For this reason, I try to stay away from chain restaurants in New Jersey

Sometimes you just feel a craving for something like Red Robin. Maybe you feel like going to Longhorn Steakhouse. Or outback. Or Applebee’s.

It’s easy to think with your gut and not your mind. Damn, this has happened to me a few times recently.

Last weekend I had a craving for Olive Garden that I couldn’t shake. So I decided to go there.

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This weekend I had a craving for Red Robin. And once again I thought with my gut and not my head and decided to go there.

I want to make one thing clear: I’m not saying the quality of the food at these chain restaurants is bad. I really enjoyed my burger at Red Robin. And I liked my soup salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden.

But when you compare it to the mom and pop restaurants in New Jersey, it just doesn’t compare. These big chains have so many branches spread across the country that you don’t have to put in a lot of effort to make sure the food is perfect.

Red Robin can afford to not like my food and never come back. The pizza place on the corner might be a different story.

The owners of these mom and pop restaurants rely on us to enjoy their food and keep us coming back. They put everything they have into every dish to ensure you have a good experience. That doesn’t happen at chain restaurants.

Maybe this is all obvious, but it came to my attention recently. No shade for chain restaurants, but I want to avoid them from now on if I can.

Well, until I start thinking with my gut again.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of Kyle Clark of New Jersey 101.5. All opinions expressed are his own.

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