10 Chain Restaurant Dishes That Come Highly Recommended By Employees

Specific menu items come to mind when you think about certain chain restaurants. Applebee's, for example, is home to the iconic baby back ribs, while no meal is complete without freshly baked cinnamon butter rolls at Texas Roadhouse. If you plan on stopping by The Cheesecake Factory, then you know that the fried macaroni and cheese is basically a requirement. These classic chain restaurant dishes and others like them are the edible embodiment of the popular saying, "if it isn't broken, don't fix it," as some have been around for double-digit years, reliably keeping customers coming back for more.

That said, while reviews make it pretty easy to figure out what chain restaurant dishes customers like and don't like, we were more curious to find out what employees thought. Having to work around the same food day in and day out really tests the deliciousness of a menu item, because if you still enjoy a dish that you have to prepare or serve every day, then it must be worthwhile. So in that spirit, here are 10 chain restaurant dishes that come highly recommended by employees.

Texas Roadhouse is the destination for rib lovers. The popular chain serves up award-winning, fall-off-the-bone ribs made of pork loin back ribs. They're hand-cut by in-house meat cutters, slathered in the signature BBQ sauce, and slow-cooked. You'll find no shortage of Reddit threads, YouTube videos, and social media posts praising the ribs at Texas Roadhouse. Even we consider it the chain restaurant with the hands-down best ribs.

"We are known for our "Fall off the bone" ribs and they're really good. I still enjoy them after working there for 24 years," said an employee on Facebook in response to someone asking if the ribs were worth it. On a Reddit thread about what to order at Texas Roadhouse, someone called the ribs their top pick, saying, "They're amazing. We don't call them "fall off the bone ribs" for no reason. ... No meat sticks to the bone. And our house made BBQ sauce is amazing." Texas Roadhouse offers seven rib meals on its rib menu, from half slab and full slab to mixed protein plates.

We can all agree that bacon and mac and cheese are two of the best foods ever invented. So it's not surprising to learn that Panera Bread employees love its popular Bacon Mac & Cheese. Made with shell pasta, a blend of cheeses, including the chain's signature aged white cheddar sauce, and topped with applewood smoked bacon, it's definitely not the item you should skip at Panera. On a Reddit thread about what Panera employees eat at work, one person said, "Dude you gotta try the bacon mac and cheese." They even suggested substituting the bacon for chicken and adding cilantro and chipotle aioli. 

Employees not only love the standard Bacon Mac & Cheese but also enjoy customizing it. "Bacon mac with honey," said an employee who clearly has an interesting palate. While on a detour down memory lane, a former worker recalled their days as a baker, saying, "I used to make loaded mac and cheese every night with everything on it those were the days baking overnight..." This highly-recommended menu item even landed at No. 2 on our ranking of mac and cheeses from chain restaurants.

The Cheesecake Factory's Fried Macaroni and Cheese is a legendary menu item. Along with being a fan favorite, these crispy, crumb-coated balls filled with creamy macaroni and cheese, served atop marinara sauce, are also one of the top employee go-tos. A popular food content maker named @price.eats shared a TikTok video of a visit to The Cheesecake Factory, and the first thing that the waiter said when offering recommendations was, "Our fried mac and cheese hands-down is one of our best-sellers."

Something Cheesecake Factory employees know that diners don't is that the balls are made from scratch daily. A former employee-turned-food content maker named Anali posted a video recommending a bunch of menu items; while holding up a fried mac and cheese ball, said, "Did you really go to Cheesecake if you didn't get this?" Anali then broke down in delicious detail what the balls are composed of and why they're worth the hype. "The macaroni inside is so rich, and that outside shell has, like, the most satisfying crunch," the creator added.

Buffalo Wild Wings isn't usually where people go for burgers, and is the last place you'd think would make delicious ones. But, customers who frequent the chain say the burgers are not only tasty, but way better than anyone would expect. That said, the real measure of whether or not a chain restaurant dish is delicious is if employees recommend it. And yes, they definitely do. "6 years host/cook/ now server, The burgs are the most underrated thing on the menu, can never get sick of them," said someone on a Reddit thread asking employees their top order. Several other employees in the thread shouted out the burgers, too. 

B-Dubs offers six burgers, in fact, from a classic All-American style to a vegetarian-friendly black bean burger. On a different Reddit thread, an employee expressed disappointment over the discontinuation of his two favorite burgers, which happened coincidentally right before he started working there. "RIP the brisket burger and curd burger," they said. As far as our top-ranked dish at B-Dubs that isn't chicken? It's the Bacon-Smashed Hatched Chile Burger.

There are lots of delicious pastas at Olive Garden to fall in love with, but to our surprise, the one that kept popping up among employees isn't even a regular menu item; it can only be made via the create-your-own-pasta option. The dish in question? Angel hair with Five Cheese Marinara. "i love me some angel hair five cheese tho," said one employee on a Reddit thread about favorite employee meals. Down the same thread, another worker shared the exact same order, saying, "angel hair with 5 cheese," while also shouting out rotini with pesto. 

That said, the combo of angel hair pasta and Five Cheese Marinara must be really special among Olive Garden workers because yet another one mentioned it, though also kept it short and sweet, saying, "Angel hair with 5 cheese Mari." The fact that employees love the Five Cheese Marinara isn't too surprising, considering that it fell just shy of the No. 1 spot on our ranking of Olive Garden sauces.

