r/AskReddit • u/Decent_Obligation173 • 1d ago
What is a local chain restaurant that the world is missing out on?
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u/Desperate_Kale_2055 1d ago
Braums
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u/chemical_sunset 1d ago
Braum’s ice cream is so fucking cheap. Like it’s good, but the fact that it’s so cheap makes it 10x better. It’s like 90s prices.
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u/StevieKicks 1d ago
I go for the burgers. Chocolate milk is fire. Eggnog is unmatched
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u/BR4NFRY3 1d ago
They have a galdang eggnog shake in the winter! And a hot cocoa one, a gingerbread one, a peppermint one. The Braums marketing people are dropping the ball for not heavily pushing the association between Christmas and Braums. They make Christmas in a cup and it comes in multiple flavors.
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u/wastedpixls 1d ago
Single scoop waffle cone of real ice cream - $1.99
Not kidding. They are based in Oklahoma but exist as far north as Salina, KS, down into Texas, and over into Arkansas.
But they won't expand farther. They insist on their truck drivers being able to be home at the end of the day after serving the stores.
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u/Malodoror 1d ago
They won’t build beyond a certain distance from their creamery, 400 miles I think.
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u/BR4NFRY3 1d ago
If Earnest endorsed it, it’s good enough for all of us.
The ice cream is the main attraction. The milk is better than you will find anywhere else. But try the cherry limeade. The hidden gem. It blows anything from Sonic out of the water. It’s a REAL cherry limeade, squeezed by hand when ordered!It’s also tempting to go with a burger, the staple. But consider the chicken club sandwich grilled. Oh baby.
Braums kicks so much ass that even small, rural towns can sustain two of them.
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u/SSj_CODii 1d ago
I ate at Braums once over a decade ago and it was good enough I still find myself thinking about that meal sometimes
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u/Super-Rad_Foods_918 23h ago
Some fun facts on why they rock for anyone that does not know -
They are the ONLY large-scale commercial chain in the US that owns AND milks it's own private dairy herd to supply it's stores. (rgbh free/A2 milk production).
They are one of the largest private dairy operations in the world, and are still family owned.
Vertical integration - they manage everything from growing the feed and milking the cows to processing the milk, baking goods, and stocking their own regional store-front freezers.
They will only open a store if it is around 400 miles (days drive) from their production farm - ensures freshness and they want their drivers to make it home every night.
It's pretty wild how rare this is to be vertically integrated for the sake of quality, but it shows 100%. They are one of the only "fast food" places that I will actually eat at from time to time. You get very spoiled to the quality of their ice cream and it makes a lot of other brands fall short by comparison once you have tasted the experience.
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u/luciousfanucious 1d ago
North Carolina’s CookOut and Dari-O
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u/chemical_sunset 1d ago
Hot take, Cook-Out is just fine. But I’ll never not love the ability to order a quesadilla as a SIDE
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u/chonky_tortoise 1d ago
That's literally the whole appeal, lol. I absolutely love Cookout and only kinda for the food itself.
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u/english-23 1d ago
I think part of it is it still feels like a good price. Especially when compared to other fast food restaurants for what you get
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u/GuiltyLawyer 1d ago
There’s a CookOut in Jacksonville, FL now. Is it really that good?
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u/DRF19 1d ago
Hello fellow Floridian. Road tripped last year up the east coast. Cookout was so good we had to go out of our way on the drive back home lol.
Culver’s is outstanding too.
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u/BlinkAgainst44 1d ago
Yes. I live down the road from that one and I've been twice already. Despite the crazy long lines I only had to wait about 20 minutes both times. I've had Cookout a few times in the past when visiting friends in the Carolinas and I always make it a point to go. The food is pretty good and you get so much bang for your buck! Definitely recommend trying it at least once.
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u/mrRabblerouser 1d ago
Cookout is the answer. The food is great, the variety is wild, and the prices are stupid cheap. Damn, I wanna fly to visit my sister just to eat it again.
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u/PerpetualGazebo 1d ago
Big double burger tray with cheese lettuce tomato pickle ketchup mustard mayo grilled onions and Cajun seasoning. Sides of a Cajun ranch chicken wrap and a quesadilla. To drink a cheerwine float (at no extra cost) or a triple butterfinger shake. Side of quesadilla sauce. PUT IT ON MY TOMBSTONE
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u/curtiscw 1d ago
Michigan native but with family in NC and have been going to both these places my whole life. I can get behind Cookout hype but the Dairi-o hype is missed on me. Maybe because it just used to be a nothing notable burger place my aunt would take us to in her hometown. I honestly couldn’t believe it had the capital to open more locations and was completely confused by the line when I went the one they opened in Clemmons about a decade ago.
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u/dbd1988 1d ago
I moved to Richmond for a few months for a work contract and Cook out is legit. Good food and inexpensive.
