1. I tried Applebee's 3 times and everything was fine except the food, service and price. Hey, maybe that's why I never went back. 2. Yep, The Palm was the steak house at Pres. Inter. Famous from NYC and I always try to spend a fortune there. Also have The Palm Too. Both convenient to the theater disctrict. 3. There was a Denny's in Plaza Maya Fair and it then became a Sanborn's. Nothing there the last time I looked but for years Sanborns had a sign that they were closed for remodeling or something like that. 4. Carls Jr. - Good riddance. My friends went there for the big country breakfast burrito, or whatever it is called, where the menu said it was served with gravy. Instead it had ranch dressing and the manager said, "well, it is white and looks like gravy." I want that guy to come to my house for dinner and taste the sweet potatos, after which I will give him my version of his "well, it is ..."
Someone told me today that they were open again.. so maybe they are going to stick it out for a while longer....
I'm a fan of Chili's and Bennigans (sp?) when I'm in the hotel zone... the TGI Fridays.. was ok for a while but then turned to crap and went under. Papa Johns is one of the few examples I can think of where they didn't mess everything up by changing suppliers.. as far as I can tell its all the exact same American ingredients.....last time I tried them anyway, but even they had some issues, closing all the stores for a while before coming back last year. There is also some Starbucks style coffee place with a Hawaiian theme, (cant think of the name... Mawi Wawi maybe?) that has opened a few locations, but I never see any business there. The Ben&Jerry's in La Isla closed a while back... I saw a "coming soon" sign for a Quiznos in Gran Plaza for a few months, but it never materialized. Yes, the Sirloin Stockade is a franchise deal , based in Texas, they were good for a while, but then the food quality went down... and so did the number of customers, I think it will hang in there thou... There was a Dippen' Dots ice cream place in Gran Plaza for about a month, but its been replaced by a generic ice cream stand now...
Just an aside. Starbucks actually doesn't have the apostrophe in it (so it's not Starbuck's). I think this makes the name more interesting, but it also means people frequently write it incorrectly. I often refer to it as SBUX which is the stock ticker for the company.
I had never heard of Johnny Rocket's until I came here.. are they in the States? I guess that California buffet place is franchised, but I don't know if they are indeed from California (in the States) or Baja....
http://www.johnnyrockets.com/index2.php The California buffet place is also a franchise, but I've forgotten the name.
