Local Chain Restaurants

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Hard Times Cafe, the D.C.-area chili chain, for actually having tasty vegetarian chili on the menu (it has peanuts in it!) and nice cornbread.
Leonas - Chicago area "family-style" restaurant that looks like Applebees or something inside but has a huge menu JAM-PACKED with vegetarian options (unlike Applebees and TGIFridays and so on), tasty veggie burger and delicious minestrone soup.

Destroy:
That D.C.-area chain of pseudo-diners, I think maybe Silver Dollar Diner or Silver Diner or something, there's one in Clarendon, with Denny's-quality food and fucking atrocious service.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:12 (twenty years ago)

Kennedy Fried Chicken.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:16 (twenty years ago)

cmon dude, BURRITOVILLE, say it say it say it

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:18 (twenty years ago)

NICKELS!! celine dion's chain of '50s diners!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:19 (twenty years ago)

I was gonna let somebody else say it.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:19 (twenty years ago)

(which have recently pathetically tried to go all classy and shit with dark-panelled wood and stuff... i hate when restaurants get ashamed of themselves and look like every other family resto!)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago)

LeFrog muthafuckas! Superb assistant management.

― Gribowitz (Lynskey), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago)

lemongrass grill

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:22 (twenty years ago)

I was going to do this thread. Except it wasn't going to be chains.

Anyway, NYC chainlet The Barking Dog (and I don't even like dogs)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:28 (twenty years ago)

Aw, thanks porl.
For my own vote: Loch Fyne

― Matt (Matt), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:32 (twenty years ago)

CHICKEN BOX

― adam (adam), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:34 (twenty years ago)

KRAZY KEITH'S FAMILY SLAPSTEAK CHUMPBARN

― Gribowitz (Lynskey), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:35 (twenty years ago)

Oh shit we're not supposed to be making these up are we?

― Gribowitz (Lynskey), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:36 (twenty years ago)

Some descriptions would be nice.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:38 (twenty years ago)

unfortunately I can't find the whole NYT article but:

Kennedy Fried Chicken is a New York-born outfit that is owned and operated largely by Afghan immigrants, and its shops are typically found far from the well-traveled canyons of Manhattan - on Webster Avenue in the Bronx; in Flatbush; near the Queens Plaza subway station. Devotees say Kennedy serves a good bird, not too oily, not too dry. But its true notoriety comes from being a kind of second-rate imitation of the popular Kentucky Fried Chicken chain, right down to the same red and white colors and those familiar initials.

Such similarities could naturally lead Kennedy Fried Chicken to be confused with the other KFC. But not if the original KFC can help it; that company filed a lawsuit in New York federal court in 1990 for trademark infringement, and continues to pursue legal action today. Responding to a recent query, Kentucky Fried Chicken said in a statement that it was "aggressively pursuing the cessation of all confusingly similar use of the famous KFC trademarks and trade dress by Kennedy Fried Chicken."

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:41 (twenty years ago)

campos tacos in los angeles. solely because of the fact that theres about 5 locations within a 2 square mile radius of my apartment.

― bill stevens (bscrubbins), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:44 (twenty years ago)

Silver Diner is not that bad! Their shakes and burgers are both yummy (haven't tried much else there). Maybe the Clarendon one has problems.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:47 (twenty years ago)

hahaha stencil i love those fake-franchises! i noticed the "other" kfc last time i was in brooklyn

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:47 (twenty years ago)

To be fair, I've only been to Silver Diner a couple of times. I find the faux-diner aesthetic pretty lame though, because how hard is it to start an actual diner? Though it's true that DC is kinda lacking in the diner department.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:49 (twenty years ago)

you must admit there is something sorta fascinating about pseudo-diners

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:50 (twenty years ago)

taco burrito king (not quite sure how big a chain this is...)
labamba (also another burrito place)

steak & shake (horrid. i think they fry their fries in leftover hamburger grease or something...*shudder*)

― kelsey (kelstarry), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:50 (twenty years ago)

Aiight, Chicken Box is a fairly new New Orleans thing. A five-piece box of chicken is $1.98. They also sell limp fries and 2-liters of Big Shot. One's Chicken Box meal must be consumed very fast before the grease has a chance to congeal. Also it must not be consumed sober because the chicken really isn't very good. It is just far cheaper than Popeye's. (A five-piece from Popeye's must be like 7 bucks or some shit.)

