[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I've been to East Side Mario's a couple of times and it's mediocre at best. It's a stretch to call that food Italian. It's a take on New York's take on Italian food. I've gotten much better food at Chianti's for less than what East Side is selling their food for. Although Chianti's seems to be going down hill as well.

Chianti's really is variable depending on the location.. the one on 17th seems to be the worst, while the Crowfoot and Willow Park ones have been decent... but yeah, its generally a little below par... despite being better than ESM, Olive Garden and "the Factory"

I find that most chain restaurants cheap out with their food and make far too much use of their freezers. They are going the way of fast food chains, where every restaurant everything is the exact same. It's a good way to get cheap food, but a terrible way to serve good food. The only exceptions I think are Earls and Joey's. I can't say I have had a bad meal there, some have been average, but most are better than what you would get at the other chains (read: East Side, Tony Romas, White Spot, etc. and to some extent Moxies). Moxies is getting better, but they are charging in the same ball park as Earls and Joey's and their food isn't in that same ball park. Having a nice looking restaurant inside and out doesn't mean you can charge more for your mediocre food. Take notice Moxies and Milestones.

Milestones is the worst for that. Moxies, Joey's and Earls to me are essentially the same, which isn't a bad thing. They are definitely the best of the chains.

A good rule of thumb for eating out is if the menu's have pictures of their food on them, expect a mediocre meal.

Am I the only one who thought Denny's when you said that?

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