The Best National Restaurant Chain Thread

[Donuthole]

Pizza is my absolute favorite food. I will eat any pizza but I also consider myself a connoisseur. I didn't know Grimaldi's had grown to the point where they are now. Last I looked 10 years ago they had maybe 4 total locations. I don't know if I would qualify them as a chain in the spirit of this thread as they are only in 10 states (and the UAE!) but they do have 47 restaurants. If they qualify as a chain I would definitely make them my top pizza chain. That being said (sorry JL), the best pizza in the world used to be served at Grimaldi's original location under the Brooklyn Bridge until they moved to a much larger location next door in 2010. Their expansion, downturn in quality, and above all abandonment of the original location with its grandfathered and therefore largely unregulated coal fired oven prompted Patsy Grimaldi (who sold to the current owner in 1998) to come out of retirement and open Juliana's in the original location where he started Grimaldi's. It is the best I have encourntered in all my travels including searching everywhere in NYC.

Anyway your story about your daughter reminded me of a somewhat opposite story about mine. The first pizza she ever ate was Juliana's and the first burger she ever ate was Shake Shack (back when there were 2 locations only in NYC and it was very high quality). So we joked that she would be ruined for normal pizza and burgers forever. But some time after she learned to talk and before we moved away from NYC, I asked her what her favorite pizza was. Her answer: "Probably first Juliana's, and then Little Ceasar's".

Haha, that’s great. She’s definitely got them in the right order, at least.

[Commando]

Pizza is my absolute favorite food. I will eat any pizza but I also consider myself a connoisseur. I didn't know Grimaldi's had grown to the point where they are now. Last I looked 10 years ago they had maybe 4 total locations. I don't know if I would qualify them as a chain in the spirit of this thread as they are only in 10 states (and the UAE!) but they do have 47 restaurants. If they qualify as a chain I would definitely make them my top pizza chain. That being said (sorry JL), the best pizza in the world used to be served at Grimaldi's original location under the Brooklyn Bridge until they moved to a much larger location next door in 2010. Their expansion, downturn in quality, and above all abandonment of the original location with its grandfathered and therefore largely unregulated coal fired oven prompted Patsy Grimaldi (who sold to the current owner in 1998) to come out of retirement and open Juliana's in the original location where he started Grimaldi's. It is the best I have encourntered in all my travels including searching everywhere in NYC.

Anyway your story about your daughter reminded me of a somewhat opposite story about mine. The first pizza she ever ate was Juliana's and the first burger she ever ate was Shake Shack (back when there were 2 locations only in NYC and it was very high quality). So we joked that she would be ruined for normal pizza and burgers forever. But some time after she learned to talk and before we moved away from NYC, I asked her what her favorite pizza was. Her answer: "Probably first Juliana's, and then Little Ceasar's".

LOL. Ok so I had Grimaldi's from the Brooklyn Bridge location in February of 2005. It was fantastic, I think. The next time I saw Grimaldi's was at its downtown Scottsdale location-- didn't eat there (and have not yet eaten there) but was disappointed to see it was franchised. I was in NYC a couple years ago for NYE and we were running around looking for pizza around midnight in Brooklyn/Flatbush area. THE ONLY PLACE OPEN WAS LITTLE CEASERS! Oh well. Nothing like a NYC slice...