Also the Silver Diner is crappy. The Tastee Diner in Silver Spring is where it's at.

― adam (adam), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:50 (twenty years ago)

The Silver Diner esthetic sucks, I agree. If they really wanted to do something in that vein, they should have gone totally absurd and have patrons sit in cars a la Pulp Fiction.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:51 (twenty years ago)

Is Steak & Shake a local chain? I thought I remembered seeing it around the country.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Steak and Shake is in a lot of places, yeah.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:55 (twenty years ago)

yeah. i just realized that. the only one i've ever seen was in kalamazoo, though.
how about costello's then? it's a local sandwich joint.
& in maine, there's o'naturals . . . they're aiming to be the first healthy fast food joint.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:55 (twenty years ago)

Costello's is Chicago local, yeah, and I used to love that place.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 14:56 (twenty years ago)

S: Ramsey's, great happy hour, owner Rob Ramsey only hires ridiculously sweet ridiculously good looking young girls for the wait staff, some really excellent things on their menu include a veggie hot brown (with wheat bread, asparagus, tomatoes, mushrooms, and banana peppers NUMMERS), monstrous pancakes, and some of the best friend green tomatoes ever.

D: Jozo's Bayou Gumbo. It's only in the DESTROY category because ALL locations have gone out of business. Otherwise it would definitely be a SEARCH. They served up ginormous portions of feaux Cajun quisine for amazingly budget-friendly prices. Their etoufeh (I probably misspelled that atrociously) was actually top notch. The second Tuesday of every month, also, they would cook up CRAWFISH and serve thems and OH MY GOD.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 3 September 2004 15:58 (twenty years ago)

that's not related to Ramsey's in Louisville is it? Or am I getting the name wrong?

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 15:59 (twenty years ago)

golden krust, yo

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 September 2004 16:04 (twenty years ago)

Gray's Papaya!

― Jimmy Mod, Man About Towne (ModJ), Friday, 3 September 2004 16:12 (twenty years ago)

The one in Louisville is called Ramsis, and is seriously one of my favoritest restaurants ever.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 3 September 2004 16:16 (twenty years ago)

But yeah, they're totally unrelated.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 3 September 2004 16:16 (twenty years ago)

yeah Ramsis is rad.

Tiki Barber endorses Golden Krust.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 16:17 (twenty years ago)

FIVE GUYS FAMOUS BURGERS & FRIES

― comme personne (common_person), Friday, 3 September 2004 16:19 (twenty years ago)

SASSY'S SLIDERS

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 September 2004 17:14 (twenty years ago)

there's a kennedy fried chicken on 14th st. between a and b, next to what used to be barmacy (late 90s lauren's second home). my friends and i used to get gigantic orders of french fries at 5am, which were always regretted the day after.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 3 September 2004 17:18 (twenty years ago)

Taco Time

― sexyDancer, Friday, 3 September 2004 17:21 (twenty years ago)

DELL'S LEMONADE

― gainfully employed (ex machina), Friday, 3 September 2004 17:22 (twenty years ago)

there's a kennedy fried chicken across from the jay st/borough hall station. there's a white castle down the street too!

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 September 2004 17:23 (twenty years ago)

NO ONE has mentioned Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles yet? OK, I will

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:41 (twenty years ago)

Some SoCal faves...

Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles
Tommy's
Sam Woo
Inn-N-Out Burger
King Taco
Wahoo's Fish Tacos

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:43 (twenty years ago)

i think the only thing that qualifies in the tc's is Big Mike's Super Subs, which are pretty super.

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:49 (twenty years ago)

Barney's Gourmet Hamburgers

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:50 (twenty years ago)

DUDE. CHICKEN BOX...ready?...CHICKEN BOX is home of the 1000 piece!!!

Seriously, I drove by one of their signs that had prices for 10, 25, 100, 300, and ONE THOUSAND PIECE chicken meals. I'm going to get married in N.O. and have them do the catering.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:53 (twenty years ago)

Also, Big Mike's Super Sub's and Jimmy John's ensure that a good sub will always be at hand, but I still prefer the subs and my favorite local chain, Chocolate Factory.

― Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:53 (twenty years ago)

Elvis, what is the name of that burger joint in Pasadena that serves the huge portions of fires and such? I think that it has a four letter name. XXXX's or something. Hrmm...

― dean? (deangulberry), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:54 (twenty years ago)

"fires" = "fries"

HUGE PORTIONS OF FIRES

Wait ... is it Top's?

― dean? (deangulberry), Friday, 3 September 2004 19:59 (twenty years ago)

Teaism
Sarabeth's

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:09 (twenty years ago)

Wait ... is it Top's?

Yes it is. Ooh, I forgot to mention it on the Pasadena thread.

Also search out The Hat - the original location at Garvey & Valley specifically.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:10 (twenty years ago)

IN SF:

BARNEY'S (see spencer's mention)
PASTA POMODORO
MEL'S DINER
NATIONS

A BUNCH MORE I CAN'T REMEMBER

DON'T YOU EVER FORGET BOB'S BIG BOY YOU LA DUDEZ

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:12 (twenty years ago)

Leona's is, in fact, what we call "the bomb". And they deliver!

Most of the time I say S: Portillo's, but I've had bad experiences there and in the last 10 years or so, as they've expanded, their quality has taken a nosedive. Still pretty damn good though. Beefs, hot dogs, over-looked cheap burgers, even the salads are good.

Oh, and obviously S: basically all the pizza chains, Giordano's, Nancy's, Home Run Inn, etc

― oops (Oops), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:12 (twenty years ago)

DON'T YOU EVER FORGET BOB'S BIG BOY YOU LA DUDEZ

Haven't forgotten, but there are Bob's out in NC and IL, so technically it isn't really a "local" chain.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:18 (twenty years ago)

another essential L.A one : Zankou Chicken !

― Brad Laner (Brad Laner), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:19 (twenty years ago)

search that, i meant to mention

― Brad Laner (Brad Laner), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:19 (twenty years ago)

another essential L.A one : Zankou Chicken !

*hits head* DOH!

Brad absolutely 100% OTMFM

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:20 (twenty years ago)

Silver Diner, destroy, OTM; especially given the option of patronizing the best D.C. chain, TASTEE DINER. Tastee Diner hamburger sub = late nite Bethesda good good goodness.

― Guayaquil, Friday, 3 September 2004 20:26 (twenty years ago)

my neighborhood has a Kennedy's knock-off, Crown Fried Chicken.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:29 (twenty years ago)

Anna's Taqueria pwns.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:32 (twenty years ago)

Damn. This thread is making me want to go to Zankou tonight.

― dean? (deangulberry), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:33 (twenty years ago)

ASTRO BURGER HAS THE BEST ONION RINGS

two of em located in L.A.

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 3 September 2004 20:36 (twenty years ago)

Haven't forgotten, but there are Bob's out in NC and IL, so technically it isn't really a "local" chain.

There are actually quite a few Big Boy franchises, but they're not all Bob's Big Boys -- individual franchisees were allowed to give the restaurant their own name. So, for instance, in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, you'll find Frisch's Big Boy.

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 3 September 2004 21:18 (twenty years ago)

Search: Jim's Restaurants (great diner -- like a much better Denny's), Fred's Fish Fry (really good fried fish -- less greasy than LJS and most of their chains are really clean)
Destroy: Church's Chicken (yes, they've expanded beyond SATX, but please, on behalf of all of us here, accept my apologies for foisting that upon you guys)

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Friday, 3 September 2004 21:46 (twenty years ago)

Search: Juicy Lucy's and their great seasoned fries. (But not so much now that they no longer serve real Southern sweet tea or season their meat patties.)

Destroy: I've heard bad things about Mel's Diner, but I've never gone there.

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Friday, 3 September 2004 23:19 (twenty years ago)

M+M Soul Food in LA.

And has anyone cracked the secret of Zankou's garlic paste?

― nickn (nickn), Saturday, 4 September 2004 03:55 (twenty years ago)

And has anyone cracked the secret of Zankou's garlic paste?

Many have tried... There's several permanent threads on Chowhound about Zankou's garlic paste and no one has had much success.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Saturday, 4 September 2004 04:52 (twenty years ago)

Mel's Diner was decent enough, but I don't see what all the fuss is about.

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 4 September 2004 05:45 (twenty years ago)

I went to a Lebanese place in Glendale recently (Mandaloun) and they had something very similar to Zankou's.

