PR: 7
| Starbucks Ahh....the company that started it all. Drinking coffee used to be a boring process - you go to the latest cafe and simply order coffee with milk or sugar. Now it comes with all sorts of cream, cinnamon, milk, chocolate, orange peel and so on. Even choosing the coffee types becomes extremely confusing when you have numerous types of coffee. Of course since the coffee is "hidden" between the layers of cream and chocolate like the Frappuccino, the quality of the actual coffee might not be so good. Anyway, our generation probably don't know the difference between good coffee and crap coffee, since most of us grew up on instant cofee. Sad but true. If I am not wrong, only the Italians know great coffee, which is just Espresso. Nowadays you see kids and youngsters carrying around blended ice coffee with a layer of cream on top and wonder why whether they are truly drinking coffee or just merely milk and cream concoctions. But I think Starbucks itself is a great idea. They not only offer just coffee, they have other foodstuff as well. Why not spend a lazy afternoon in the nearby Starbucks Cafe reading a book or just enjoying err...coffee. |
PR: 6
| Cold Stone Creamery What is better than ice-cream? Two flavours of ice-cream mixed together? Well, what is even better than that? Three flavours mixed together with tons of different toppings or fruits on top! That is it! It is like your very own creation! Cold Stone Creamery is an ice-cream parlour with a difference. You not only get to choose your ice-cream, you can mix and match different flavours and toppings to make the ultimate frozen dessert....err...for your kids. Just imagine - freshly made ice-cream blended on a cold slab of stone with whatever thing you want as toppings. Oh, all ice-cream are made fresh everyday for their parlours. They also offer smoothies, shakes and cakes to their customers - those who are bored with creating new blends of ice-cream. I think they have a very unique way of making frozen dessert. |
PR: 6
| Sonic Drive-In Everyone loves fast food. The key word here is fast. Although we love food, but why spend so much time waiting for the food to be cooked and then served in a restaurant? Fast food solves all the problems for us urban dwellers and our hectic lifestyle. And what is faster than driving-in, getting your food and then driving home to enjoy your meal in front of the TV? The Sonic Drive-In restaurants proves my point. They have over 3,500 restaurants in the United States already. Yes, I have to say their fast food aren't the best in the market, but I guess that is not their selling strength. Their menu includes burgers (what else?), coney & hodogs, chicken, salads, roast coffee, frozen desserts and so on. Regular fast food fare if you ask me. So if you have car, why not have a go at their restaurant - just press the red button. You don't even have to leave the car, a "carhop" will bring your order to you. Isn't that just so cool? |
PR: 6
| Denny's Restaurants You can't be always eating fast food all the time right? It is downright unhealthy. You should have a proper meal once in a while. That is why I have added Denny's Restaurant to the mix. This is some sort of a "full-service" restaurant catering to the entire family. This means that their menu has everything for both the adults and the kids. Think of Denny's Restaurants as a slightly more comfortable setting than our regular fast food joints. Oh, most of their restaurants are located at at Freeways and exits, so you probably need a car. But I guess this concept makes sense since if you have a family with kids, you most likely need to have a car. They are also famous for being open 24 hours and they serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and whatever throughout the day and night. Their breakfast spread includes sandwiches, toast, waffles, pancakes, omelette, ham & eggs, burritos and so on. Their lunch time menu includes burgers, sandwiches, salads and so on. As for dinner, they serve steaks, chicken, meatloaf, fillet and the entire works. You should check out their online menu. Makes me drool continously. |
PR: 6
| Melting Pot Restaurant You will be shocked to realize that this is a fondue chain. Yes, I kid you not - chocolate fondue. The majority of their customers must be females. I don't really like fondue, nor do I like the idea of gathering around a pot full of melted chocolate and dipping stuff into it. It feels so weird. But I guess females (and their female friends) like doing it. Anyway, The Melting Pot is all about the girls' night out. You get small pieces of food called entrees where you can dip into special sauces (just like chocolate fondue) as main courses. They then have cheese fondue and chocolate fondue. It is usually comes in a four course menu and with themes. Sometimes it might be the Caribbean theme or sometimes it might be French and so on. Keep things new and fresh for the females so they won't bitch about the food. Oh, you might think that they are a budget kind of restaurant since they are some sort of a franchise chain but you will be even more shocked to see their prices. Bring your platinum. Anyway, it is different, so it is a good thing! |
