We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above average
for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer and it
was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that night.

Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of lightly
batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino is
really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be eating
jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are just to
good alone. We will go back for them again.

The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price. Of
all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.

Dale P

In article > ,
"Dale P" > wrote:

> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above average
> for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer and it
> was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that night.
>
> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of lightly
> batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino is
> really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be eating
> jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are just to
> good alone. We will go back for them again.
>
> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price. Of
> all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
>
> Dale P

I recently went to our local Chilis too and it was surprisingly good. I
suspect they have made an effort to improve the menu to attract a wider
audience. Jalapeno's however, are not my cup of tea.<g>
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

Dale P wrote:
> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above
> average for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this
> summer and it was awful. There was not much else open in a small
> town late that night.
>
> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of
> lightly batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The
> fried jalapino is really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as
> to not just be eating jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not
> necessary, as they are just to good alone. We will go back for them
> again.
>
> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable
> price. Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to
> now and then.

Someone gave me a gift certificate to Chili's, a place I never planned
to visit again after a totally forgettable meal years ago. Admittedly
this was a different location, but I have to say, I was really happy
with my meal, no complaints whatsoever. I have gone back a couple
of times. Steak fajitas are my favorite. I'll check out the appetizer
next time.

nancy

In article >,
"Nancy Young" > wrote:

> Dale P wrote:
> > We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above
> > average for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this
> > summer and it was awful. There was not much else open in a small
> > town late that night.
> >
> > Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of
> > lightly batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The
> > fried jalapino is really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as
> > to not just be eating jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not
> > necessary, as they are just to good alone. We will go back for them
> > again.
> >
> > The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable
> > price. Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to
> > now and then.
>
> Someone gave me a gift certificate to Chili's, a place I never planned
> to visit again after a totally forgettable meal years ago. Admittedly
> this was a different location, but I have to say, I was really happy
> with my meal, no complaints whatsoever. I have gone back a couple
> of times. Steak fajitas are my favorite. I'll check out the appetizer
> next time.
>
> nancy

I had a steak there, and it was cooked to perfection, and just the way I
had asked for it. Rare. :-) It also impressed me that they were willing
to make menu substitutions with no quibbling.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

"Dale P" > wrote in message
m...
> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above average
> for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer and
> it was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that
> night.
>
> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of lightly
> batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino is
> really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be eating
> jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are just
> to good alone. We will go back for them again.
>
> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price.
> Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
>
> Dale P

We went to the Chili's in Wayne, PA. The burgers took too long to get to us
and my hub's medium rare had congealed on the bun.....the rest were
lackluster at best with totally inattentive staff. We came in at a busy
time, so we possibly clocked it up to their being too busy. Daughter #1,
liked Chili's from visiting it with her friends, so when we took her back to
college again, we decided to give it another go. Place pretty much empty (3
p.m. Sunday) which should have given us our first clue....again the burgers
and appetizers took longer than necessary to get and when we needed refills,
younger son had to actually 'fetch' the waitress who was at the station on
the phone. When we left, things just weren't right either, as four of the
five of us who ate had an unusual 'rumbly in the tumbly'......I rarely call
a restaurant and complain, but this time, Chili's got an earful. They
refunded our cost, but in Chili's gift cards......gave them to Daughter #1
and told her to dispate them to anyone she knew with a cast-iron
stomach....she said maybe they would try ANOTHER Chili's...I told her good
luck, but don't complain to me if you get sick again.
-ginny

On 3/8/2010 8:22 AM, Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
> "Dale > wrote in message
> m...
>> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above average
>> for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer and
>> it was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that
>> night.
>>
>> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of lightly
>> batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino is
>> really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be eating
>> jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are just
>> to good alone. We will go back for them again.
>>
>> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price.
>> Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
>>
>> Dale P
>
> We went to the Chili's in Wayne, PA. The burgers took too long to get to us
> and my hub's medium rare had congealed on the bun.....the rest were
> lackluster at best with totally inattentive staff. We came in at a busy
> time, so we possibly clocked it up to their being too busy. Daughter #1,
> liked Chili's from visiting it with her friends, so when we took her back to
> college again, we decided to give it another go. Place pretty much empty (3
> p.m. Sunday) which should have given us our first clue....again the burgers
> and appetizers took longer than necessary to get and when we needed refills,
> younger son had to actually 'fetch' the waitress who was at the station on
> the phone. When we left, things just weren't right either, as four of the
> five of us who ate had an unusual 'rumbly in the tumbly'......I rarely call
> a restaurant and complain, but this time, Chili's got an earful. They
> refunded our cost, but in Chili's gift cards......gave them to Daughter #1
> and told her to dispate them to anyone she knew with a cast-iron
> stomach....she said maybe they would try ANOTHER Chili's...I told her good
> luck, but don't complain to me if you get sick again.