― nickn (nickn), Saturday, 4 September 2004 05:46 (twenty years ago)

Harold's Chicken and Fish in Chicago. All five hundered of them or so.

Also wtf is wrong with Church's? They have my fav. chicken ever, and so cheap for a box of ten or so pcs.

Boston has Anna's Burritos which are solid for the east coast and reassuringly consistent. Dunno if there's anything else in the way of local chains -- there's v.v. little in general between burger king and real sit down & eat for nice money places in lots of parts of town here in general. There's some Pho chain I think, but A) its fancy and B) it sux.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Saturday, 4 September 2004 06:29 (twenty years ago)

Is Suparossa's national? That place sucks the big one.

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 4 September 2004 06:32 (twenty years ago)

i read something about how there was some kind of family dispute the result of which different harold's chicken and fish branches were owned by different people, so it's no longer much of a chain.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 4 September 2004 15:39 (twenty years ago)

Zankou's Chicken? *makes mental note*

Hey Elvis, we've got two great local OC minichains, now I think about it -- the glory that is Taco Mesa and the also mighty fine Inka Grill.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 4 September 2004 15:46 (twenty years ago)

god i'm so hungry

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 4 September 2004 15:53 (twenty years ago)

hey everyone: is pig n whistle a chain or just a common name for a restaurant?

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 4 September 2004 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Anthony's Pizza. I'm sure there's pizza places everywhere named Anthony's, so to be specific the local chain of them in Denver. Pure NY style thin crusted goodness.

― David Beckhouse (David Beckhouse), Saturday, 4 September 2004 18:15 (twenty years ago)

Hey Ned, my friend related some recent Zankou Chicken-related intrigue involving the Armenian underworld that raised the hairs on my neck. Watch your back!

Destroy: Spire's, a pale shadow of Denny's, no less. I think it's tailored to seniors so they lock away the seasonings for special occasions

― tremendoid, Saturday, 4 September 2004 20:29 (twenty years ago)

the only "local chain" we have is Garcia's Mexican Restaurant (3 locations). it's SO good. and unlike the big chain places, the food varies in exact preparation and quality, which is not always good but makes it feel more like "real food".

― Maria (Maria), Saturday, 4 September 2004 22:09 (twenty years ago)

I just discovered that Benfaremo, the Lemon Ice King of Corona, is a chain of sorts. Apparently, there's an ice booth hidden in Penn Station.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 5 September 2004 02:02 (twenty years ago)

search: green cactus, a long island baja fresh rip-off chain. their salsa is so yummy. i am also a fan of hale and hearty soups, burritoville (hey, it gets the job done, and delivers late), better burger, and two boots (they count, no? i mean, they have an outpost in the grand central food court).

destroy: DUE AMICI. ugh. their pizza and pasta is so, so freaking nasty, and like who puts grated mozzerella cheese in salads and tries to pass it off as 'fresh' mozzerella? boooo.

also, gabbneb, benfaremo sells its ices to places all over the tri-state area. when i was a la guns-listening 10th grader, i slung the lemon ice king's wares at the bakery where i worked. mm, chocolate ice.

― maura (maura), Sunday, 5 September 2004 02:36 (twenty years ago)

Also wtf is wrong with Church's? They have my fav. chicken ever, and so cheap for a box of ten or so pcs.

You don't think it's too greasy... ? Because I thought it was. In fact, I can't eat any of the chicken from Church's because it always affects me negatively, due to the grease levels. I do love their honey butter biscuits, though. I can live with getting a meal of their fries and honey butter biscuits.

(Maybe it's just the ones locally that seem to bathe the chicken in a sea of grease.)

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Sunday, 5 September 2004 02:45 (twenty years ago)

I'm still heartbroken about the demise of Georgie Pie. When I was a teenage trolleyboy in RotoVegas, there was one right by our supermarket, & I'd get DOLLAR PIE - they did a delish chicken & vegetable pie, bafflingly square-shaped.

― etc, Sunday, 5 September 2004 03:46 (twenty years ago)

I never got to have any Georgie Pies :-( The dollar pie is my holy grail...