PR: 6
| Wolfgang Puck We all love great food. But we also want to do it with style right? The whole package is called entertainment. What is better than spending the evening with your best friends and great food in a wonderful ambient to wither the night away? Wolfgang Puck is a celebrity chef and one of the pioneers of fine dining in the United States. Going to one of his restaurants is like going to a opera - all the jazz and the food is certainly good. And yes, his food style is a combination of French, American and even Asian influence, which I guess a lot of people enjoy. I myself have never visited one of his restaurants, being one of the poorer folk out there. But since other celebrities folk to his restaurants and would like to be seen there, then surely he must have done something right. Visit the website and check out the numerous restaurants under his charge. And he is also famous for his catering service, which again has been used by many celebrities and even government officials. Well, if you have the dough, go for it. |
PR: 5
| Trusted Places Not sure where to eat? Tired of your typical hangout? Want something new? Or possibly you are on vacation, and you just want to make sure everything goes right for your romantic getaway. Then check out TrustedPlaces! They will let you know where to eat, what to avoid, and possibly what to even order! From London Restaurants to Soho Bars, Chinese Restaurants to even London Gyms for you to work out. TrustedPlaces will review it all! Guest submitted reviews, from people like you, for people like you. - |
PR: 5
| The World Of Tijuana Flats How’d Tijuana Flats become Tijuana Flats? Funny story, really. Back in 1995, this college kid, Brian Wheeler, walked into a bar. Actually, a bunch of bars. And restaurants, too. At first, it was just harmless fun. But over time, the good times got the best of him and just going out no longer cut it. So Brian decided to open his own restaurant despite having never even worked in one before (brilliant, right?). Only problem was, Brian was broke. Luckily, his parents weren’t. And after much begging and pleading, his dad loaned him $20,000 & Brian opened the first Tijuana Flats in Winter Park, Florida. |
PR: 5
| Graeter's Who here hates ice cream? Nobody? Of course not, it even tastes great during the winter. And Graeter's serves a various of different ice-cream and homemade candy. Now, that is a wonderful combination - ice-cream and homemade candy. They even have ice-cream cakes and pies. Although their flavours might not be as plentiful or as different, their classic flavours are still one of the best in the market. You can find Graeter's at the stores or not available, you can get them to ship those delicious pints of ice-cream to you. It is interesting to note that unlike most other manufacturers, Graeter's claim that their ice-cream are all made in "French Pots" and this means that their ice-cream are made with way more attention and love. Whatever, just ship me a few pints of them Buckeye Blitz and Butter Pecan and keep them coming. |
PR: 5
| The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf They have one step up on Starbucks - they offer tea as well. Basically a Starbucks competitor with extras. Come and visit their cafes which should be located nearby in nearly every American city, although they might not be as numerous as Starbucks. They have expanded very quickly overseas. Just like Starbucks, their menu include various types of coffee blends, tea blends and other beverages as well as cakes, confectioneries and food. They also sell pre-packaged coffee and teas direct to customers who prefer to make their own. Their cafes are a great place to relax and have a drink or two with friends. In fact, I used to spend hours and hours in their cafes, making good use of their Wifi during my time in University. The company claims that they purchase coffees and teas direct from the growers at above market prices. Interesting to note that they are the largest privately owned, family run coffee and tea companies in the world. |
PR: 5
| Long John Silver's Eating burgers all day long will really make your life boring and miserable. We need something different and tasty as well. And yes, it must be fast food. Without fast food, most of us will probably starve to death, as we do not know what other food to consume. Long John Silver's serves a different kind of cuisine - they specialize in seafood. They call themselves the Seafood Experts. Thank the gods that it was meant to be a joke. If they are really the seafood experts, then I would suggest you to quit consuming seafood as they don't really taste like seafood at all. But what do you expect from fast food? So instead of beef patties and bread, you get pieces of battered fish or shrimp or even crab cake. Their menu includes platters meals like chicken, fish, shrimp, crab cake, lobster bites and for dessert, you can choose pies or iceflow frozen drinks. I grew up liking Long John Silver's but somewhere along the line, the food quality went downhill real fast. It sadly never brought back the memories of my childhood anymore. |
