The House That Arod Built

I am so embarrassed that I did not know about this sooner (my brother took almost a week to tell me) but opening up at the new Yankee Stadium (my most favorite place in the world) will be a Hard Rock Cafe. Can you believe it?? A mecca chain. Actually the grand daddy of the theme chains will be finding a home in Yankee Stadium. I really do not understand the marriage of the two, Hard Rock and Sports??? I think an ESPN Zone or Fox Sports Grill would have made more sense but what do I know? I am just a lowly chain food blogger.

No matter what they better have a section dedicated to Bernie Williams and his music. That would be awesome!

Also I think I would buy a Hard Rock Cafe Yankee Stadium T. I can see those being really cool. I am excited to see the merchandise they will offer. I also wonder if the menu will be more stadium like or will it be consistent what is offered in most of the other Hard Rocks.

Another thing I think is cool is that the restaurant will be open all year and you can eat there without tickets to the game. You will not be able to see the field at all but I imagine the atmosphere will be awesome and probably a fun place to watch the game if you don't have tickets to a big playoff game or something.

Did You Know Applebee's Was The Largest Chain?

Ummm I didn't. I am really surprised at that. Anyway here is a really interesting article about Applebee's and a new chain called BJ's (nice name). Supposedly it is the next big chain. I wonder if they get really big will they have to fight with the BJ's wholesale club for rights to the name.

Anyway, they are based out in California and have an on site brewery which is pretty cool. I was checking out the menu online and it is pretty legit. Lots of salads, pizzas, sandwiches and Rori like entrees (which means chicken in fun sauces). Next time I am in Cali I will def check it out. They even have one in Rancho Cucamonga which is my favorite city just because of the name.

Here is the article.
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/06/29/the-next-applebees-is-bjs-restaurant-and-brewery/

The Wild Wild West

I am on my way back to NY waiting in the airport for my plane but I wanted to do a quick posting about my trip to LA. I have to say I was really disappointed by the diversity of the chains here. Besides In N Out Burger and Carls Jr, I did not notice any chains we do not have in NY. I guess there were a few Mexican ones but I really was not in LA long enough to notice what is a chain and what is not. I probably need to expore the outskirts of the city to really find the good chains we do not have in NY.
There is a BLT Steak in West Hollywood. Maybe next time I am in LA I will go there so I can write about it. The BLT's are so becoming huge mecca chains.
Oh I thought of something else that might be cool to explore and find. The first California Pizza Kitchen. I bet that is in LA somewhere. OMFG, the first Cheesecake Factory is also in LA. I def need to pay my respects and make a visit there. Good thing I will be back soon.
My quick trip did make me reconfirm my love of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I thought I liked my Atlanta Caribou Coffee more but no way. My heart belongs to the Coffee Bean.
Anyway I have a few more things to talk about but for now I will just wallow in the lack of LA chain diversity.

Chain Your Dad

One of my best past posts was titled Chain Your Mom and was a list of all the best chains to take your mom to on Mother's Day. I figured today was a great day to write a posting dedicated to Dad, the guy that taught you how to swing a baseball bat (too bad I grounded out three times in softball this week) and the guy that builds your 300 pound, 60 foot glass T.V. stand and picks you up in the city after your morning jog with your laundry so you don't have to do it in your scary basement. So in honor of dad I am writing a post of all the best chain restaurants to take your dad to this Father's Day!

1) ESPN Zone - so much fun! You can play video games, watch the Yankees, Tiger Woods and eat a pretty decent meal.

2) Capital Grille - Step it up for dad this year. He deserves a good steak and even better a Stoli Doli

3) Texas Roadhouse - The food is just so good here that your dad will love it. Everything from the biscuits, sweet butter, and as my bro says, fall off the bone ribs will make dad happy.

4) Hooters - Enough said

5) Del Frisco's - Really treat your dad for something good. I can not think of a better steak or a better place.

I Lost My Rack

I have to thank my hetero lifemate Nina for this shocking, yet kind of exciting news. Back when we were young sophomores at BU we frequented a bar in Faneuil Hall at least once a week called the Rack. At the time it was one of the "trendiest" bars in Boston. It totally was not a college bar with dollar beers and boys in Red Sox hats that I eventually learned to love Junior year. Instead this was a bar with dudes in suits and cougars looking for their mate. They also had a huge outdoor seating portion and pool tables everywhere. For some reason Nina and I just loved it here. Maybe it was because they let us in with our fake IDs and they played awesome music. There are so many wonderful and funny memories I have of this bar but my favorite is definitely the night we were on Wild On E. No, I did not know anything shocking, I was just standing in the background sipping my Stoli Raz and Sprite but I still made it on TV.

Sadly this bar closed a few years ago so BU kids that are there now will never no the wonders of The Rack. Now, why is this posting on chainoffood? Good question because The Rack is now a Hard Rock Cafe. Can you believe it, one of my favorite bars is now a chain restaurant. What are the odds of that? I actually really like Hard Rock Cafe and think Faneuil Hall is the perfect location for one. I was just at the one in Times Square and was very impressed. I mean if you really like music the place is a great museum. I think seeing the sequin bra Madonna wore in 1989 is pretty cool . Next time I am in Boston, which I hope is soon, I will definitely have to stop by here and check out the new Hard Rock.