> Chili's does rule - I like some of their salads, but their names escape me since there isn't a Chili's very close to me. I like a somewhat similar restaurant as well, T.G.I. Friday's. The food is good, but I swear I shall NEVER go there on my birthday. They tie balloons to your wrists and your hair. Once I saw a bald guy there, and they tied the balloons to his ears since there was no hair. O_o

Birthdays at Chevy's are probably the best. They sing to you, give you free dessert, and you even get to keep the huge sombrero that they plunk on your head just before they break into song. The only part I didn't like was the dessert I got. They gave me flan, and I simply cannot handle that stuff. To add to the matter, someone else was celebrating a birthday at the same time, and he got a huge piece of a wonderful chocolate thing.

> I also loooove Chevy's - their chicken flautas are wonderful, and every time I go to Chevy's I start drooling at least an hour in advance as my taste buds gear up for them. ;) Even though there are a lot of mom-and-pop type Mexican places around here, for some reason I just like Chevy's better. I guess I can't handle the real deal. ;)

Yes, Chevy's is great, but it still can't beat REAL home-cooked Mexican food. Before I moved away to college, I was occasionally able to eat the BEST Mexican food ever. Not only was the food amazing, but I think the atmosphere was part of it. A meal was a time to chat and have fun, and maybe that made the food taste even better. Eating delicious food while being surrounded by happy people, all talking a million miles an hour, can actually be quite relaxing, and it's also the perfect place for inquisitive souls like myself to watch people. (In some other post, I'll have to talk about the fun that is a Mexican dance.)

> But by far, my total favorite restaurant EVER is the Rainforest Cafe. It's a very heavily themed restaurant with a rainforest theme (of course). We're talking Disney-level theming. It is SO cool, it almost defies description. There's nothing quite like going to the Rainforest Cafe, especially if it's in a mall, and seeing the vines crawling out of the entrance as if to fill all the rest of the area with rainforest. The food is great too.

My former co-worker went to the Rainforest Cafe and came back telling all sorts of stories. They have a Web page (link below), but I got the impression that nothing--not even animated descriptions by co-workers--can really describe the place.

Ell"Yes, more RinkFood conversations"myruh