I don't think so, and it all boils down to the Chain Problem: none of the food is fresh or created on the spot. It all comes from a truck that says SYSCO on the side and it's all the same at all of them, which is precisely why they succeed: a large (I emphasize the "large") swath of diners wants consistency above all else- they want their Fried Won Ton Taco Bites to taste the same at every Shenanigans they ever visit.

I'm sure someone will chime in with Cheesecake Factory love, but it's the same there...you just get ten times more of it. What's the old joke? "The food here is disgusting! And the portions are so small!"

Mr. Pink, we are spending too much time together, because I was just pondering this same question. My musing, however, was not so much in the context of Mad Donna's as in response to this conversation I just had with my 3-year-old:

3-yr-old: Mommy! Look! Another Taco Bell!

Me: Yes, sweetie. Another Taco Bell.

3-yr-old: Mommy, why don't you like Taco Bell?

Me: It's not that I don't like Taco Bell. It's just that I prefer to eat at special little places.

3-yr-old: (Pauses.) But Mommy, do the special little places have those cinnamon twists?

Yet again, I am crushed by the logic of a 3-year-old, who succinctly distilled the competitive advantage of a good chain: predictable good food.

Which is why I love J. Alexander's.

No.

I used to chide my parents for the same thing on vacation: the best barbecue in five states might be sitting 10 feet away in a trailer, but they'd make sure we drove two more exits to a Shoney's. Cue the refrain: "You always know what you're getting." Right—indigestion.

I'm inclined to agree with both Barry and Barbara, but still: why are these places so popular? What makes the difference between going to Applebee's or Ruby Tuesday or O'Charley's?

My child, who has eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the Southeast, even if all the kitchen could offer that she would eat was bread -- that child begs, BEGS to go to Ruby Tuedsay. We can't get over it. Never underestimate the power of consistency and the lure of the sure chicken finger.

As for the differences, I've logged my share of time in each, and I can't tell the difference. The commissary kitchen is the kiss of mediocrity.

And Sysco is the tongue. Although rumor has it some mighty fine sweet potato fries originated thereabouts....

There is nothing wrong with Sysco. It is when people rely on it for creativity that the problem begins. In a restaurant, you have to purchase basics like sugar and plastic wrap from someone. Farmer Dave does not farm and sell everything.
In regard to culinary meandering , the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind.

I like the 5 Guys approach- burgers, hot dogs, fries and that's it. Don't even do shakes- that's not their thing. When you try to please everyone, you end up not doing any of it very well.

Another observation- I work near a local mall and I see bus loads of school kids come in for lunch (is this what they call a "field trip" now?) Anyway, they have 20 different choices for lunch (granted, it's all mall food court food) but where do 90% of them head immediately? Burger King!

I agree with Will...there are some things that you just have to get from Sysco. The problem is with restaurants for whom Sysco is the only vendor.

I don't think there's an "all-American" chain that's any better than the rest, either. I have no idea what the difference is among any of them except that O'Charley's has those tasty rolls (which I haven't tasted in a decade, FTR). But, yep, it's the knowing what to expect part that keeps these guys in business. And why, when you go to the Redneck Riviera, there's a line out the door at Bonefish, Red Lobster, and Joe's Crab Shack--none of which serve anything that once lived in the water just across the street--instead of at the local places that serve fresh seafood. It's insane.

Expensive as it is, I suppose J. Alexander's would be at the top of the heap. And I will say I did enjoy some tasty broccoli and fried mac and cheese at Cheesecake Factory. But I don't plan to make it a habit to go there. I've only ever gone when invited by others who are creatures of the chain restaurant habit.

Ramsi's Cafe on the World in Louisville is a good place that does Mexican, Italian, Middle Eastern, Asian and American.

I have a chicken/egg question to pose.

Now, when I was a young'un in Mississippi, going to Tuesday's or O'Charley's or Olive Garden was BIG timin'. Special occasions only. And I thought the food was outstanding.

On a recent weekend trip, my boyfriend and I finally made it to our destination in BFE Alabama at 8:30, to find that every restaurant had already closed. The only option was to drive 15 minutes to the nearest town and go to Ruby Tuesday's. I had decent hopes for the "new American bistro" as they've been billing themselves. Ugh.

Everything had the faint aftertaste of the packaging it came in. As soon as you swallowed, your tongue was coated with something like polymer. It ALL TASTED THE SAME. Every item. It freaked me out.

