[ToTheLeft]

Figured we should go ahead and get the ball rolling on this.

The selection committee, aka everyone, will now meet and decide what restaurants make the list, and what don't.

Basics:

1. Fast food or full service, it doesn't matter. We will judge these places based on overall quality, not just one aspect. Sure a McDonalds McDouble doesn't taste as good as a Thickburger, but for 1/4 the price, is it a better deal?

2. No local places. It needs to be a chain, or at least something well known enough that all FlameFans members will be able to relate to it. Five Guys is okay. Moe's is okay. Pueblo Viejo, not so much.

3. No bars. It's cool if you go to bars, but since we have minors and LU students participating, let's stick to restaurants. And don't judge a place by it's bar. You might like Applebee's for the bar, but judge it for it's grill.

4. Have fun. Make fake names. Make this a big deal, even though it's just for fun. Let's make this fun like the last one.

Some early selection suggestions:

Bojangles
Dunkin Donuts
Krispy Kreme
Chick-fil-A
Taco Bell

I will just do five for now. Just post random ideas, no need to second or third. It's okay to repeat, just make sure we get a good variety of what places YOU think belong in the tourney. I think we'll go with 34 places, two 16 team regions with 2 play in games.

THE LIST SO FAR:

Fast Food
Wendy's
McDonald's
Burger King
Bojangles
Hardee's
Chik-Fil-A
Taco Bell
Arby's

Not quite fast food but not a chain sit-down
Five Guys
Subway
Jersey Mike's
Moe's
Qdoba
Panera
Dickey's
Quizno's
Steak 'N Shake

Chain Sit-downs
Applebee's
Chili's
TGI Friday's
Outback
Logan's
Texas Roadhouse
Olive Garden
BWW
Cracker Barrel
O'Charley's
Ruby Tuesday
Cheesecake Factory
PF Changs

Pastries/Dessert/Coffee/Other
Starbucks
Dunkin Donuts
Krispy Kreme
Coldstone
Dairy Queen
Baskin Robbins
Dippin Dots
Ben and Jerry's
Rita's Water Ice


(Leo: I went ahead and moved my list up here, added what Manson said, and will continue to add the other ones people suggest if I see them before you do. I'm also going to sticky this.)

[LUconn]

Outback. I don't know that you can find a better steak at a large chain. For a reasonable price anyway. Not to mention the Aussie fries

[SuperJon]

What if we did four 8-team "groups"?

Fast food
Chain Restaurants
Desserts/Pastries
Something else

Then mix it up, putting equal amounts of each in the two brackets. It'd be more fun debating Krispy Kreme vs Wendy's than Wendy's vs McDonalds.

[Hold My Own]

Can someone explain what this thread is about? Is this for the Flame Fans Fantasy baseball or just picking a good place to eat

[ToTheLeft]

I was going to try and mix them up anyways, do like the committee does and not put two "teams" from the same "conference" in the same region... or avoid it at all costs.

and four 8 team groups works, give us four 1 seeds which makes for more drama. Just wont have that 1 v 16 matchup. But 1 v 8 is still a big upset.

[ToTheLeft]

Can someone explain what this thread is about? Is this for the Flame Fans Fantasy baseball or just picking a good place to eat

Remember the Christmas Songs tournament?

Like that...

[ToTheLeft]

http://flamefans.com/forums/viewtopic.p ... stmas+song

For reference.

[ToTheLeft]

That's what this thread is for. Seeing which ones are worthy of top 34 status and which aren't.

[jcmanson]

Crap, I forgot to copy and paste my fourth category.

Pastries/Dessert/Coffee/Other
Starbucks
Dunkin Donuts
Krispy Kreme
Coldstone
Dairy Queen
(I need three more here)

Baskin Robbins
Dippin Dots???

[jcmanson]

Ruby Tuesday's for sit down

[jcmanson]

Quizno's for the "in the middle" category

[SuperJon]

I'm thinking to keep this fair, we limit the number of steak houses (Outback, Texas Roadhouse, etc). That way we don't have a Final Four of all steak houses cause most people are gonna choose one of those.

[ATrain]

There's not one in Lynchburg, but Ben and Jerry's is a national chain that can be added to Pastries/Desserts.

[PAmedic]

RITA's ...BABY

be cool, eat a Rita's

[flamesfilmguy]

RITA's ...BABY

be cool, eat a Rita's

We finally got those in atlanta. I'm a big fan!

[prototype]

Fast food - Chick-Fil-A
Chain Restaurants - Cheesecake Factory
Desserts/Pastries - Dunkin Donuts
Something else - ESPN Zone

[Hold My Own]

If its open to places we dont have in Lynchburg too then PF Changs wins...game over...thats the list

[TDDance234]

PF Changs is painfully average food for outrageous prices. You can get better food at your run of the mill Chinese resturaunts.

[jcmanson]

I'm going to have to check PF Changs out sometime. There's one about 15 minutes from where I work, and some of my coworkers absolutely love it.

[Sly Fox]

Pei Wei
In 'N Out Burger
Steak 'N Shake
Giordanos (they are now in Florida in addition to Illinois)

[justagirl]

PF Changs is painfully average food for outrageous prices. You can get better food at your run of the mill Chinese resturaunts.

blasphemy.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

PF Changs is painfully average food for outrageous prices. You can get better food at your run of the mill Chinese resturaunts.

blasphemy.

+1... amazing food

[Sly Fox]

Incidentally, for those who are unaware Pei Wei is operated by the same company as PF Changs and has much of the same menu. But is in a cafe setting instead of a 2-hour long sitdown setup like PF Changs. We rarely go to PF Changs anymore but I wouldn't call it average food. It just seems monetarily inflated and the family-style deal isn't always a good fit for folks with different taste preferences. Everything but the last point applies to Cheesecake Factory.

And how can you list Coldstone and not Marble Slab? There is a Texas chain called Amy's that I personally prefer to any of the others (and I have all listed in this thread outside of Ritas within a mile of my house).

Oh, and for reasonably-priced steakhouse I prefer Saltgrass to Outback and the others.

If we can can go regional, then Pappasitos and Pappadeaux have to be on the list. I know you guys from Atlanta know what this Texan is talking about.

[SuperJon]

I don't know about TTL, but I think we've gotta keep this mainly east coast based and larger than small regional. There's no point in adding a restaurant that only three people have eaten at, no matter how good it is. The ones that will elicit the most votes and the best.

[Sly Fox]

Do they not have Pei Wei in Virginia? I eat at them from coast to coast.