― rainy (rainy), Sunday, 5 September 2004 03:49 (twenty years ago)

the grease is what makes church's great.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Sunday, 5 September 2004 03:55 (twenty years ago)

In the Washington area search:
Kantouri Fried Chicken (for the name if nothing else)
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Burrito Brothers
Armand's Pizza (Deep dish baby. NY pizza purists can just...eat a burnt cracker.)
El Tamarindo/Casa Fiesta/Santa Rosa (not officially a chain, but owned by members of the same family. N.B.: These restaurants are run by and for members of the Salvadorean community; while there are affiliations with Mexican cuisine there are also differences.)

Destroy:
Jerry's Subs and Pizza
Manny and Olga's Pizza (the pizza and subs are meh, but they used to do a good broiled chicken. So of course they eliminated the chicken.)
And I totally agree with those people who are against the Silver Diner chain.

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 21:55 (twenty years ago)

"Kantouri Fried Chicken"

is this like a bengali fried chicken joint or something?

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 5 September 2004 22:01 (twenty years ago)

I've never actually gone to a Kantouri FC, but I believe they are supposed to be halal chicken and sub joints.

― j.lu (j.lu), Sunday, 5 September 2004 22:06 (twenty years ago)

Hey Ned, my friend related some recent Zankou Chicken-related intrigue involving the Armenian underworld that raised the hairs on my neck. Watch your back!

I will bring protection. I will also note that I took classes from Richard Hovannisian at UCLA, which holds a lot of cachet among some (not all).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 5 September 2004 22:23 (twenty years ago)

Burrito Brothers
Armand's Pizza (Deep dish baby. NY pizza purists can just...eat a burnt cracker.)
El Tamarindo/Casa Fiesta/Santa Rosa (not officially a chain, but owned by members of the same family. N.B.: These restaurants are run by and for members of the Salvadorean community; while there are affiliations with Mexican cuisine there are also differences.)

-- j.lu (jlut...), September 5th, 2004. (j.lu)

all 3 of these OTM

― joseph pot (STINKOR™), Sunday, 5 September 2004 22:53 (twenty years ago)

I was going to vote fer a few, but this thread seems rather US-centric ;/

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 6 September 2004 00:08 (twenty years ago)

(Having said that - NANDOS, FUXXORS)

― Trayce (trayce), Monday, 6 September 2004 00:10 (twenty years ago)

I don't know how "regional" is it, since it's all over California and Texas and the southwestern US, but I really miss Jack in the Box.

― Harold Media (kenan), Monday, 6 September 2004 02:23 (twenty years ago)

Jack in the Box also has the best commercials since Senor Naugles

worst ads for fast food - Del Taco, extremely unfunny

― tremendoid, Monday, 6 September 2004 02:41 (twenty years ago)

Jack in the Box is AWESOME!! The Jumbo Jack used to be the best value menu item ever around, but even though they've stopped listing it in the value menu, it's still a good deal. I like to get a Jumbo Jack and a small shake for a "light" (i.e. not terribly overfilling) dinner sometimes.

Mom and I have a running in-joke surrounding the "chipotle" commercial that's too bizarre to get into right now.

the grease is what makes church's great.

You think so? Hm. Different strokes, all that, but... ick. I think I'll have to try it again while carrying around a bottle of Pepto-Bismol with me, though.

Some more local picks:

Search: BILL MILLER'S! Now THEIR fried chicken I LOVE. Really flavorful, not greasy, crunchy, comes with the condiment bar if you eat in (so you can have pickle wedges and pumpernickel bread with the fried chick), also has pretty good barbecue, potato salad, and beans. Also Grady's, which serves a much better barbecue (and sides) but also has really good sandwiches.

Destroy: Any one of the millions of Taqueria Jalisco places. PLEASE DEAR GOD DO NOT LET ANOTHER ONE OF THESE OPEN ANYWHERE EVER AGAIN! They totally co-opted a decent Italian restaurant in my neighborhood, which is made all the more distressing by the fact that THEIRS IS THE WORST TEX-MEX EVER. Really, seriously -- take every negative stereotype about that whole type of food and wrap them all up and you've got what the Taqueria Jalisco places are all about.

(Tep, if he's still around these parts, might be better able to explain Chacho's.)

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Monday, 6 September 2004 02:59 (twenty years ago)

Trayce, please, out with your local delights and dismays! The U.S. can't be the only place out there with great and dismal local chain restaurants, so go right ahead and share yours!

