Chain Restaurants I Miss

 

Copeland's-

All of the east coast locations are gone. You have to go to the southern states. This restaurant was a staple of my life until my mid 20’s I’d say. It was like a more southern version of Cheesecake Factory. When your parents aren’t together, you tend to spend a lot of time at restaurants because it’s a neutral area and there’s food. If I was dating someone, I dragged them there. My favorite appetizer was the Bayou broccoli balls with tiger sauce. I really enjoy fried vegetables. Tempura is one of my favorites. I don’t think deep-fried vegetables get enough attention. There is more out there besides cauliflower people! I remember deep-fried pasta came with their dips which still doesn’t make sense to me. The jazzy wings were a close second. Go to entrees were either the Eggplant Pirogue (Fried eggplant slices, au gratin sauce, Gulf shrimp, fresh crab claws, angel hair pasta), or the Crabcake and Shrimp alfredo (Fried or broiled Maryland style crabcakes, Gulf shrimp, angel hair pasta, shrimp alfredo sauce). Still my favorite seafood pasta dishes to this day. Nothing has compared. After this, I'm looking for copycat recipes. They need to come back up north.

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Chi-Chis-

Chi-Chis was my first real taste of Tex-Mex and I’ve never looked back. They have been gone for so many years but I still remember the fried ice cream and quesadillas strongly. There are only a few left and none in North America. It’s hard to recover from bankruptcy and hepatitis. I love tex mex place. I think they could come back if they cooked food from scratch and added more authenticity. A lot of the tex mex chains now don’t offer too many different options besides salsas.

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Lonestar-

My first introduction to cheese fries with real melted cheese. Now realistically, there are three other chains that are really similar to this that I also really like but this is a childhood/teenager memory for me. This was my outback steakhouse. I don’t think Outbacks were around like they are now. If I had to pick one to go out of business it would be Longhorn because it's boring and they don’t have fun apps like the other three. I also miss their Texas rose (blooming onion) and the wings. I don’t have hope that they will come back because there are places around just like them and I enjoy the food just as much.