PR: 5
| Friendly's It is all about ice-cream here! Yes, they are actually a "deli-style" restaurant chain which serves full meals but still their specialty is ice-cream. We are not talking about those boring "100 flavours" kind of ice-cream, we are talking about super creative and unique tasting ice-cream which you can not find anywhere else. Check it out - interesting sundaes to amazing shakes to unique out of this world ice-cream blends even the adults would enjoy. Oh, yes other than ice-cream, their menu includes meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stuff like pancakes, omelettes, supermelts, sandwiches, wraps, steak, seafood, burgers and so on. As mentioned, they are a full service diner serving regular American meals. Not too shabby for a family restaurant chain. They have over 500 restaurants in locations nationwide. If you are hungry and you spot a little red signboard saying "Friendly's", you should go in and have a try. And don't forget to have some dessert afterwards. It is their specialty - "One Scoop At A Time!" |
PR: 5
| TacoTime What time is it? Its TacoTime! And yes, obviously it is going to be fast food. I am beginning to understand why the healty of the people seem to be on the rapid decline nowadays. All you need to do is to take a peak out at the streets and you will be greeted with fat and out of weight people since now even Mexican food has become junk food. Sad to see such a delicious cuisine reduced to become just like the next hamburger. Although they claim to provide "upscale" service and high quality home style Mexican food, you and me, we all know that it highly unlikely. Their range of delectables include pinto bean burrito, grilled quesadillas, small Mexi-fry, Cheddar Melts, Crisp Juan burrito, crisp taco, nachos, Empanadas, Cinnamon Crusto and other side dishes. If you are a fan of Mexican fare, you should have a try at their offerings. Well, they are actually not too bad for a fast food joint. Honestly, we don't seem to get tired of fast food anyway. The market is just merely responding to customer demand. |
PR: 5
| Old Country Buffets We love eating. In fact, I think we love eating just a little too much. And with such a wide range of food available everywhere, there is no shortage of chances to eat. Of course nowadays, fast food seems to be the rage and everywhere you turn a new fast food joint is opening up. Sad but true. But being a glutton as we all are, how about all-you-can-eat buffets? You can stuff yourself full of food without worrying about having to fork out more money. Old Country Buffets offers a buffet lineup of comfort foods, which everyone can enjoy. Although different locations do offer slightly different menus, most of them have home style fried chicken, fried fish, baked chicken, baked fish, mashed potatoes, rice & gravy, french fries, soups and so on as well as a huge varoety of desserts for your after meal cool-down. They even have themed foods like Italian, Chinese, Mexican and so on. And all for a fix price! They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner so you can have all your buffet you ever wanted at any time of the day. |
PR: 5
| Bojangles' Famous Chicken n' Biscuits What goes well with southern fried chicken? Biscuits of course! Bojangles' Famous Chicken n' Biscuits is a chain of food fast joints specializing in southern fried chicken and their crispy yet soft buttermilk biscuits. And their biscuits are properly the best I ever tasted from a fast food outlet. Their menu includes those Cajun fried chicken, various types of biscuits, sandwiches, salads, chicken bites as well as "fixins" like Cajun Pintos, Dirty Rice, Green Beans, Picnic Grits and of course fries. They have over 400 restaurants in the country and growing. I really like Southern style fried chicken. Definitely beats KFC's chicken hands down but I guess sometimes it can be rather difficult to fight against the established brands. If you are thinking of franchising, you might want to take a look at their franchising options and join the Bojangles brand and help get of KFC from your neighbourhoods. |
PR: 5
