Don’t forget the charming episode where Cracker Barrel corporate ordered the restaurants to fire employees who did not embody “normal heterosexual family values.” 1991 may be ancient history to some folks, but not to me.

Underrated and Applebees. two words that have never been used in the same sentence before...

Can confirm. Am a chump with my name on the wall. Am proud of it.

I think the difference is that Carrabba’s takes itself way too fucking seriously, whereas Macaroni Grill is more laid back. I mean, they give everyone crayons to draw on the table paper. You know you’re going to have a good time when you see them hand one to you.

Ok, Carrabba’s and Macaroni Grill are basically the same fucking thing, and they’re separated by 11 spots. Also, you should all be North Korea level sanctioned for that Cracker Barrel ranking.

We call it “Old Chicago Land Pizza Beer World”. I know people who are proud to have their names etched on the “I’ve Drunk Every Beer in This Dump” brass plaques in the entryway.

The only thing I can figure, is that they’ve never been to the South and think cracker barrel is an accurate representation of Southern comfort food. But! Cracker barrel’s food is consistent across locations, which is more than can be said for many of these chains.

Man, does anyone remember the Ground Round? That was my favorite place on Earth as a kid. I could play arcade games in the lobby, eat chicken wings, watch silent Chaplin movies, get a slider sundae... That place was the best.

Yeah, I demand an explanation for the Barrel’s high ranking. YOU CAN’T EVEN DRINK THERE.

How was the service when you were hit by a car? Were you seated quickly?

I can’t even get a fucking beer at Cracker Barrel, and their old-timey gift store is shitty and overpriced. So straight to the bottom it goes.

1) CPK should be higher.
2) Cracker Barrel should be way lower.
3) Low as they already are, Applebee’s and Tony Roma’s should not be so comfortably out of the bottom tier. I assume the 30+ rankings include a number of null votes?

True story. My brother and I (Asians) went to a Cracker Barrel and were seated the same time as two preppy white fellows. Our server was black. Not only did we get our food first, we finished our food before theirs even arrived. Thanks Sam!

You would have had to create a separate entry for the IHOP that was in Center City Philadelphia.

You guys. Everyone! Listen to the Doughboys podcast for a comprehensive overview of fast food, fast casual, and chain restaurants.

One of my kids is just a fanatic for Red Robin. They’re fine, I guess, for this dining category, but for a place that bills itself as having “gourmet burgers” their burgers are pretty unremarkable. You get better burgers at pretty much any dive bar-and-grill you might happen to wander into. They’re not bad, but if it…

Solid list, I can tell Marchman wasn’t involved.

To answer the questions below, Greg was awarded a David Carr fellowship at the New York Times: http://gawker.com/congrats-greg-…

i haven’t even eaten at most of the places, but the fact that Applebees is anywhere other than at the very bottom makes this entire list suspect.

In Colorado, Old Chicago is a chain and I would vote it to be a solid 6.0.