British Expatriate Network

the soup and salad lunch special at Olive garden is not bad. Otherwise haven't had a meal that wasn't instantly forgettable. Applebees yuck!

The one advantage of chains, if you travel, is the predictability. A bigmac in LA is the same as one in NY or where ever. Trying your luck at an unknown local greasy spoon can produce a culinary delight or maybe not.

Dont frequent chAINS very much .
like to eat in independent restuarants preferably ones with a large no smoking area 100% is ideal ,and one that does,nt overdo the welcome for young kids ,nice intimate tables with dim lights situated in booths and not on wickery hard back chairs with tables that have a mat under one leg to keep it even , and no plastic table cloths .
As far as birthdays go my wife took me out to a restuarant for my last birthday (about 2 weeks ago ) i got a free beer for my birthday no singing the footy game was on .... i enjoyed the beer better .

One chain i do enjoy from time to time is the *outback * good selection of food and lots of beer choices , rather noisy though .