| Famous Dave's BBQ Yes, we have BBQ! In many countries like Australia, BBQ means just cooking meat over a hot flame, any kind of meat is included. Even fish and shrimp. Some even includes vegetables. But in American, BBQ seems to only suggest grilling pork with some sort of thick sauce. Not too sure why. Anyway, Famous Dave's BBQ is a chain of southern-styled restaurants which specializes in serving pork ribs and sometimes chicken and beef brisket. Their award winning ribs are often the talk of the town. After eating their ribs, I can understand why. The poor pigs must really hate the Dave guy. Anyway, their menu includes Georgia Chopped Pork, barbeque Chicken, Texas Beef Brisket, Rib Tips, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Country Roasted Chicken and so on. They also have sandwiches and burgers since these are often requested by their customers. I don't understand why we can't get enough of burgers. Even in a BBQ joint with such great tasting barbeque in front of their eyes, they still request for burgers. Goodness gracious. |
PR: 5
| RedBrick Pizza Can't get enough of pizzas? Want something better than the one from Pizza Hut? Or perhaps you just want something which really hit the spot? Well, RedBrick Pizza certainly means all the criteria. Yes, I agree that they are a pizza chain like Pizza Hut, but they do it better. Sure, there are certainly better and more authentic makers of pizzas out there but unless you are willing to travel to Italy or live in a specific area, this should do. And RedBrick bakes their gourmet pizzas in an brick oven on a terra cotta stone. How cool is that? They also claim that they create the world's finest, fresh fire-roasted gourmet pizzas by using the freshest and superior quality ingredients. Don't they all do? How many restaurants claim that they use the cheapest heap of garbage as their ingredients? Anyway, check out their amazing menu - four cheese pizzas, Margherita Pizza, Pizza Bianco, Pizza Rustica, Pepperoni Suprema, Italian Sausage & Peppers pizza, Roasted Garlic Chicken (or Shrimp) pizzas and so on. Oh did I mention I love freshly baked pizza? |
PR: 5
| Zingerman's Delicatessen Sometimes we get bored with the regular stuff our local delicatessen churns out. I mean how many Mac & Cheese or Turkey Sandwich can you consume before you get sick of the stuff? It is only natural for us to try out new foodstuff, even if they are basically the same food groups with just a change with some of the ingredients. Yes, you should try out Zingerman's delicatessen. This cool looking deli serves sandwiches with premium quality ingredients like Black Augus corned beef, free-range chicken and turkey, homemade chopped liver and many more. We are not talking about street fare here, we are talking about premium hard-to-find foods which you might never have tasted before. And it can be a real treat. Visit their website and check out their sandwich menu. You will be shocked to see the wide variety of sandwiches - from Reubens to Mile High to Double Dips to I don't know what. They even have vegetarian for those who don't take animal products. They also stock cheeses, olive oil, smoked fish, meats, coffee, tea, veingars and other high end grocery products. |
PR: 5
| Primanti Bros. Restaurant Hohoho - get ready to get fat. Real fat. Possibly the most guilt-causing restaurant ever. Just by looking at their website makes me feel all guilty and shit. But if you are someone in need of a lot of carbohydrates and energy, then this restaurant is for you. The food is all so damn fattening and huge. Even their sandwiches are piled high with whatever ingredients you can think of - tomato, pickles, cheese, ham, bacon, roast beef, turkey, sausages, corned beef, pastrami, grilled chicken and even fries. And yes, you can add extra meat, cheese or egg as well. I don't know about you but too much of a good thing isn't really that good. Heck, I don't think I can even fit the sandwich into my mouth, let alone finish the entire thing. What is surprising is that there are a lot of people who seem to enjoy eating their meals here - so much so that Primanti Bros have become a landmark in Oakland. Yes, beware of getting a heart attack. However, if you are visiting, I would highly recommend you to have a try at one of their sandwiches. It is really delicious. |
PR: 5
| Bouchon Bakery Just by looking at their menu makes me drool uncontrollably on the keyboard. I am normally not a big fan of french bakery. I love bread and all but complicated stuff just makes me bored. I like my bread tough, hardy and flavourful. But Bouchon Bakery honestly makes me a convert. I didn't know that little cup-shaped muffins tasted so good. I didn't know there were such things as quiche, viennoisserie and so on. And yes, pastries can really perk up one's afternoon with some tea and even coffee. I now know that I have not been living the past few decades. Other than these, they have a nice selection of chocolates, so for those with a really sweet tooth, you can have a try at the chocolates. In fact, have a go at all their creations. If you need someone to do catering for you, they have the experience and the expertise as well. You should visit their website to have a look at the locations of their bakeries and check out their menu. |