I'm familiar with numbers 2, 3, and 5. Texas Roadhouse is definitely my favorite for it's quality and value, Black Angus is probably my second, and I don't much care for the Outback Steakhouse...
Love Texas Roadhouse, Longhorn Steakshouse, and the Outback. Have eaten outstanding steaks in all three, but my favorite is the Outback. In the many times I’ve eaten there in the last ten years (?), I’ve only had one mediocre steak. All the rest have been excellent.
Stoney River steak was...transcendental. So good I had an epiphany and wrote an article about how deranged vegans are denying their inner carnivore.
(Ok, the first steak there wasn’t special. But the second was.)
... Damn ..... Nobody likes Morton’s Steakhouse?
The Capital Grille is a nicely run “1%” chain of up-scale steakers.
Not a national chain, but The Cattleman’s Club Steakhouse in Pierre, SD is a real steakhouse in cattle country. We take steaks seriously here and this is where cattle ranchers go for a fantastic steak. However, the best steak I have ever had was at the Texas Roadhouse in Austin, TX.
Chain restaurant? No thanks.
Check out the Kobe beef the next time you're in Los Gatos, CA (or Danville, CA)
I’ve never had a bad steak at Longhorn. They are the best of the reasonably priced chains IMHO.
I have only eaten at Ruth’s Chris once, and it wasn’t a good experience. Oh, the steak wasn’t bad, mind you, but it wasn’t good enough to tempt me to pay $50 for the same steak I can get for $20 at Longhorn.
Of that group of steakhouses, I really liked Texas Land & Cattle; I’m not all that big on smoked meats, but the pepper crusted smoked tenderloin was absolutely outstanding. Unhappily, they don’t have a location near where I live and they closed their location near my in-laws’ home.
As far as the high end national chain steakhouses are concerned, Ruth Chris’ has the best food for the money, and is very consistent from restaurant to restaurant. Smith & Wollensky and Mortons are way overpriced.
This turned into a really fun thread, thanks for posting it!