The Best Chain Restaurants in America

Sometimes you just can't find a good local food spot. Picture this. You're in some suburb in Maryland for a wedding, and despite attempts at Yelping and Urban Spooning your way to culinary delight, there's nothing but Applebee's and T.G.I. Friday's as far as the digital eye can see. What do you do? Do you resign yourself to an evening of unlimited breaksticks at The Olive Garden? Do you head back to the hotel and fork over top dollar for subpar room service? Put the hotel room landline down; there's a better way.

Not all chains are created equal. Believe it or not, there are a handful of chain restaurants that serve food that you can actually enjoy prepared with ingredients that won't give you cancer. Some of them even have business ethics that attempt to keep the mom and pop spirit alive in the boardroom and the kitchen alike. Before you give up and grab yet another grotesque fast food burger, be sure to consider some of these chains that do it up right. Here are The 15 Best Chain Restaurants in America.

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Best menu item: Milk Shake
Locations: 500

Not only does Steak 'N Shake provide a solid milkshake, but they also offer a customizable dining experience. Most national chains make you choose between the plodding service of T.G.I. Fridays and the get-in-get-out mentality of Burger King. Steak 'N Shake allows you to pick your pace. You can swing by the drive-thru, grab a quick take-out order, or you can sit down for a waitress attended diner-style experience. Though Steak 'N Shake is a national chain, many of their locations provide a local diner feel, with attentive wait staff and well-maintained dining areas. As if we didn't love Steak 'N Shake enough, they recently added a ridiculous late-night menu, including the 7x7, a seven patty burger.

Best menu item: Spinach and Bacon Souffle
Locations: 1700

In recent years, Panera Bread has become synonymous with suburbia. Soccer moms and middle managers have fled less comfortable chains for the plush seats and artisanal breads of Panera. There have been two key components to their success: they provide you with quality ingredients and quality WiFi. Unlike most chain restaurants, Panera doesn't mind if you hang out as long as you like. CEO Ron Shaich said, "In many ways, we're renting space to people and the food is the price of admission." The company also does their best to provide food that is worth the price of admission on its own. Shaich has also said that his restaurants serve applewood-smoked bacon of "the kind you'd find at the Four Seasons not on the Baconator." Panera takes their quiches and their scones seriously. Twice a year the R&D team takes a trip to the Adirondacks to experiment with new offerings. Though we would be bored to tears watching Panera's higher-ups discover new twists on the turkey sandwich, we're glad that they're hard at work. We're also glad to know that if our wireless ever goes out, we can finish lists like this one as long as we buy a muffin first.

Best menu item: BBQ Chicken Pizza
Locations: 250

California Pizza Kitchen is a relatively new company, but their success over the last thirty years has been due to more than just quirky pizzas. Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax founded the restaurant in 1985. As most successful new players in the restaruant space do, they exhaustively studied industry leaders. The entrepreneurs looked at the corporate history of McDonald's, Starbucks, and Baskin-Robbins as they developed their business plan. The most important discovery they made was not an economic lesson, but a customer service mantra. When CPK opened its doors it rolled out R.O.C.K., an employee culture that involving "Respect, Opportunity, Communication, and Kindness." This sounds more like a chant you would hear from the Care Bears than a business model, but it worked. Happy employees, satisfied customers, well-prepared food, and clean restaurants followed. R.O.C.K. culture combined with the introduction of California's experimental pizza movement to the rest of America proved to be a recipe for success.

Best menu item: Ft. Worth Ribeye
Locations: 400

"If your employees are having fun, they are going to have fun with the guests." No, this isn't a quote from the CEO of Chuck E. Cheese, this a comment from Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor. Texas Roadhouse differentiates itself from the rest of the mass-market steakhouses by creating and then controlling a culture of "rowdiness." This focus on a specific atmosphere with happy employees was hard to sustain during the recent recession, but Texas Roadhouse refused to cut down on recognition events and celebrations for employees during the economic downturn. Taylor ended up on the right side of that argument, as a recent study found that 70% of Texas Roadhouse's customers are repeat customers. If this makes you think the Roadhouse might be a good place to work, just be prepared for the possibility that you will might be forced to participate in line dancing as part of the job.

Best menu item: Italian Sandwich
Locations: 300

If you've had a Potbelly sandwich, you already know that their offerings go above and beyond other big chain sandwiches. Even though you pay a dollar or two more than you would at a certain other national sandwich shop, it is well worth the additional cost. You may not know about some of the moves Potbelly has made to ensure a positive corporate culture. Potbelly has publicy stated that they prefer their franchisees to be "qualified married couples and life-partners who are sincere about integrating Potbelly into the fabric of their communities." Potbelly wants their restaurants to have a local feel, which ideally means having roots in a community. Fear not, confirmed bachelors and bachelorettes, if you can prove that you're interested in putting down roots, Potbelly woud like to have you as well, as long as you understand founder Bryant Kell's philosophy of "psychic happiness" and don't mind hearing live music from local musicians during lunch hour.