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Monday, 6 September 2004 03:04 (twenty years ago)

worst ads for fast food - Del Taco, extremely unfunny

When I was a kid in Beaumont Texas there was this place called "Crazy Jose's" whose logo was this kerrrrr-AZY Mexican! Ho ho! And the ads were all this little Jose dude doing a Cheech Marin impression! So crazy!

It's like if you had a restaurant called "Wacky Chan's," and its mascot was this guy:
http://www.lostandfrowned.com/rooneytiffany.gif

― Harold Media (kenan), Monday, 6 September 2004 03:11 (twenty years ago)

Looks like they cahnged their logo, at least. Now it's this smiling sunshine guy.

http://www.poolenet.com/images/Memeorial/The%20NYFD%20Farewell%20&%20Party/IMG27.JPG

Ah, the south.

― Harold Media (kenan), Monday, 6 September 2004 03:15 (twenty years ago)

Ann Sathers

― kelsey (kelstarry), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 18:59 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah. Something about Ann Sathers makes me feel vaguely gross, maybe just the massive helpings. But the cinnamon rolls are tasty.

― n/a (Nick A.), Tuesday, 14 September 2004 19:02 (twenty years ago)

I forget that they sell stuff other than cinni rolls.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 05:09 (twenty years ago)

SASSY'S SLIDERS

This is so right. At least once every week or two, my wife and I will be talking about what to do for dinner, and one of us will say, "Sassy's Sliders?" and the other one's eyes will light up.

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 05:35 (twenty years ago)

The Ice King of Corona slays the ubiquitious Uncle Louie G's, but there must be dozens of the latter's franchises in NYC. And Luigi himself putters around town in his yellow H2.

Uncle Louie G stores seem to have totally unconnected other lines of business. Someone told me he went in for an ice at a Louie G's in downtown Brooklyn and found it was also a mobile phone store.

― Dickerson Pike (Dickerson Pike), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 06:05 (twenty years ago)

FATBURGER!

― ex-jeremy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 06:07 (twenty years ago)

and MOTHERFUCKING ASPBERGER, err, Astroburger.

― ex-jeremy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 15 September 2004 06:07 (twenty years ago)

I haven't been to LA in years, but i used to worship Senor Fish. Are they still around?
In western Mass., we love Friendly's, which serves the Friendly Fribble - their signature milkshake.
The fish sandwich at Friendly's is called a "Fishamajig".Both fun - and embarrasing - to say.

― aimurchie, Wednesday, 15 September 2004 08:49 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

Senor Fish is still around, pretty good for a "chain". That's funny, I know someone who used to live in Western Mass and now lives very close to a Senor FIsh

― is breads of india still tite (admrl), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:01 (fourteen years ago)

Can any Angelenos speak to Tommy's? The one in Eagle Rock is always busy

― is breads of india still tite (admrl), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:02 (fourteen years ago)

I haven't eaten at one in a very long time and don't really crave it.

LA/SoCal has some awesome newer local chains:

Tender Greens
Veggie Grill

and not so new:
Fish Grill
California Chicken Cafe
KooKooRoo

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:22 (fourteen years ago)

scratch, KooKooRoo, I was thinking Zankou!

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:23 (fourteen years ago)

I like Zankou!

― is breads of india still tite (admrl), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:25 (fourteen years ago)

Senor Fish has this amazing fried scallop burrito!

― Spencer Chow, Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:30 (fourteen years ago)

I'll try that, into scallops right now

― is breads of india still tite (admrl), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:33 (fourteen years ago)

tommy's is a viable option if it's like 3am and you're out of your gourd. otherwise...

― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:37 (fourteen years ago)

they got good fries. went to that eagle rock tommy's alot as a kid (on the way to montgomery ward! got my first bike there fyi) dont think i was ever in love w/ the chili burgers, nowadays figuring out which tommy's is original is too daunting

― tremendoid, Friday, 16 July 2010 06:09 (fourteen years ago)

coolest drive thru i know of tho

― tremendoid, Friday, 16 July 2010 06:10 (fourteen years ago)

tommy's is kinda like top's, there's a vague sense of 'history' there but it boils down to the food not being all that great

― tremendoid, Friday, 16 July 2010 06:11 (fourteen years ago)

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Local Chain Restaurants - S/D