The few times I've been to Chilis I wasn't too impressed either. There
are several Friendlys around Wayne, if you haven't tried them give one a
shot.

Omelet wrote:
> I had a steak there, and it was cooked to perfection, and just the way I
> had asked for it. Rare. :-) It also impressed me that they were willing
> to make menu substitutions with no quibbling.

As in low-carb substitutions? That is always nice. I hope it is
a chain-wide policy.
--
Jean B.

Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:

> We went to the Chili's in Wayne, PA. The burgers took too long to
> get to us and my hub's medium rare had congealed on the bun.....the
> rest were lackluster at best with totally inattentive staff.

That is what my first visit to Chili's was like. I didn't see any
reason to ever return. The Chili's I went to more recently was
completely opposite, the food was well prepared and served
in the amount of time you'd expect (not too quickly, not a long
time) and the service was attentive without being annoying.

I guess that's how it is with chains, some locations are better
than others.

nancy

"J. Clarke" > wrote in message
...
> On 3/8/2010 8:22 AM, Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
>> "Dale > wrote in message
>> m...
>>> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above
>>> average
>>> for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer and
>>> it was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that
>>> night.
>>>
>>> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of
>>> lightly
>>> batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino
>>> is
>>> really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be
>>> eating
>>> jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are
>>> just
>>> to good alone. We will go back for them again.
>>>
>>> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price.
>>> Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
>>>
>>> Dale P
>>
>> We went to the Chili's in Wayne, PA. The burgers took too long to get to
>> us
>> and my hub's medium rare had congealed on the bun.....the rest were
>> lackluster at best with totally inattentive staff. We came in at a busy
>> time, so we possibly clocked it up to their being too busy. Daughter #1,
>> liked Chili's from visiting it with her friends, so when we took her back
>> to
>> college again, we decided to give it another go. Place pretty much empty
>> (3
>> p.m. Sunday) which should have given us our first clue....again the
>> burgers
>> and appetizers took longer than necessary to get and when we needed
>> refills,
>> younger son had to actually 'fetch' the waitress who was at the station
>> on
>> the phone. When we left, things just weren't right either, as four of
>> the
>> five of us who ate had an unusual 'rumbly in the tumbly'......I rarely
>> call
>> a restaurant and complain, but this time, Chili's got an earful. They
>> refunded our cost, but in Chili's gift cards......gave them to Daughter
>> #1
>> and told her to dispate them to anyone she knew with a cast-iron
>> stomach....she said maybe they would try ANOTHER Chili's...I told her
>> good
>> luck, but don't complain to me if you get sick again.
>
> The few times I've been to Chilis I wasn't too impressed either. There
> are several Friendlys around Wayne, if you haven't tried them give one a
> shot.

The diner next door to Chili's, Minello's I think is it's name, is to die
for. They do an excellent job.
-ginny

On 3/8/2010 9:34 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
> Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
>
>> We went to the Chili's in Wayne, PA. The burgers took too long to
>> get to us and my hub's medium rare had congealed on the bun.....the
>> rest were lackluster at best with totally inattentive staff.
>
> That is what my first visit to Chili's was like. I didn't see any reason
> to ever return. The Chili's I went to more recently was completely
> opposite, the food was well prepared and served in the amount of time
> you'd expect (not too quickly, not a long
> time) and the service was attentive without being annoying.
> I guess that's how it is with chains, some locations are better
> than others.
> nancy

My buddy has a commercial refrigeration business and a number of the big
box food chains are customers of his. There are at least 2 Chilis around
here and he fired them as a customer because his workers didn't want to
work on stuff because the equipment was so dirty. He gets to see the
backends of lots of places and he said the cleanest by far are McDonalds
and Wendys because they have really strong corporate standards. He said
many of the other places seem to be able to just buy a franchise and run
it how they want.

