 10 years ago. It is a kind of a cross between a chain cafeteria and a fast food place. Shortly after I saw the first Boston Chicken, they changed their name to Boston Market.

You can eat in the restaurant, but the food is marketed for you to get a whole dinner and then take it home to eat.

There is one Boston Market that is in Crofton in a building that used to be a Roy Rogers and it has a drive-in (pictured), but most that I've seen you have to get out of your car and go in.

Favorite Dish: The last time I ate there, it was a Saturday where I had been to see my mom and I got meatloaf (which I love but very seldom get), mac and cheese (sort of gouey here), and creamed spinach (which I don't make because it is too much trouble, but reminds me very much of my mom's homemade spinach soup).

I love all the vegetables that are available here - it is hard to choose.

I got lemonade to drink.

If there is a weakness in the menu it is in the dessert end. I like my desserts. I sometimes get one of the apple side things for dessert. Otherwise all they have are cookies.

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Theme: American
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 800-365-7000
Address: 1070 Route 3 North, Gambrills, MD 21054
Directions: Most Boston Markets are in New England, with other restaurants in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Texas, Florida, California, North Carolina, the mid Atlantic and around the Great Lakes.
Website: http://www.boston-market.com/

Restaurant Name: Bubba Gump Seafood

I have never actually gotten to eat at Bubba Gump. When I suggested we meet our daughter's family there, my SIL vetoed the idea because he didn't feel their shrimp was fresh. Apparently their decor is a la the movie "Forrest Gump"

Founded in 1996, Bubba Gump has widely spaced restaurants in the US - in addition to 4 locations in California there are restaurants in Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, NY, and SC, plus some international locations. The main office is in San Clemente CA. They do not franchise in the US, but the international locations are franchises.

Their concept is for waterfront locations (except I guess in MN where they are in the Mall of the Americas, and in Colorado), and the 15 US locations serve lunch and dinner and have a retail shop plus you can order their food on-line. The menu includes shrimp, crab legs, ribs, steak, pasta and burgers. They also have a children's menu.


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Theme: Seafood
Comparison: about average

Website: http://www.bubbagump.com/html/locations.html

Restaurant Name: Burger King

In 1954, James McLamore and David Edgerton opened the first Burger King restaurant stand (Burger King of Miami) at 3090 NW 36th Street in Miami. They initially sold 18 cent broiled hamburgers and milkshakes. The Whopper, which appears in 1957, would sell for 37 cents.

When Burger King expanded, they tried to distinguish themselves by flame broiling their hamburgers and having onion rings as a side. At present (2005), they have a series of commercials where a somewhat scarey looking king statue appears to people. It's weird and probably not very successful as an ad.

My husband likes Burger King better than McDonalds. Some of them also have play rooms for the kids like McDonalds has.

Favorite Dish: Lunch for the two of us is about $9.00. They have in addition to the signature Whopper, chicken, fish, salads, and subs.

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Theme: Fast Food
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: See the website for the one nearest you
Website: http://www.burgerking.com/FindRestaurant/index.aspx

Restaurant Name: Carrabbas Italian Grille

This is apparently another chain that I hadn't heard about. The website says:

"Restaurant Size: 6,300 square feet including dining room and bar area seating approximately 246 guests. Patio areas available.

"Interior Design: Earth-toned colors and warm, welcoming decor featuring vintage and contemporary Carrabba family photographs, and memorabilia. "

They do have photos of the family all over the place.

"Exterior Design: A lush rooftop garden complete with trees, shrubs and flowering vines. "

That's kind of what I remember too.

The photo was taken from my car in a traffic jam on US Route 301. I haven't eaten at this Carrabbas - I think it is new. I don't remember seeing it before.

Favorite Dish: Dinner for the two of us with tax and tip was $36.78 I don't remember what I had. Probably pasta. This is what the website says:

"Calamari, chicken marsala, steamed mussels, homemade lasagne and pizza baked in a wood-fired oven; unique pasta with a variety of homemade sauces and fresh fish, seafood and meats cooked over a wood-fired grill. "

Pasta Specialties

Tagliarini Picchi Pacchiu
Fine pasta in a sauce of crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil - add chicken or shrimp

Mezzaluna
Delicate half moon ravioli stuffed with chicken, ricotta and spinach in a tomato cream sauce

Pasta Carrabba
Fettuccine alfredo tossed with grilled chicken, saut?ed mushrooms and peas

Rigatoni Campagnolo
Italian sausage, peppers and caprino cheese in a pomodoro sauce

Pasta Weesie
Shrimp sauted in a garlic, lemon butter, white wine sauce with saut?ed mushrooms and scallions, served over fettuccine alfredo

Scampi Damian
Shrimp sauted with garlic, white wine, herbs and lemon butter, served over linguine

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: (813) 288-8286 ext. 2106
Website: http://www.carrabbas.com/companyinfo.asp