Portions play a factor, as does the “comfort-level” of the restaurant, which is grouped in the ambience category. Being crammed tightly into a space or learning that the gentleman next to you had a prostate exam that day would tend to lower this score. Lastly, the diversity of the dining patrons will be evaluated. In fairness, restaurants cannot control completely the diverse nature of its clientele. However, let’s face it, we are often more likely to dine at a place in an environment befitting our cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Thus, this criteria will be evaluated as well. Additionally, I will note if there are vegetarian options and also whether choices are available for the lactose intolerant.
PLANES, CHAINS, AND AUTOMOBILES
OK, so you’re on a vacation or a business trip, and it’s time to eat out, but you know absolutely ZERO about the city you’re in, much less what restaurants are the “perceived” crème de la crème and which ones are actually good. Now, if you’re like me, you’re surfing on line and seeing what restaurants get the best publicity, and then you make a decision.
However, if you’re on a business trip with multiple people, invariably there’s usually some unadventurous person in your group, who will only want to eat at recognizable chains. So what do you do if it’s a chain someone craves, but you don’t want to wind up at a fast food joint?
This review’s got you covered! From high end dining to some hearty well-known staples, you should be able to get through your business trip with good eating, as well as meet the demands of that aforementioned stick in the mud who won’t try anything outside the norm. BORING!
Let’s start with mid-level chain dining and work our way up, shall we? So someone in your group wants steak but they want “won’t break your budget” type stuff. Perennial favorites Outback and Longhorn offer USDA Choice cuts of beef. This type of beef, while not as high quality as USDA Prime, still has sufficient marbling for taste and tenderness. It’s also less expensive than Prime. These chains also come with salads and choice of potato, and since most entrees are about $15-$20, you can get filled without breaking the bank or the company’s money. One note about Longhorn---they have excellent salmon!! Believe it or not, it’s some of the best I’ve ever tasted as they prepare it in a special Bourbon marinade that is outstanding. So if you’re not necessarily in the mood for a steak like the rest of your business compadres, this is an estimable choice.
If the call is for Mexican food, check and see if there is an On The Border in the area. That’s usually a safe choice. If you have business folks in Atlanta from out of town who desire cheap Mexican, a local chain, La Parrilla, would be my choice. Lots of great choices for just about everybody, including an excellent chicken dish with bell peppers and onions that is served on a sizzling skillet. Not only is it a great value for the frugal at $11 and change, but they might have to roll you out of there if you eat it all. I can by the way! As I mentioned, prices at La Parrilla are surprisingly low so you can eat a lot and still have money left over for some of those margaritas!
Let’s say your group doesn’t want steak or Mexican, and they eschew the Atkins Diet by desiring Italian. If the city you’re in has a Maggiano’s, I can’t think of a more popular choice. Even dining snobs, who might note that Maggiano’s isn’t a TRUE Italian restaurant, will still find it marginally acceptable to go there. And again, if you’re with business associates, getting the family style dinner for about $20 is a great value. Multiple choices for appetizers, salads, pastas, other chicken/fish entrees, and a dessert for the cost of one President Andrew Jackson is a “solid cost reduction strategy” for your company outings. Maggiano’s is a top-notch “value add proposition”!!!!
A little less expensive but tasty as well, would be Carrabbas. It’s under the Outback umbrella, and while it may feel a little less authentic than even Maggiano’s, it’s one of my favorite chains. The Pollo Rosa Maria---grilled chicken stuffed with fontina cheese and prosciutto and topped with mushrooms in a basil lemon butter sauce—is quite yummy and one of my favorites. The Chicken Bryan---grilled chicken breast with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes also in a lemon butter sauce---is a saporous gut filler.
Other mid-level dining possibilities include the seafood chain, McCormick and Schmick’s. I actually took my parents there on Christmas day, because it was one of the few places in metro Atlanta that was open, and they loved it. Oysters, shrimp, a plethora of fish options prepared just about any way you’d like under the sun, and even steak and chicken options as well, make this place a good choice for on the road dining. Ditto for Landry’s Seafood House, another meritorious selection, whose menu is also laden with a cornucopia of all sorts of exceptional seafood platters.
OK, so either the boss is feeling generous on this business trip, or better yet, the boss isn’t with you, and since you just brought on an additional $800K in revenue growth from your client, you know the hefty dinner charges on your expense report this go round will be overlooked. Where do you go? Remember, you’ve still got that one party pooper, who wants to go the safe route.