Best menu item: Chop't Po' Boy
Locations: 25

When it comes to healthy options, you can't really beat salad, unless you beat it into submission. Americans like to put all sorts of things on their salad to ruin any chance of it being healthy; we've even seen french fries and chicken cutlets on salads. Chop't is looking to take the salad mainstream without dumping a fast food combo on top of it. Though they currently only have locations in New York and Washington, D.C., Chop't looks poised to become a regional and perhaps even a national chain in short order. New Yorkers can tell your horror stories about waiting in line for Chop't through their entire lunch hour. What has made salad, the last thing most people actually want to eat for lunch, a hit? The New York Times describes buying a salad at Chop't as "like buying a car." You start with a base price that gets you any green you like, and start adding a dollar here and a dollar there until you've got steak and feta cheese swimming in that salad bowl. The Times estimates that with all of the options at Chop't, you could eat a different salad "every day for the next century." Though it looks like New York and D.C. customers might be up to the century salad challenge, the big question for Chop't is if less health-conscious cities will be as eager to take part in the salad-as-automobile craze.

Best menu item: Hashbrowns "Scattered All The Way"
Locations: 1700

We're going to make our plea for the supremacy of Waffle House with our hearts, not with our heads. Waffle House doesn't boast healthy fare nor do have they changed the breakfast game nor are their bathrooms clean, but damn it, we love it. A 2004 study may have found that the restaurant averaged 1.6 violations for inspection, but that is why you go to Waffle House. While Denny's, Friendly's, and the rest come up with new gimmicks and menu redesigns every quarter, Waffle House sticks to its guns. No matter when or where you go to a Waffle House location, you know you'll be greeted by the welcome sight of eggs, bacon, and grits with a waffle on the side after an all night ride down an empty interstate. Also, the restaurant somehow ranks alongside Home Depot and Wal-Mart as the best equipped for disaster response. Franchises have an extensive disaster plan down to pre-positioned generators and emergency rations. So, in the event of a zombie apocalypse, head for the nearest Waffle House.

Best menu item: Hawaiian Rib-Eye
Locations: 20

Houston's understands that one of the best qualities a chain can have is not looking like a chain at all. Though this steak and seafood spot has two dozen locations across America, they want each restaurant to feel like it is a stand-alone shop. The company went as far as to rename some of their locations Hillstone in hopes of "disassociating from the company chain image to remain a niche player in the industry." Of course, another key to that goal is providing great food. Our colleagues at First We Feast placed two Houston's/Hillstone dishes among Top 25 Best Chain Restaurant Dishes: their Famous French Dip and Hawaiian Rib-Eye made the cut. Before you head over, make sure you check out each location's soup calendar, so you can maximize your experience by making sure you go on the right day for the right bisque.

Best menu item: Lobster Bake
Locations: 34

"Chain Seafood Restaurant" isn't exactly a phrase that warms the heart. Red Lobster and Long John Silver's have done enough damage to the concept to make restaurateurs think twice about entering the space. Legal Seafood has set out to make us rethink our prejudices against big seafood chains. With locations up and down the eastern seaboard, Legal Sea Food is certainly a chain, but diners report that it feels like anything but. Legal Seafood incorporates touches like "waterfront purity labs" that inspect deliveries and individual menus for each location to avoid any problems with the quality of their cuisine. The bottom line is that whether you order a Crab Cake Combo or Lousiana Catfish, your seafood will be fresh. Unlike certain chain restaurants that have made the news recently, you can rest assured that Legal Sea Food is bi-partisan: their New England Clam Chowder has been served at every Presidential Inauguration for the last thirty years.

Best menu item: Glazed Crueller
Locations: 800

There isn't much here for the health conscious, though Krispy Kreme did once introduce a Whole Wheat Donut in an attempt to appeal to healthy eaters. No, you don't go to Krispy Kreme for your diet, you go because they have the best donuts around. Last summer, Krispy Kreme easily won a study that sought to discover the most "addictive" chain restaurant. Krispy Kreme has remained appealing to customers and stockholders alike due to their commitment to consistency. Industry analyst Sonya Chudgar wrote of Krispy Kreme in 2012, "The dough mix in Krispy Kreme's doughnuts has barely been altered in 75 years. The mix, in fact, is still blended in the same plant in Winston-Salem, N.C. that has been in place for 67 years. Much of the original equipment is still in use."