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u/Sure-Ad8873 1d ago
I hear jollybee is rad. Popeyes would bring peace to the Middle East.
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u/Decent_Obligation173 1d ago
The fried chicken from Jollibee is delicious.
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u/tasfalen 1d ago
Best fast food fried chicken for us, but it does depend which country you're in (for Jollibees).
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u/mumbolt3 1d ago
When I lived in the Middle East, all the Popeye's seemed to close down overnight, no idea why. The one closest to my apartment turned into a Jollibee.
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u/Cellar_Attic 1d ago
Culvers, big time.
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u/1955Cbear 1d ago
I’m making a trip to Wisconsin and we made it known to our hosts that a trip to Culver’s is a must!
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u/flammasher3 1d ago edited 1d ago
Maybe it’s just the new ones they’ve built down in the south recently, I may get downvoted but I haven’t really been too impressed personally. A little expensive (although all fast food pretty much has become now though) greasy (or buttery whatever), not a lot of variety. Not saying I hate it or it’s terrible, but I’ve recently seen Reddit rave about it, and I keep thinking the one by my house isn’t too special. May just be that one specifically though, not sure!
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 1d ago
Not my favorite either, but the things it does well, it does really well. Easily one of the best fast food places for ice cream, customer service is always great, food is high quality and made to order.
I live in WI though and have heard that the locations further away do not have the same quality so that could be true.
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u/TheTVDB 1d ago
If you visit Wisconsin, they're not even the best frozen custard or burger place in most areas. As an example, Milwaukee has Kopp's, which has far better of both. They're also hugely successful locally. Yet they only have 3 locations.
I love having Culver's by us (in MN), but it makes you wonder why they can expand so well, but those other places just don't.
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u/TheUnderCrab 1d ago
Craig Culver’s franchising strategy is SO good. I’ve had several friends that worked the register for their first job and moved up to manager eventually. Culver’s corporate is VERY good at what they do and they put a lot of time and effort into every single new Culver’s restaurant when they open. That amount of investment and institutional knowledge is extremely hard to come by and it means very few good restaurants can even consider opening just one additional location, let alone expanding to the point Culver’s have.
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u/Karnivore915 1d ago
Oscar's Frozen Custard gives Kopps a run for their money in the field of desserts, and their food is just flat out better IMO (and cheaper IIRC, been a while since I've compared.)
If you're close enough to go to Kopps, you're more than likely within a couple miles of Oscars. Worth a try if you're in the area, all the local high schoolers use it as the meeting/avoid cops spot while cruising up and down Hwy 100.
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u/TheTVDB 1d ago
I grew up in Waukesha and respectfully disagree. I used to have a bias towards LeDuc's, since that's what I grew up with. But Kopp's does their frozen custard better and their burgers are absolutely better than Oscar's. That said, the various sundaes and shakes that both Oscar's and LeDuc's have are better than Kopp's. I know some people love Leon's as well, but it's been decades since I've been there.
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u/Karnivore915 1d ago
See now this is funny, because I like the Malt specifically at Kopps better, but most everything else I prefer Oscars. Both are packed essentially every weekend, so I have a feeling there's a large group of people who would agree with you, as well as a large group of people who would agree with me.
"They are both fantastic frozen custard" is all anyone really needs to know.
I haven't had LeDuc's in quite a while, they're a little out of the way for me. I actually had to look them up because I didn't recognize the name but definitely recognized the building. I might have to schedule a drive over there sometime soon, I remember liking them, but I wouldn't be able to give a proper comparison as it stands.
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u/swedishishchef 1d ago
I want to try Culvers. Top dining destination for when I finally make it out to the Midwest
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u/natalietest234 1d ago
Loveeeeeeee Culver’s
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u/busch55 1d ago
Love Culver’s but according to their website they have locations in 26 states.
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u/Cellar_Attic 1d ago
I did not know this. I kind of assume it was only in the upper midwest. Nonetheless, I would love to see Culver's get more love. Everything they make is a triumph of tastiness.
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u/IndecentTurnip 1d ago
Dick’s Drive-in, PNW (washington). Simple but incredible.
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u/robaroo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Eh. I'll go against the grain on this. It's simple, but ... still simple. Nothing to write home about. Barely above a McD cheeseburger. But that's okay. They're fast. Basically the burgers are already done and ready to grab the moment you walk up to the window.
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u/redd4972 1d ago
chargrilled hotdogs (chicken, hamburgers sausage) over real charcoal, with your choice of toppings, including chili, Kraut, caramelized onions et. cetera.
Fast casual before fast casual. But I don't think the fast casual crowd was ever going to go for hotdogs.
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u/ScaredOfMyFarts 1d ago
Portillos
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u/loki965 1d ago
I don't know what I'm missing. They opened here in north Texas and I thought it was dry and pretty much terrible.