For USDA Prime, see if you can find a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse or Fleming’s. Folks, one time I actually had someone tell me they liked Outback better than Ruth’s Chris and noted, “The steak is better at Outback.” If someone ever tells you that, smack them, and you get my permission (though I’m not normally a fan of this) to act like a haughty ass. Plain and simple, that’s just wrong. Outback’s steaks, as I alluded to earlier, are USDA Choice. Ruth’s Chris serves only USDA Prime, which is a grade designation of only about 3% of the beef in this country. Thus, it’s the best of the best, and that’s also why you’re paying over $30 just for the steak by itself. Unless the chef at Ruth’s Chris was on crystal meth that night when he cooked your steak, it’s DEFINITELY not going to taste inferior to an Outback or Longhorn variety.
Speaking of Ruth’s Chris, anything served in sizzling butter can’t be all bad, can it? That’s just how the filet I ordered recently arrives at your table. My favorite part of the dish arriving is when the server acts like he or she is making a salient point by saying, “This plate is very hot.” Really? And here I thought maybe that sizzling on the plate was really just Rice Krispies crackling at me in cold milk. In all seriousness, this steak is divine. It’s some of the best I’ve ever had, and if you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that, while I’m not a connoisseur of many things, I definitely am when it comes to steak. Trust me!
If someone in your group doesn’t want steak, the stuffed chicken at Ruth’s Chris is a hearty, palate-pleasing entrée that will leave you as stuffed as the chicken! And save some room from dessert, folks, because the apple tart (a luscious soft tart baked w/ apples and drizzled w/ caramel sauce and adorned with a dollop of vanilla ice cream) is my favorite dessert in all of the world. No joke!
If steak is the call and no Ruth’s Chris, I mentioned Fleming’s. I’ve heard several naysayers on this place, but I quite enjoyed my visit there. USDA Prime is the name of the game, like Ruth’s Chris, but sans the sizzling butter. Copious sides, enough for sharing, come as well, including the creamed spinach, which is my favorite. Price wise, you’ll be teetering in the neighborhood of over $30 just for the steak, as you would at Ruth’s Chris.
For ambience, you really can’t go wrong with either of those steakhouses. They give you enough space to have a cozy dinner without everyone listening in on your conversation.
This should get you started with chain dining anyway. Obviously, what’s the fun in going to a new city if you can’t dine at a place unique to the town? But if you have that pesky fuddy-duddy in your group who simply won’t budge from a chain, this review should give you some options. Bon appetite!
However, if you’re on a business trip with multiple people, invariably there’s usually some unadventurous person in your group, who will only want to eat at recognizable chains. So what do you do if it’s a chain someone craves, but you don’t want to wind up at a fast food joint?
This review’s got you covered! From high end dining to some hearty well-known staples, you should be able to get through your business trip with good eating, as well as meet the demands of that aforementioned stick in the mud who won’t try anything outside the norm. BORING!
Let’s start with mid-level chain dining and work our way up, shall we? So someone in your group wants steak but they want “won’t break your budget” type stuff. Perennial favorites Outback and Longhorn offer USDA Choice cuts of beef. This type of beef, while not as high quality as USDA Prime, still has sufficient marbling for taste and tenderness. It’s also less expensive than Prime. These chains also come with salads and choice of potato, and since most entrees are about $15-$20, you can get filled without breaking the bank or the company’s money. One note about Longhorn---they have excellent salmon!! Believe it or not, it’s some of the best I’ve ever tasted as they prepare it in a special Bourbon marinade that is outstanding. So if you’re not necessarily in the mood for a steak like the rest of your business compadres, this is an estimable choice.
If the call is for Mexican food, check and see if there is an On The Border in the area. That’s usually a safe choice. If you have business folks in Atlanta from out of town who desire cheap Mexican, a local chain, La Parrilla, would be my choice. Lots of great choices for just about everybody, including an excellent chicken dish with bell peppers and onions that is served on a sizzling skillet. Not only is it a great value for the frugal at $11 and change, but they might have to roll you out of there if you eat it all. I can by the way! As I mentioned, prices at La Parrilla are surprisingly low so you can eat a lot and still have money left over for some of those margaritas!