So I wondered: was the food BETTER back in the day, and quality has suffered due to rapid expansion and penny-pinching over the years, or was it ALWAYS this bad and I just didn't know any better? I suppose I'll never know.

Right on, Casey. As a Louisville native, Ramsi's Cafe has long been one of my favorite restaurants. I typically am skeptical of such vast international menus, but I think this place is an exception.

Whereas Ramsi's seems to focus on the food, I think Mad Donna's is trying to be too many things: hip neighborhood bar, late-night dance spot, ecclectic restaurant. But I must say I had a damn good cocktail there: a vanilla vodka martini with creme de cocoa.

I will say this, and this doesn't really answer the original question, it's more of a response to Lesley: Red Lobster is simply not that bad. They have such a high turnover that the fish is generally quite fresh, and those cheese biscuits? Delicious. It's a treat/indulgence for me, and I've given up trying to keep it a secret.

And to Molly, I think you're certainly right that those chain restaurants were better way-back-when. My theory is that it has been only a recent development for every ingredient at those restaurants to come from the same (distant) supplier. You see those big scary O'Charley's trucks on the interstate... those didn't always exist, I think. Chain and franchise restaurants still acquired their product from local vendors (even if Sysco was the local vendor...) rather than a corporate hub.

Couple o' things:

Uno:
People line up at "all-American" chains because it's McDonald's with tablecloths: massive portions of fried thingies at a cheap price. I am constantly amazed at the weird-o correlation between the quality of über-bad places like Outback steakhouse (I mean, I've eaten better cow at Sizzler), and their mass appeal.

As a TV-kind-of-guy, part of their popularity is that they have biggized ad budgets, and they're very good at pushing a brand which is the compleat opposite of what “we” consider a fine dining experience: a raucous, loud "let's party after work" joint where for a limited-time only the steaks come in a sizzlin’ platter topped with crumbled cheese-shrimp-guacamole thing and 2 sides all for $9.99.

Then again, I could have fed an office-full of cubicle-drones with the wad I blew last week at a local restaurant. But to gaze into the eyes of my beloved while quietly enjoying a delish meal is what I live for.

Dos:
Was the food better back then? I don’t know, I have a theory that as we grow and sample a greater variety of dishes our palates move beyond the suppa-sweet or salty sensations we seek as children. Kellogg’s tried a while back to con adults into eating Frosted Flakes, but I double-dog dare any adult into eating a whole bow of the stuff. And what I find reprochable about the chains is their WWF smack-down flavors.

However, back during my misspend youth, my cool uncle Luis will give me sips of his 20yr. single-barrel, and all I remember is a horrible burning sensation, as if napalm had been forced down my throat

Let's talk about Shoney's. When I was a kid, my family would drive an hour to Murfreesboro just to go there and it rocked. Slim Jim, Big Boy Burger, "Italian Feast", strawberry pie, etc. Now, it is a horrible suck-fest of crappy buffets and poor service. I really truly think if they dropped the Shoney's Bear and brought back the Big Boy, made it a coffee shop again and brought back the classics, the customers would come back.

Good luck to the new restaurant Mad Donna's. I just had a great Sunday brunch there. With the loss of Red Wagon, East Nashville desperately needed a low-key brunch place. Looking forward to their continued success.

The Shoney's breakfast bar is a guilty pleasure I sample about every five years. That's how long it takes me to forget what it's really like. But gluttony springs eternal.

My favorite breakfast bar is the brunch at the airport Marriott off Elm Hill Pike at I-40. Fluffy made-to-order waffles, an omelet station, stubby link sausages, home fries (the potato variety), applewood-smoked bacon: my arteries recoil at the very thought.

Addendum: The breakfast bar at Mitchell Deli is worth trying, just for the Benton's bacon. The coffee next door at Sip is the perfect foil. .

i think things like good humor ice cream bars were better in the 60's and 70's than they are now. now they taste very chemically. and they didn't used to - i'm sure of it. and i also think that twinkies and yodels and devil dogs and all those hostess cupcake thingees were better then too. formulas were messed with for sure...

Even 20 years ago, my parents wistfully recalled how much bigger and better candy bars were back in the days of penny candy. I've grown so used to candy bars with that waxy, flavor-boosted taste that my taste buds may never recover.

At lunch not long ago, someone said, "Remember when chicken tasted like chicken?" I didn't really have a frame of reference.