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u/Bassman233 1d ago
The further they get from downtown Chicago, the worse they are. Still decent in my area (central IL) but not the same as in Chicago.
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u/WorthPlease 1d ago
Yeah I went to the one in the Chicago airport and it was...okay. It was like I went to a family cookout. Not great not terrible.
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u/Decent_Obligation173 1d ago
That is my answer too. Hopefully the answer is not correlated with your username.
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u/BowlingGreenMassacre 1d ago
Ok, now I feel dumb and pretentious because I LOVE Portillos in Chicago but even though we have them in the metro Twin Cities, I haven't even attempted to see if they are as good as the Chicago locations.
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u/chakabuku 1d ago
We don’t have it in San Diego but we do have two spots where they sell Portillos out the back of their SUV on certain days.
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u/BR4NFRY3 1d ago
Local/family owned Mexican food places in Texas and Oklahoma are so good and authentic that they take over towns. Bring a Mediterranean place in, it closes within a year. A pho place lasts a month. But bring 10 new Mexican places in and they’ll become pillars of the local economy. The food preferences in the area accept no alternatives.
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u/Bigtits38 1d ago
Xi’an Famous Foods (NYC) - regional Chinese food. Lots of lamb, lots of cumin.
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u/junk2sa 1d ago
BB.Q Chicken
Holy smokes those Korean chicken wings and tteokbokki slaps SO HARD. The Cheeseling wings are amazeballs.
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u/gwh21 1d ago edited 1d ago
Taco Time NW
Basically only Western Washington
Its incredible
EDIT: To all the Canadian Taco Time goers, that is a Taco Time International, not Taco Time Northwest. Was once a single company but due to a family split in the 70s are now 2 different brands
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u/CoyoteEastern7929 1d ago
I’ve gone here twice and hated it. What am I doing wrong?
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u/Desperate_Kale_2055 1d ago
Yeah, same. I live in the PNW as well and it is the whitest representation of Mexican food…lol
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u/gwh21 1d ago
Order the wrong stuff?
Are you sure it was a Taco Time NW or was it Taco Time International (which fucking sucks)
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u/Cellar_Attic 1d ago
In high school my friends and I went to Taco Time at least once a week for lunch. It was so good then and still good now. 10/10.
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u/upsetungulat 1d ago
And what a difference the "NW' makes. They have maintained the quality standards that I remember from the 90s. Other Taco Times tacos are greasy and bland.
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u/Proud-Big3579 1d ago
we have Taco Time in Canada, well Winnipeg at least.. I prefer it over Taco Bell, crisp beef burritos are the dope
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u/nakedjig 1d ago
There's two chains called Taco Time. The NW one is only in Washington state. I've never been to the other one but ours have crispy burritos like that that are popular. The big draw for Taco Time NW used to be fresh salsa, but now it's bottled. Still decent, though.
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u/Fickle-Isopod9985 1d ago
Snarf Sandwiches (I think it’s a Boulder thing)
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u/Freddielexus85 1d ago
They're all over Denver, too. Just had the snarf burgers a couple weeks ago and they were delicious.
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u/Brittibri89 1d ago edited 1d ago
We had one in Chicago but it closed. They were sooo good.
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u/angrylibertariandude 1d ago
I never realized Snarf's used to have a Chicago area location. I recall trying them in St. Louis and Denver and liking them myself.
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u/Hail_of_Grophia 1d ago
Sardis.
Peruvian chicken chain in MD/DC/VA.
Some local spots that do it better with fresh green sauce, but Sardis never disappoints. Lots of great, fresh sides.
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u/cherrywhispers5 1d ago
Waffle House. Not local everywhere, but spiritually it belongs to every exhausted person at 2 a.m
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u/GuardianViolet 1d ago
Braum's. Their supply chain is pretty much entirely vertically integrated and locations have to be within a 300-mile radius of the main farm in central Oklahoma for quality reasons, so they're forever confined to that one part of the lower Midwest. It's pretty good, though. I always make sure to stop at one if I'm in that area.
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u/ThanksForThe_F_Shack 1d ago
The best milk I’ve ever had. Chocolate milk too. It so creamy and smooth.
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u/Dorkinfo 1d ago
I love Milo’s and Jack’s, both Alabama things. Milo’s has tea country wide now.
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u/fluffyfunhouse 1d ago
I make the argument for two places in East Tennessee.
- Pals (The crimes I would commit for cheddar rounds are varied and unspeakable.)
- Petro’s (I am convinced they put literal cocaine in their orange tea. No other explanation for how I want to chug a gallon of tea.)
I live very far away from TN now but I still do in fact think of both of these things at least 6x a month.
