How to Climb the Upscale Food Chains: Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick and P.F. Chang's

Remember when eating at a franchise restaurant meant chowing down at McDonalds or Burger King? Well, chains and franchises can be found at all levels of expense and snobbiness nowadays. Here's a quick survey of some of the better ones.

Fast food: McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Long John Silver.

We all know what they are like.

Medium grade: Red Lobster, Applebees, Perkins, Outback.

Okay, I've eaten at Red Lobster and Outback only twice. Applebee's and Perkins are basically chain versions of an old fashioned coffee shop. They usually feature one or two signature dishes that aren't bad and you can come out of there with a decent meal under your belt for under twenty dollars. At both Red Lobster and Outback, the price level can rise a bit-generally because the $12.99 dishes need a few sides to make them palatable and drinks can really spike the price.

I have yet to discover what's so great about the blooming onion at Outback. I found it greasy -- at least at the restaurant in New Jersey. As for Red Lobster -- the coconut shrimp was covered with sweetened coconut, the kind you put on coconut cake. Humph. And I'm actually old enough to remember when shrimp were served without the shell covering the lower quarter of the crustacean. However, if you find one dish you really like, such as crab legs, RL can work for a nice night out. However, I've found there's a difference in the quality between one restaurant and another.

High Class: Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, P.F. Chang, McCormick & Schmick.

What these chains have in common with their lower class alternatives is that they all serve a set menu. Just as you will find the same French fries in any McDonald's across the land, cooked to the same degree of crispness, so will you find a similar cut of filet mignon, broiled in the same fashion in every Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. So here's my take on three of the top-level chains. (Disclaimer: I've eaten in each place only once.)

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse: I happened to visit the one in New York which is situated close to Rockefeller Center. The restaurant is in the back of the building and is kept rather dark. You can find the menu online but no prices are posted. Figure that you will spend around $150 to $200 for two people if you choose the cheapest wine and only partake of one glass each.

Service is friendly and brisk-almost too brisk. I suspect they time the steaks according to some statistic formulated for how long it takes a person to finish their salad or appetizer. I wasn't quite finished with my chopped salad (a mélange of lettuce, bleu cheese, croutons, and a few other unidentified items all slathered in a creamy dressing) when the sub-waiter arrived with my sizzling platter. The regular waiter apologized but rather than gulp down the rest of the salad, I let them take it away. They warn you that the sizzling platter is hot and boy, are they right! I just touched one finger to the plate for a second and felt it for five minutes afterwards.

The steak was delicious-tender and juicy. The stuffed lobster was too rich-I would have preferred just the pure king of delicacies without the crabmeat mixture or whatever was in that stuffing. All side dishes are extra. We tried a nice crisp asparagus but declined the potato. We shared a dessert which was free because it was my birthday.

Value: So-so, especially when there are so many other great steakhouses in NYC. The menu is limited, but all the dishes are good.

Ambience: Expense account crowd plus birthday and anniversary celebrants.

Plus: They give a free dessert to birthday and anniversary customers.

Minus: The hot plates are so hot that customers can easily receive a third degree burn on their fingers or any other part of the anatomy that happens to come close.

McCormick & Schmick: Although there is one nearby in New Jersey I happened to eat at the one in Orlando set in an upscale mall. The specialty here is fish and seafood and for a chain restaurant they have a very extensive menu. The atmosphere is rather formal although they are usually located in a mall and so they get a shopper's crowd for lunch. Their reasonable happy hour is understandably popular.

Plus: $1.95 bar food at happy hour

Minus: The dining room atmosphere seemed a little stiff.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro: Amazingly enough, this is a very good restaurant chain. What's more the prices are fairly reasonable. Just about the same as the neighborhood Chinese restaurants The difference is that many items that come free at your neighborhood place (the pot of tea, the bowl of rice) may be extra here. They also feature fancy desserts, while the neighborhood restaurant might only offer ice cream, quartered oranges and fortune cookies.

The wrapped lettuce appetizer is great, especially if you have a foursome at the table. The trick at most Chinese restaurants is to order one big appetizer platter, then three main dishes so you can share. It's best to vary things a bit so folks who like the Sechuzean cuisine can alternate with the milder Cantonese style. Desserts are optional but since P.F. Chang's offers them, it's worth taking a chance.

This is a popular place with the young crowd and everything about it is sleek and modern and varnished.

Plus: Now everyone across the country can get good Chinese food. It used to be only New York and San Francisco that could make that claim.

Minus: They really move the customers in and out quickly, especially at lunchtime.