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When it comes to picking a favorite casual-dining restaurant, customers look to experience, convenience and food quality. But what restaurants make the grade?
According to a survey done by Boulder, Colo.-based Market Force, customers put The Cheesecake Factory on top, Nation's Restaurant News reported.
The Cheesecake Factory earned 6 percent of the favorite-restaurant vote, but when weighted for number of locations per chain, the tally rose to 13 percent, making it the clear winner. Market Force surveyed 5,000 people between 18 and 72 years old, 76 percent of which were women, NRN reported.
In addition to getting top marks as the overall favorite, The Cheesecake Factory also got the highest scores in 6 out of 10 categories, which included food taste and quality, atmosphere and cleanliness.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers ranked second in the favorite-restaurant vote and topped the speed of service and kid friendliness categories, NRN reported. Texas Roadhouse, when ranked for system size, tied with Red Robin with 8 percent of the favorite-restaurant vote.
Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesday got the third-highest scores with 5 percent of the favorite-restaurant vote.
Cracker Barrel was the most popular family chain by total number of votes, NRN reported.
The survey also found that more customers are planning on eating out in the next several months. Only 8 percent said they plan to cut back on restaurant spending. A survey six months ago found that about half of the respondents planned to eat out less, NRN reported.
Thirty-eight percent said they dined out for a great-tasting meal, meaning food quality is important to customers, Market Force said.
Of those surveyed, 52 percent said they dine at casual- or family-dining restaurants to spend time with family and friends. Thirty-seven percent said they went for special occasions and 41 percent said they went because they were too tired to cook.
We asked Slashfood readers what their favorite restaurant chain was and it was interesting to see how the results differed from those reported by Market Force. With a list of eight chain restaurants (see the poll below), at the last tally Outback Steakhouse took the prize with almost 5,000 votes -- 24% of the total vote.
Cheesecake Factory found itself in second place with 3,700 votes, but it was only .5% ahead of the family chain Cracker Barrel, which got 3,600 votes. Applebee's was just around the corner in fourth place with 2,600 votes.
| Applebee's | |
|---|---|
| Benihana | |
| California Pizza Kitchen | |
| The Cheesecake Factory | |
| Cracker Barrel | |
| Outback Steakhouse | |
| Ruby Tuesday | |
| T.G.I. Friday's |
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8-09-2010 @11:13AM Todd said... There should be another choice- "NONE of the above".
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8-09-2010 @11:27AM Jane T said... Amen to that. How did Appleby's get on any list other than "pick the worst?"
8-09-2010 @11:27AM Oliver said... I agree, 'none of the above.' 76% women...ask more men.....I dislike cheesecake factory, because it's like a cattle call, you are sitting on top of the people next to you, no privacy and an a** in your face when your neighbor leaves or comes in. The food is actually ok, but the atmosphere needs adjustment in my thoughts.
8-09-2010 @12:15PM liz said... I too looked for the "none of the above" response. Applebees has the worst food. We once had the most dreadful tasting hamburgers at the location closest to us. I guess my grandmother's behaviour sums the clientle up. When I left to use the restroom, she dunked her BBQed fingers in my glass of water. Classy. The poor waitstaff at any location!
8-09-2010 @2:15PM fiona said... Funny how Outback was leading in the voting. I was there two weeks ago because our original choice was way too crowded. Went over to Ouback and it was like Hillbilly Heaven. When did wearing a 'wife-beater' to dinner at a restaurant become acceptable? And the menu was as lame as they come. Talk about a restaurant past it's prime!
8-09-2010 @4:59PM William said... I haven't been to any of those restaurants as I been meaning to get over to Beefsteak Charlie's first. Is Beefsteak Charlie's still around?
8-09-2010 @8:02PM LOIS said... HOW DID APPLEBEE MAKE IT ? IT GARBAGE!!!! TG FRIDAYS SHOULD BE THERE INSTEAD
8-10-2010 @10:16PM mivogo said... Exactly! It's like asking which would you prefer: bronchitis, skin cancer or head lice? Yay, bronchitis is the clear choice! Give me a break. "None of the above" wasn't included because this is obviously related to advertising--or pure stupidity.