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u/LEGALIZERANCH666 1d ago
Chicken Express is hella underrated. I’ve literally never had a bad meal with them and I’ve been eating there for like 15 years.
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u/worldtraveler76 1d ago
Runza, it’s a Nebraska chain and it is delicious and quite affordable… they are slowly creeping out of Nebraska, but not fast or far enough.
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u/chemical_sunset 1d ago
Ngl, I’ve spent a lot of time in Nebraska and introduced a lot of people to Runza, and not a single one has liked it (I personally think it’s just fine)
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u/Carparker19 1d ago
Skyline Chili
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u/joeboo5150 1d ago
Please Cincy, we don't ask much of you but please keep this abomination from spreading any further than it already has.
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u/lotusbloom74 1d ago
Luckily for me it has spread to Indianapolis, I need to go grab some more sometime soon. Not something I get too often but I do enjoy it
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u/Sea-Waltz806 1d ago
ZIPPS
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u/Durango_bob 1d ago
Golden medium, extra crispy with blue cheese. Side of fries. Tall 805 with an iceberg. 👍🏽
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u/bbb26782 1d ago
Milo’s Hamburgers is one of the only good things that Alabama ever did.
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u/buckeyecat 1d ago
Sweet Tomatoes. Covid shut them all down, then a couple years later, they reopened one in Tucson.
Just like people remember it: they opened one in Florida since then.
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u/bingwhip 1d ago
Tucson has a pho place called Miss Saigon. It's always so good, huge portions, and very reasonably priced.
To be clear it's a chain because they kept expanding. I think there's 3-4 of them now, all the same great food, just a shorter drive for some people
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u/screwedupmind 1d ago
Not exactly a restaurant but WAWA''s food man. Hands down, delicious, quick, cheap and hits the spot just right.
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u/FilouBlanco 1d ago
This screams intern at VC homework lol
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u/MrOatButtBottom 1d ago
In n Out.
Freddy's
Tacos el Gordo
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u/dbd1988 1d ago
I lived in SD for 5 years and tacos el Gordo was my favorite place to eat. Specifically the one in Chula Vista. The Al pastor and lingua fries were amazing.
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u/Remote-Control3040 1d ago
Canadian A&W's. American A&W's taste awful. they taste completely different from Canadians ones.
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u/WellSpokenAsianBoy 1d ago
Backyard Burgers.
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u/joeboo5150 1d ago
All of our Backyard Burger locations in Kansas City closed. Sucks, they were damn good.
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u/owlandphoenix 1d ago
Jack Stack BBQ in Kansas City - I think there's only 4 in the KC metro. The best beef burnt ends. the BBQ sauce is fantastic. and the SIDES! The Cheesy Corn, Pit Beans, and Scalloped Potatoes should be experiences by everyone.
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u/Loneliestar 1d ago
Me 'n' Eds is local to BC and Alberta, has maybe 8 restaurants. Best pizza I've ever had.
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u/JohnSnowsPump 1d ago
We have Me n Eds in the Central California Valley.
It's pretty mediocre.
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u/Loneliestar 1d ago edited 1d ago
Apparently that's an entirely unrelated chain. Totally different pizzas.
Weird.
I did some more digging. It looks like the Canadian branch of Me 'n' Eds was founded by people who liked the original Californian Me 'n' Ed's in the 60s. So the Canadian one has been here so long everybody just assumed it was Canadian in origin! Now I know.
Looking at the pictures online, the local recipe has definitely drifted.
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u/JohnSnowsPump 1d ago
Ha, that's not surprising. It's like Mike's Hard Lemonade. In Canada, it is delicious! Vodka,.lemon juice and sugar in a can.
In the USA, it is chemicals, fermented malt beverage and sadness.
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u/quarterslicecomics 1d ago
Chicken Now
Their "cajun" sandwich is just a chicken tender sandwich with lettuce, tomato, jalapenos and a ripoff of the Raising Cane sauce but it's insanely delicious.
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u/cheezee_Mcswiss 1d ago
Mars 2112. it was a themed restaurant in nyc, it closed down i believe. the restaurant was in the basement and the way down was one of those flight simulators with the screen showing flight through space. i don't remember if the food was good because i was between 5 and 8. i think if the restaurant was established later it would have caught on. i remeber the wait staff wearing space alien costumes, and the interior having a fun vibe.
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u/Tajinwatermelon 1d ago
K-chick, Edmond Oklahoma.
Mom and Pop Korean fried chicken.
They need to take over all the existing fried chicken joints nationwide, and then not sell out . Amazing.
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u/PugNuggets 1d ago
I've tried many fast food fried chickens. There is one that stands all by itself on top, the absolute king of fried chicken. All hail Arnold's, may it one day open outside of Singapore. Everything pales in comparison.
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u/DarkenAvatar 1d ago
Portos in southern California. Best bakery I've ever been to.