It's great and also envy you folks living in Santo Domingo but you are missing out if you haven't had any burgers in 30 years. Properly mixed good quality minced beef and pork burgers on a open flame or charcoals are to die for.
- Thread starter NALs
- Start date
Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and Longhorn Steakhouse in the DR
I don't - I live in Punta Cana now, where we have several decent but mostly overpriced restaurants. When we go to SD we have a hard time deciding where to eat out of a list of about 6 favourites + new places that were recommended by friends.
I used to like a good burger but I don't miss them enough to be tempted. Don't laugh but my homemade lentil and mushroom burgers have fooled every carnivore who has tried them.
These threads crack me up. Do we realize that to dominicans which make up the vast majority of the patrons a chain from the US is new and exotic?
In the US I have not eatn at Outback on year probably. In DR? I dig it and my dominican fiance LOVES it. Tell me what local dominican place does Prime Rib? Bloomin Onion?
If longhorn has decent prime rib I will check em out. I have not been to red lobster in maybe 25 years. I don't eat seafood, but I am sure my fiance will dig the shrimp. Olive garden, I would prefer Las Lasagne as well, but am not violently opposed to trying Olive Garden.
I just got back from a trip to Chile and Colombia. We had bad luck our first two meals in Chile. Peruvian place in Santaigo was meh at best. A meal at Cinzanos resto bar in Val Paraiso was so bad I didn't take a bite of chicken. You know where we at day 3? Papa Johns pizza. I have NEVER eaten at a papa Johns in US as I am a pizza snob. It was gourmet cuisine compared to the two prior meals.
Next day we found a place that did parilladas, not as bad as cinzanos as it was edible, but would never eat there again. Last day we found a good italian place in vina. Our percentage of good meals was low as hell. . .
Fying out of Santiago I had chicken fingers in Ruby Tuesdays at the airport. Never eat at Ruby Tuesdays in US and the chicken fingers were not even as good as chick filet, fridays, hard rock etc etc etc. But. . .compared to friggin Cinzanos, and the other bad meals in Chile, they hit the spot.
In colombia I ran to Hard Rock as I was starving and knew it would not suck. Next day I tried a local place. Chicken breast and white rice was decent but nothing great. Day 3. . ..back to Hard Rock but only because I could not get into La Vitrola.
In Cali. . .I did Hooters.
In some cities like sao paulo, buenos aires etc I dig local places nd you have a good shot at getting meals that are better than the chains. In cities where the odds are lower. . long live Fridays and Chilis.
I am in texas today and will eat at a chain steakhouse called texas Land and Cattle. I would pick it over Porterhouse, and probably david crocketts in santo domingo. Chain steakhouses in texas on average blow away steakhouses in DR.
I head to nawlins for weekend and highly doubt I will eat at Fridays or Chilis.
It is all relative and depends on your circumstances.
None of the above. I don't do franchise restaurants. Their recipes tend toward cookie cutter, and aren't particularly inventive. Give me a small one owner restaurant any day. I have fond memories for a small mom/pop restaurant in Kindsbach, GE, many years ago and their oxenschwazsuppe. Find that at your olive garden
I have been to a few chain restaurants, mostly because they were the most familiar when traveling. Here not so much. Rather disappointing really. I have found that most of these chains are not consistent. One might be good in lets say Miami but when you try the same chain in Chicago it may not be as good. Olive Garden does not scream good Italian food to me, but that is just me. Red Lobster, I don't know I have only been there twice and it was nothing to brag about. I am not a fan of chain steakhouses, there are much better places to get a good steak.
Chain restaurants are good for one thing, consistency. Dominican restaurants are hit and miss; all of them!
$hit, in the DR, even the chain restaurants have consistency problems.... but a whole lot less than the Dominican places to eat.
Pizza is one of those things that infuriate me to no end. One day pizza hut will be great, two days later, inedible. The next week it will be Dominos, then papa johns, they all have days that they are on par with the U.S. and other days its like they forgot how to prepare a damn pizza.
and the worst Dominican pizza, pizzarelli which has the wettest and sloppiest pizzas ive ever seen plus sub par ingredients.
Will definitely be visiting these new restaurants but I truly doubt they are coming to the D.R.. You know how it goes here, until you see it with your own eyes, it aint true.
$hit, in the DR, even the chain restaurants have consistency problems.... but a whole lot less than the Dominican places to eat.
Pizza is one of those things that infuriate me to no end. One day pizza hut will be great, two days later, inedible. The next week it will be Dominos, then papa johns, they all have days that they are on par with the U.S. and other days its like they forgot how to prepare a damn pizza.
and the worst Dominican pizza, pizzarelli which has the wettest and sloppiest pizzas ive ever seen plus sub par ingredients.
Will definitely be visiting these new restaurants but I truly doubt they are coming to the D.R.. You know how it goes here, until you see it with your own eyes, it aint true.
And here I thought that "The CHEESECAKE Factory" was a chain of "Strip Clubs"!
"HOOTER'S" for "Lunch" anyone????
Love their "Breasts & Thighs"!
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"HOOTER'S" for "Lunch" anyone????
Love their "Breasts & Thighs"!
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I do know that Cheesecake Factory does open up stores overseas - one recently has opened in The Avenues Mall in Kuwait - wait lines for hours at first but has calmed down now. IHOP has also opened in Kuwait at the same mall.
If the malls in the DR ever get as busy as the malls here in Kuwait then there is a good chance that Cheesecake Factory would open but I honestly don't see that happening any day soon. Mall Shopping is the national sport here I think. :ermm:
Maybe in Capital or up north but here in central, I've been suffering from lack of place for fine dining.
I really hope that those chain restaurants aren't your definition of fine dining. Olive Garden?? The White Castle of Italian food.............guacala
i have never had the opportunity to try american chains. when i lived in london i preferred smaller restaurants, out of curiosity to try food from different corners of the world. here in DR it is even more difficult for me to try the stuff i know from tv SD is a long drive away and i am not going to go there just to eat a burger/pizza in a large mall food court...
always wanted to go to hooters, thou. and i will not shy away to say it's because i want to stare at some nice titties in tight clothing...
SD is a long drive away and i am not going to go there just to eat a burger/pizza in a large mall food court...always wanted to go to hooters, thou. and i will not shy away to say it's because i want to stare at some nice titties in tight clothing...
i swear the first time i saw that name on a photo, printed on a t-shirt bursting with some juicy titties and i read HOOKERS, not HOOTERS. man, was i amazed about american ways!
i still sort of think it's a kind of place where you can sit the waitress on your lap and tell her she's cute :cheeky:
Maybe she was a rugby fan.i swear the first time i saw that name on a photo, printed on a t-shirt bursting with some juicy titties and i read HOOKERS, not HOOTERS. man, was i amazed about american ways!
i still sort of think it's a kind of place where you can sit the waitress on your lap and tell her she's cute :cheeky:
I'll get my coat.
Is there an IHOP in SD????!!! SO HAPPY IF THERE IS!!
I love me a good fast food restaurant but they all taste weird here and cost double!!!
I think I may give Quiznos a try tomorrow!
I love me a good fast food restaurant but they all taste weird here and cost double!!!
I think I may give Quiznos a try tomorrow!