Best menu item: Burrito
Locations: 1500

Last year, Slate's Matt Yglesias referred to Chipotle as "a company that shows that there's clearly room for growth and innovation in even the most basic sectors of the economy." He and several other commentators see distinct similarities between the tech companies and app designers who are responsible for much of the economic growth these days and the burrito makers over at Chipotle. Chipotle, Yglesias believes, is like Apple. Just like iPhone customers pay more for a better product, so too will burrito customers pay more for better ingredients than Taco Bell. Chipotle is also similar to a tech company in that it values innovation. They have experimented with ways to bring better ingredients at a low cost and has re-introduced the assembly line to fast food.

Chipotle has also shown a commitment to organically and locally sourced food in a way that their competitors don't. Granted, Chipotle isn't exactly an organic co-op, as they make promises like "Chipotle plans to serve at least 50% of at least one item from local farms when it is seasaonally available." Though their eco-consciousness is limited, this is yet another way they are outdoing the competition.

And of course, it's hard to leave Chipotle hungry, which never hurts.

Best menu item: Number 9
Locations: 200

Philadelphia partisans are always quick to remind you that a cheesesteak purchased outside of Philly is not a cheesesteak at all. Unfortunately, you can't necessarily make a run to the City of Brotherly Love whenever you're the craving strikes. Serious Eats recently decided to compare D'Angelo's cheesesteak to other similar fast food offerings to see just how much better they are than the mass-market competition. Predictably, no other restaurant came close to touching D'Angelo's beloved recipe. For those who aren't into the whole cheesesteak thing, we're told that the Lobster Sandwich and the Thanksgiving Sandwich are also can't-miss items when available.

Best menu item: Baby Back Ribs
Locations: 200

Most folks like their barbecue local. If you get a guy from West Texas in a room with someone from East Carolina and throw in a Kansas City native, they will argue barbecue supremacy all day long. It's a testament to the quality of Famous Dave's that the chain has managed to open 200 in restaurants in 33 states. Famous Dave's knows that quality is the key to competing as a BBQ joint. The company has set about collecting accolades to bolster the reputation of their restaurants. The restaurant has won "Best BBQ Sauce in America," "Best BBQ Joint," and has been awarded "Best BBQ Ribs" in 50 separate regional contests. They even won an award for "Best Salad" for their "Crispy Chicken Jumpoff," which we bet is about as healthy as their ribs. Though we always recommend a local barbecue spot when available, Famous Dave's is the next best thing. Also, if your name is Dave, David, or even Davey, you eat free on August 14th, which is "Dave Day," so put your request for a legal name change and mark those calendars.

Best menu item: Bacon Cheeseburger
Locations: 1,000

West Coasters have long had a superior attitude because they have In-N-Out Burger. The rise of Five Guys has finally provided an East Coast answer to the beloved Pacific burger chain. Five Guys founder Jerry Murrell has a no-nonsense, keep-it-simple-stupid approach to business that he has ingrained into the culture of his restaurant. Murrell has kept the menu and décor simple while he has tied employee pay to performance as best he can. Though the chain has tried coffee and chicken sandwiches in the past, they've discovered that they don't want to go beyond burgers, fries, and the occasional hot dog. Though the menu is simple, Murrel's expectations are far from low. He has auditors check in on his restaurants often and evaluate performance. "If the auditor walks in and the bathroom isn't clean," he says, "that crew just lost money." Murrell rewards his employees for accepting his rigid standards. Five Guys allocates 1.5% of their revenues to bonuses. With his staff motivated, all Murrell has to worry about is finding ways to make his burgers and fries better and better. If you think we're kidding, just drop into one of the "fry calibration" classes Murrell conducts at his franchises.

Best menu item: Double-Double Cheeseburger Animal Style
Locations: 280

Great companies keep a firm hold on the quality of their product. This is normally a challenge for chain restaurants, as they typically work on a franchise model. In-N-Out Burger has been able to maintain their commitment to excellence because they eschew traditional models. The company is privately held, as to avoid the meddling of profit driven shareholders and In-N-Out Burger has never issued a franchise, so they keep a firm hold on the quality of their restaurants.

The control that makes In-N-Out Burger great on a corporate level can be felt in their restaurants as well. The small menu illustrates their commitment to being great at a few things rather than being seduced into flavor of the month fads like so many of their competitors. Their legendary secret menu is actually more expansive than their standard menu. In-N-Out has also has made freshness a primary focus: you can order your meal confident that no microwaves, heat lamps, or freezers were involved in your food prep process.

Another important factor in In-N-Out Burger's excellence is their commitment to their employees. Many fast food chains pay lip service to the idea of employee development and retention, but In-N-Out has maintained a significant investment in their workforce. Bloomberg Businessweek estimates that 80% of In-N-Out's managers start at the bottom, picking up trash and cleaning fry vats. The company also puts their money where their mouth is: they pay everyone, from cashiers to managers, above industry standard wages. From their corporate policies to their ingredients to their employees, In-N-Out demonstrates the right way to do fast food.