George wrote:

> My buddy has a commercial refrigeration business and a number of the big
> box food chains are customers of his. There are at least 2 Chilis around
> here and he fired them as a customer because his workers didn't want to
> work on stuff because the equipment was so dirty. He gets to see the
> backends of lots of places and he said the cleanest by far are McDonalds
> and Wendys because they have really strong corporate standards. He said
> many of the other places seem to be able to just buy a franchise and run
> it how they want.


There can be a huge difference between a franchised outlet and a company
operated outlet.... not only in cleanliness but in food quality. The
better franchise owners run their stores "by the book" because it is a
proven system. Others cut corners and quality and service suffer and
they wonder why they didn't make it.

I never did understand why someone would spend a lot of money buying a
franchise and then not follow the program they pay for.

George L

"Virginia Tadrzynski" > wrote in message
...
>
> "J. Clarke" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 3/8/2010 8:22 AM, Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
>>> "Dale > wrote in message
>>> m...
>>>> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above
>>>> average
>>>> for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer
>>>> and
>>>> it was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that
>>>> night.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of
>>>> lightly
>>>> batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino
>>>> is
>>>> really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be
>>>> eating
>>>> jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are
>>>> just
>>>> to good alone. We will go back for them again.
>>>>
>>>> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable
>>>> price.
>>>> Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and
>>>> then.
>>>>
>>>> Dale P
>>>
>>> We went to the Chili's in Wayne, PA. The burgers took too long to get
>>> to us
>>> and my hub's medium rare had congealed on the bun.....the rest were
>>> lackluster at best with totally inattentive staff. We came in at a busy
>>> time, so we possibly clocked it up to their being too busy. Daughter
>>> #1,
>>> liked Chili's from visiting it with her friends, so when we took her
>>> back to
>>> college again, we decided to give it another go. Place pretty much
>>> empty (3
>>> p.m. Sunday) which should have given us our first clue....again the
>>> burgers
>>> and appetizers took longer than necessary to get and when we needed
>>> refills,
>>> younger son had to actually 'fetch' the waitress who was at the station
>>> on
>>> the phone. When we left, things just weren't right either, as four of
>>> the
>>> five of us who ate had an unusual 'rumbly in the tumbly'......I rarely
>>> call
>>> a restaurant and complain, but this time, Chili's got an earful. They
>>> refunded our cost, but in Chili's gift cards......gave them to Daughter
>>> #1
>>> and told her to dispate them to anyone she knew with a cast-iron
>>> stomach....she said maybe they would try ANOTHER Chili's...I told her
>>> good
>>> luck, but don't complain to me if you get sick again.
>>
>> The few times I've been to Chilis I wasn't too impressed either. There
>> are several Friendlys around Wayne, if you haven't tried them give one a
>> shot.
>
> The diner next door to Chili's, Minello's I think is it's name, is to die
> for. They do an excellent job.
> -ginny

Absolutely. One of the best diners in the region, IMHO. Great omelets.

BTW, don't bother with the Chili's in King of Prussia. It's just bloody
awful.

Jon

"ViLco" > wrote in message
.. .
> Dale P wrote:
>
>> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above
>> average for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this
>> summer and it was awful. There was not much else open in a small
>> town late that night.
>>
>> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of
>> lightly batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The
>> fried jalapino is really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as
>> to not just be eating jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not
>> necessary, as they are just to good alone. We will go back for them
>> again.
>>
>> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable
>> price. Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to
>> now and then.
>
> I so freakin' wish we had something more than just McDonald's here in
> Italy... apart from some italian pizza or panini chain, that's all.
> --
> ViLco
> Don't think pink, drink rose'

VIlco,
Careful what you wish for. The food everywhere in Italy (at least the places
I visited) was far superior to the fast food places and formula restaurant
chains in the US. I've been in 5 or 6 Chili's over the last few years and
only one of them had decent food. Same thing with Applebee's, Fridays,
Friendly's and most of the other chains.

Jon

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 22:29:32 -0700, Dale P wrote:

> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price. Of
> all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.

I think you want rec.fodo.restaurants. This is a cooking (and
grocery) group.

-sw

Dale P wrote:

> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above
> average for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this
> summer and it was awful. There was not much else open in a small
> town late that night.
>
> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of
> lightly batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The
> fried jalapino is really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as
> to not just be eating jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not
> necessary, as they are just to good alone. We will go back for them
> again.
>
> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable
> price. Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to
> now and then.

