I prefer Corner Bakery to Cosi. Corner bakery still does table service and the food, IMO, is better – even the salads.

Upscale in my mind would be Oceanaire, McCormick & Schmick’s, Ruth Chris’ Steakhouse, Morton’s, Manny’s, etc. Applebee’s, Ruby Tuesday’s, TGI Friday’s, Macaroni Grill, Don Pablos, etc. are not upscale in my mind. Cosi and Panera Bread are comparable but are not full blown sit down service restaurants. Cosi and Panera Bread and those kind of places could be considered upscale over McDonald’s and fast food of that ilk.

I worked at Cosi here in Milwaukee, and their food is definately not imported from France.Their soups come in frozen, and even the brie they use on their sandwiches is American made.The bread and square bagels are made from scratch and are awesome.If the bread sits more than 2 hours,which usually doesnt happen, it is discarded and a new batch is started.Upscale?Not sure.Interesting ,tasty salads and sandwiches? Definately.

quote:

Originally posted by sk bob

"upscale" chains?
isn’t that like army intelligence?, jumbo shrimp?, McDonalds food?
oxymoron. thats it!

No I think that there really are some upscale chains. Mostly steakhouses like Ruth’s Chris and Mortons. I woul dnot put Cosi in that category as I have eaten there and I think the comparison to Panera is a good one.

quote:

Originally posted by thediningroom

Do we classify Applebees and Ruby Tuesdays as "upscale chains"??? I want to know just how high the bar is on this topic.

I hope not. If that was true then there will be a great disturbance in the Force.

I think the first Cosi was on the East Side ofManhattan about 12 years ago

PF Changs is ok, but when the real thing is cheaper and so much closer…

I’m not too familiar with any of these "upscale" chains that you mentioned, living on the west coast. Can’t think of a single example of that out here…

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by frogger67

In DC and Chicago (two metro regions I know restaurants very well because of my job), there are regional chains like Great American Restaurants and Lettuce Entertain You….Great American in the DC area has Carlyle, Mike’s American Grill, Artie’s, Sweetwater, Silverado, and Coastal Flats—all part of the same chain and all what I would call upscale.

and all pretty good restaurants..although I think Artie’s is a bit pricey, but I like Sweetwater Tavern a bunch. Upscale and brewpubby all at once. And, I did enjoy my meal. IMO, the Great American people do a nice job with their restaurants.

Sweetwater is great if you drink and eat at the bar………table service seems extremely rushed at the Great American locations. I also noticed many menu items are the same – lobster rolls at Coastal Flats, Carlyle and Sweetwater, for example (and they are delicious!)

"upscale" chains?
isn’t that like army intelligence?, jumbo shrimp?, McDonalds food?
oxymoron. thats it!

a

quote:

Originally posted by desertdog

quote:

Originally posted by zataar

Buca de Beppo, Ted’s Montana Grill, Oceanaire, Palamino, Ruth’s Chris, McCormick and Schmick, M&S Grill, PF Chang’s, Capital Grill, Morton’s, all seem to fit the description. Maybe Cheesecake Factory? Maggiano’s Little Italy, Tucci Benuch.

We have or are getting most of the above where I live.

Don’t leave out Houston’s or it’s sister Bandera.

The Bandera here lasted maybe two years I believe, to be replaced by a Houlihan’s, another somewhat upscale hometown chain. The Johnson County Houston’s bit the dust quite some time ago, but the one on the Country Club Plaza is still going strong. I forgot all about them!

quote:

Originally posted by zataar

Buca de Beppo, Ted’s Montana Grill, Oceanaire, Palamino, Ruth’s Chris, McCormick and Schmick, M&S Grill, PF Chang’s, Capital Grill, Morton’s, all seem to fit the description. Maybe Cheesecake Factory? Maggiano’s Little Italy, Tucci Benuch.

We have or are getting most of the above where I live.

Don’t leave out Houston’s or it’s sister Bandera.

quote:

Originally posted by NYNM

I’ve noticed in NYC we have some "upscale" chains – ‘wichcraft (which I just mentioned in Sandwiches section), Cosi (soups & sandwiches imported from Paris), Pert a Manger (take-out, I think from London).

Can anyone add a few, esp. not from NYC?

Yes, Pret a Manger is London-based, but I thought that the name reminded me of something that I read in one of those nice glossy corporate annual reports from a US-based corporation, so I took a look in my collection from the past. And, guess what? I was correct about having seen Pret a Manger mentioned in one of these annual reports.

As it turns out, McDonald’s has owned about 1/3 of Pret for the past 2 or 3 years.

quote:

Originally posted by NYNM

Perhaps this is specific to NYC but the places I’ve been thinking about as "upscale" are primarily take-out places. They are appreciated for the lunch crowds around office areas in NYC, Wall St., Midtown, etc. Some are also open in the evening, such as Cosi, which used to offer "table service" and sometimes candlelight after 5. But they are not really "restaurants" in the general service way. The food itself is "more" upscale but even if you eat there, its like a "grab a bite" 20 min or so.
Is this just an NYC thing?

No, like I said, Cosi started in the Midwest. You know, that fly over country everyone forgets about. [;)]