Let’s say your group doesn’t want steak or Mexican, and they eschew the Atkins Diet by desiring Italian. If the city you’re in has a Maggiano’s, I can’t think of a more popular choice. Even dining snobs, who might note that Maggiano’s isn’t a TRUE Italian restaurant, will still find it marginally acceptable to go there. And again, if you’re with business associates, getting the family style dinner for about $20 is a great value. Multiple choices for appetizers, salads, pastas, other chicken/fish entrees, and a dessert for the cost of one President Andrew Jackson is a “solid cost reduction strategy” for your company outings. Maggiano’s is a top-notch “value add proposition”!!!!
A little less expensive but tasty as well, would be Carrabbas. It’s under the Outback umbrella, and while it may feel a little less authentic than even Maggiano’s, it’s one of my favorite chains. The Pollo Rosa Maria---grilled chicken stuffed with fontina cheese and prosciutto and topped with mushrooms in a basil lemon butter sauce—is quite yummy and one of my favorites. The Chicken Bryan---grilled chicken breast with goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes also in a lemon butter sauce---is a saporous gut filler.
Other mid-level dining possibilities include the seafood chain, McCormick and Schmick’s. I actually took my parents there on Christmas day, because it was one of the few places in metro Atlanta that was open, and they loved it. Oysters, shrimp, a plethora of fish options prepared just about any way you’d like under the sun, and even steak and chicken options as well, make this place a good choice for on the road dining. Ditto for Landry’s Seafood House, another meritorious selection, whose menu is also laden with a cornucopia of all sorts of exceptional seafood platters.
OK, so either the boss is feeling generous on this business trip, or better yet, the boss isn’t with you, and since you just brought on an additional $800K in revenue growth from your client, you know the hefty dinner charges on your expense report this go round will be overlooked. Where do you go? Remember, you’ve still got that one party pooper, who wants to go the safe route.
For USDA Prime, see if you can find a Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse or Fleming’s. Folks, one time I actually had someone tell me they liked Outback better than Ruth’s Chris and noted, “The steak is better at Outback.” If someone ever tells you that, smack them, and you get my permission (though I’m not normally a fan of this) to act like a haughty ass. Plain and simple, that’s just wrong. Outback’s steaks, as I alluded to earlier, are USDA Choice. Ruth’s Chris serves only USDA Prime, which is a grade designation of only about 3% of the beef in this country. Thus, it’s the best of the best, and that’s also why you’re paying over $30 just for the steak by itself. Unless the chef at Ruth’s Chris was on crystal meth that night when he cooked your steak, it’s DEFINITELY not going to taste inferior to an Outback or Longhorn variety.
Speaking of Ruth’s Chris, anything served in sizzling butter can’t be all bad, can it? That’s just how the filet I ordered recently arrives at your table. My favorite part of the dish arriving is when the server acts like he or she is making a salient point by saying, “This plate is very hot.” Really? And here I thought maybe that sizzling on the plate was really just Rice Krispies crackling at me in cold milk. In all seriousness, this steak is divine. It’s some of the best I’ve ever had, and if you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that, while I’m not a connoisseur of many things, I definitely am when it comes to steak. Trust me!
If someone in your group doesn’t want steak, the stuffed chicken at Ruth’s Chris is a hearty, palate-pleasing entrée that will leave you as stuffed as the chicken! And save some room from dessert, folks, because the apple tart (a luscious soft tart baked w/ apples and drizzled w/ caramel sauce and adorned with a dollop of vanilla ice cream) is my favorite dessert in all of the world. No joke!
If steak is the call and no Ruth’s Chris, I mentioned Fleming’s. I’ve heard several naysayers on this place, but I quite enjoyed my visit there. USDA Prime is the name of the game, like Ruth’s Chris, but sans the sizzling butter. Copious sides, enough for sharing, come as well, including the creamed spinach, which is my favorite. Price wise, you’ll be teetering in the neighborhood of over $30 just for the steak, as you would at Ruth’s Chris.
For ambience, you really can’t go wrong with either of those steakhouses. They give you enough space to have a cozy dinner without everyone listening in on your conversation.
This should get you started with chain dining anyway. Obviously, what’s the fun in going to a new city if you can’t dine at a place unique to the town? But if you have that pesky fuddy-duddy in your group who simply won’t budge from a chain, this review should give you some options. Bon appetite!
posted by Thomas | 4:38 PM
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