I so freakin' wish we had something more than just McDonald's here in
Italy... apart from some italian pizza or panini chain, that's all.
--
ViLco
Don't think pink, drink rose'

In article >,
"Jean B." > wrote:

> Omelet wrote:
> > I had a steak there, and it was cooked to perfection, and just the way I
> > had asked for it. Rare. :-) It also impressed me that they were willing
> > to make menu substitutions with no quibbling.
>
> As in low-carb substitutions?

Yes ma'am. :-)

> That is always nice. I hope it is
> a chain-wide policy.

Dunnno. I've only tried our local one lately...
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

ViLco said:

>
> I so freakin' wish we had something more than just McDonald's here in
> Italy... apart from some italian pizza or panini chain, that's all.

I don't know if I consider Chili's to be fast food, since it's a sit-down,
table service restaurant. I think of fast food as being food that's ready,
or ready within 5 minutes or so, and ordered at the counter or drive
through, open seating, no table service.

Don't you have any form of fast besides italian and burgers, like maybe fish
or chicken? Asian, even?

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message ...
| On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 22:29:32 -0700, Dale P wrote:
|
| > The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price. Of
| > all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
|
| I think you want rec.fodo.restaurants. This is a cooking (and
| grocery) group.
|
| -sw

I think that's spelled "rec.frodo.restaurants" but it deals with
restaurants in The Shire, not the ones common around here...

On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 14:56:44 -0600, "Pat A. Gonia" >
wrote:

> Don't you have any form of fast besides italian and burgers, like maybe fish
> or chicken? Asian, even?

Even Italy has chain restaurants. We were fooled in Venice. Back
alley, quaint and I *do* mean quaint restaurant... turned out to be a
chain pizzeria. I think I counted 13 other locations on the paper
place mat they put in front of us after we sat down. It was good for
a laugh, but I can't say I liked the pizza.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 16:07:59 -0500, pavane wrote:

> "Sqwertz" > wrote in message ...
>| On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 22:29:32 -0700, Dale P wrote:
>|
>|> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price. Of
>|> all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
>|
>| I think you want rec.fodo.restaurants. This is a cooking (and
>| grocery) group.
>|
>| -sw
>
> I think that's spelled "rec.frodo.restaurants" but it deals with
> restaurants in The Shire, not the ones common around here...

Is this a Henry Potter reference? Or maybe Lard of the Bungs?

-sw

"Dale P" > wrote in message
m...
> We do not usually go to Chili's. The ones here are probably above average
> for a chain. We went to one in a smaller town in Kansas this summer and
> it was awful. There was not much else open in a small town late that
> night.
>
> Anyway, went to Chili's the other day. They have an appetizer of lightly
> batter onion strings and jalapino. They are GREAT. The fried jalapino is
> really good and the onion gives you a cushion so as to not just be eating
> jalapino. The dipping sauce is good, but not necessary, as they are just
> to good alone. We will go back for them again.
>
> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price.
> Of all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
>
> Dale P
From the responses, I feel that the franchise operators vary in quality a
bunch. Our Chili's are really pretty good. They are reliable. Some
airports have Chili's Too (Chili's Light) that offer a limited menu. Not
worth the bother, but sometimes there is not much else on your terminal.

We live in the center of the city, so most of the chains are not near us.
Chili's has a couple of locations not far from the house. I have not eaten
at most of the US chain restaurants, and believe you me, Highlands Ranch has
them ALL.

Dale P

"Sqwertz" > wrote in message ...
| On Mon, 8 Mar 2010 16:07:59 -0500, pavane wrote:
|
| > "Sqwertz" > wrote in message ...
| >| On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 22:29:32 -0700, Dale P wrote:
| >|
| >|> The burgers we order were also good, as described, and reasonable price. Of
| >|> all of the big chains, Chili's is the one we will go to now and then.
| >|
| >| I think you want rec.fodo.restaurants. This is a cooking (and
| >| grocery) group.
| >|
| >| -sw
| >
| > I think that's spelled "rec.frodo.restaurants" but it deals with
| > restaurants in The Shire, not the ones common around here...
|
| Is this a Henry Potter reference? Or maybe Lard of the Bungs?
|
| -sw

Frodo saved Civilization in Lord of the Rings. How soon we forget!

pavane