Applebee's may have become a chain restaurant that diners say isn't worth it anymore, but in its heyday, it stood toe-to-toe with America's other casual dining stalwart, Chili's Grill & Bar, operating nearly 1,800 locations worldwide. While that number has declined over the years, the chain still pumps out dishes that employees highly recommend. 

One we saw mentioned several times is the Fiesta Lime Chicken made with grilled, lime sauce-glazed chicken, that's drizzled with Mexi-ranch, smothered with a variety of cheddar cheeses, and served over tortilla strips. It also includes Spanish rice and house-made pico de gallo. TikTok user and food content maker @alexis.frost dove into a few menu items that employees had recommended, including the Fiesta Lime Chicken. It was one of only two dishes the creator declared good. 

In an interview with Business Insider, a former employee shared the best and worst dishes to get at Applebee's, calling the Fiesta Lime Chicken one of the best chicken options on the menu. "It's zesty because of the Mexi-ranch sauce and [it's] super cheesy," they said. They even suggested substituting the rice with mashed potatoes. A couple folks also name-dropped the dish on a Reddit thread about what employees order, with one saying they prefer it served in a bowl, and the other saying that they like to add onion and peppers and eat it in a wrap.

This 24-hour staple offers an extensive selection of breakfast and lunch foods, from a classic waffle, which we ranked as the best Waffle House waffle option, to biscuit sandwiches, Texas melts, burgers, and more. However, of all the menu items that Waffle House employees talk about most, it's the signature Hashbrown Bowls. The chain offers five loaded options: cheesesteak, chicken, sausage, ham, and bacon.

Someone on Reddit asked Waffle House employees their favorite thing to eat, to which a former one shared their elaborate take on a double Hashbrown Bowl, saying, "I'd pull cheese apart and put it on, then stir it all together so the cheese was melty and then put [it] on my plate immediately so the hashbrown was really soft still." They would then add in diced tomatoes, ham, mushroom, onion, and jalapeño, and mix in two packets of mayonnaise.

On the same thread, another employee kept their reply short and sweet, saying, "Menu items: hashbrown bowl ALL OF THEM." The sentiment was shared on a separate Reddit thread that asked people their go-to order, in which a server listed dishes they recommend, along with their approximate cost. "A Patty Melt hash brown bowl, smothered and diced (it already comes covered) 11.75 + 1.00 for extra toppings," they said.

The signature baby back ribs at Chili's Grill & Bar may have undergone changes recently, but even before they received a caramelized upgrade, they were one of the chain's most popular items — and had been well before the incredibly catchy, "I want my baby back ribs" jingle was introduced in 1996. With it being such a fan-favorite, you'd think it'd be the one employees recommend most. However, that honor falls to Alex's Santa Fe Burger, a stacked handheld featuring guacamole that's made in-house, cheddar, red onions, jalapeños, tomato, pickles, cilantro, and spicy Santa Fe sauce.

Funny enough, it's apparently so good that even employees who consider it a hassle to make love it. One person on Reddit shared their favorite meal, saying, "I work the grill and burgers typically. As much as I hate making it, the Alex burger is the best." Employees enjoy putting their own twist on Alex's Burger, too, like another who turns it into a high-protein/low-carb meal by removing the buns and adding beans. They said they also get to use their employee discount. Meanwhile, a former worker shared their go-to order, saying, "when i worked there ... i would order kids burger bites but in Alex burger form."

Cracker Barrel might've caught backlash with its recent attempt at a logo revamp, but according to employees, making delicious grilled chicken tenders is one thing it definitely does well. The in-house go-to is reportedly marinated in Thousand Island Dressing for 18 hours before being grilled, though another person who claims to work for the chain's corporate side said the tenders are actually marinated in honey, lemon, Italian dressing, and Worcestershire sauce. Whichever is true, one thing is certain: employees love it.

On a Facebook post, someone asked the question, "What was everyone's favorite meal while working?" and grilled chicken tenders popped up several times in the comments. One former employee even placed it in their top 3 menu items, saying, "#3 grilled chicken tenders with carrots and hbr," — the "hbr" presumably meaning hash browns. Another said the same, but with a baked potato instead of hash browns. Meanwhile, a customer on Reddit who was looking for a healthier option shared a picture of the tenders they ordered, and despite them being overcooked, they still considered them delicious. In response, an employee confirmed their suspicions, saying, "Definitely overcooked but I loveeeeee our grilled tenders."

Jimmy John's is known for its premium deli meat, which it slices fresh daily and serves on house-made bread that's baked fresh throughout the day. The menu offers a wide selection of toasted and regular sub sandwiches, several of which are customer favorites, such as the classic Cubano-style #13, and the #2 roast beef, #15 Club Tuna, and others. But when it comes to what employees enjoy most, a sandwich that gets brought up often is the #5 Vito.

The employee-favorite landed at No. 6 in our ranking of Jimmy John's sandwiches, and it's definitely a hefty undertaking, made with salami, capocollo, and provolone cheese, layered with lettuce, tomato, onion, oil, vinegar, and oregano-basil. On Reddit, someone asked Jimmy John's employees what menu item they enjoyed making most and eating most. "Favorite to make and eat: #5 Vito," said one person, along with another, who said, "I'll make 1s, 2s, 4s, and 5s all day long." They went on to say, "Some days the Vito and ham are extra tasty and boy does that hit the spot!" 

Apparently, workers like to customize it, too. When new employees were asked their go-to sandwich on a different Reddit thread, someone replied with the #5 Vito, but a personalized version with mayonnaise, cucumbers, pickles, hot peppers, extra sauce, double cheese, and beef.