8-10-2010 @3:03PM Carl said... I didn't see PF Chang there either ---- and that's one place that I'll go to anytime !!!!!!!
8-10-2010 @3:13PM Ken said... I am very proud to work for Applebee's Here in Idaho we have some of the highest scores of food and service in the Nation and our new menu started yesterday.
8-10-2010 @4:34PM Sally G said... Actually, Outback isn’t bad; their bloomin’ onion is delicious but deadly; my biggest problem with Cheesecake Factory is a menu with ads at the prices they charge. They should be making enough not to expect customers to wade through ads in their menu book! Benihana is an annual event for my niece’s birthday; the hibachi show is fun, food isn’t bad—I even eat the shrimp! I had a California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza recently, and it was pretty good—haven’t tried the restaurant itself, though. I was never a great Applebee’s fan.
In New Jersey, Charlie Brown’s is decent—excellent salad bar—but they are expanding their menu too much; they should stick to the reasonably priced steak that they do best (though perhaps fewer people want beef these days), and A Taste of Greece is also a good local chain. I almost cried when one of the two Fiesta Huts in Bergen County (Paramus) lost its lease after 27 years and was replaced with a McDonald’s—a real sign of the demise of independents (and East Rutherford isn't nearly as easy to get to for me). Fuddrucker’s burgers used to be good, but I haven’t been there in a while; Bobby’s Burger Palace makes good burgers—beef, turkey, and veggie; I prefer out-of-the-way independents if I can make the time.
8-10-2010 @5:00PM rose said... your all probably cheap people,that do not know good food if it hits you in the face.CheeseCakeFactory is one of the better places to eat around.
8-10-2010 @5:40PM lky1234 said... the chicken and biscuits at the cheesecake factory are insanely good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8-10-2010 @5:54PM Chris said... Oh man Sally, I LOVE Fiesta Hut in East Rutherford! I live all the way up in Hillsdale but go down there because it's AMAZING. I also love Cheesecake Factory, and think Outback and Friday's are great. And Applebees is TERRIBLE!
8-10-2010 @6:48PM Andrew said... The Applebees here got a 69 failing score for being nasty, there horrible, should have been more choices Cracker Barrell is horrible here is horrible too with slow service food is ok but the wait is too long, and the country store is a ripoff. Outback is so/so. Ruby Tuesday is ok and so is TGI, we don't have the other except Cheesecake heard it's good though.
8-10-2010 @7:18PM Micki Sands said... You don't know your meat, steaks, seafoods and outrageous sides, plus their unbeatable salad bar...until you've gone to Charlie Brown's Steakhouse ... no matter who we invite, they seem to become a fan and bring others with them. This place is comfy, clean, attentive to consumer and the choices and food is delish.
8-10-2010 @7:58PM Rande said... What about Red Lobster!!! I have to agree The Cheesecake Factory is amazing, but Red Lobster should have at least been in the choices to pick from!
8-11-2010 @11:40AM Joe D said... Never been a fan of Cheesecake Factory. A restaurant whose claim to fame is cheesecake is already starting off on the wrong foot when their desert is the best thing they have. Couple that with a too large menu of apps and entrees which is almost always a restaurant downfall. When you have 20 apps and 20 entrees, it means most likely everything is average at best, there is no way a chain restaurant staff is going to be able to cook 40+ items perfectly. Give me a place with maybe 6 apps and 6 entrees, and chances are they are going to cook everything well.
8-13-2010 @2:21AM Jackie said... I'm really surprised to see Applebe's on the list. I went there recently and I couldn't find anything on the menu that didn't have a ridiculous amount of fat. The food is very, very greasy and disgusting. It's no wonder most Americans are overweight.
8-10-2010 @7:38PM norm said... My favorite affordable restaurant is Red Lobster, which, along with Olive Garden, is part of the Darden chain, but didn't even make the list.
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