8 Restaurant Chains That Serve the Best Pot Roast
Pot roast is a quintessential American dish, a meal that is part invention, part thrift, and all flavor. From the classic Hanukkah dish, made by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, to a classic New England-style Yankee pot roast, all are built on inexpensive cuts of beef, hearty winter vegetables, and a flavorful broth.
Of course, winter weather leads to cravings for rich roasts, but not everyone has the time to sear the meat, build flavor with onions, deglaze a Dutch oven, cook the meat for another three hours, and add vegetables and aromatics after a long workday.
Enter these fantastic hearty roasts made by some of your favorite chain restaurants. All across the U.S., there are excellent plates of pot roast to be had, and we've found the best beefy bites for you to enjoy.
Bob Evans
If there's one thing pot roast should be, it's tender, and Bob Evans' Fork-Tender Pot Roast lives up to the name, with savory cuts of beef that have been slow-roasted for nine hours. The meat is paired with carrots, caramelized onions, mashed potatoes, and homestyle beef gravy. The hearty meal is rounded out with fluffy dinner rolls.
Culver's
The Midwestern chain is better known for its ButterBurgers and fried cheese curds, but the menu also features an absolutely indulgent beef pot roast sandwich. While it's not always on the menu, it's worth seeking out this succulent handheld. The beef is premium chuck roast, slow-braised in a classic blend of herbs and spices, and hand-shredded in the restaurant to be tender and moist. It's served on Culver's signature bun.
Golden Corral
If you like to indulge in multiple servings of pot roast (or just about any food you can think of) the buffet-style service at Golden Corral has you covered. You can also order a plate to go of the slow cooked overnight roast with two sides to go from one of the chain's nearly 400 locations, if you'd rather eat at home.
Houlihan's
The first location of this casual restaurant chain opened back in 1972 in Kansas. Nowadays, it's serving homestyle favorites at 35 restaurants across the U.S. One hearty classic is the Down Home Pot Roast, which is topped with a decadent red wine mushroom gravy and crunchy onion straws. Served with mashed potatoes and garlicky green beans, you can add a salad or soup for a few dollars more.
Lazy Dog
This fun, family-friendly restaurant first opened in California in 2003, with walls that are covered in photos and drawings of cute pooches. If that's not appealing enough, the chain's Campfire Pot Roast makes a strong case for you to stop in for dinner. Slow-roasted beef is topped with a rich red wine gravy and served over spinach and red potato mash. You can make it a meal for a few dollars more by adding a salad or tortilla soup at any of Lazy Dog's 40 locations across the U.S.
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
A casual-dining restaurant with over 200 locations, Perkins is well known for its pies and baked goods. It's also the place to go if you're a craving hearty pot roast. The restaurant offers the meal two ways. If you're looking for a big plate, the Classic Pot Roast Dinner will do the trick. It's made with tender chunks of braised beef, sweet green peas, tender carrots, onions, and a hearty beef gravy. It comes with two sides like buttered corn and mashed potatoes. A slightly lighter version also tempts: The Pot Roast Melt places that same tender braised beef between two chunks of sourdough bread, and tops it off with cheddar cheese and savory grilled onions. Get a side of fries or a cup of soup to make this a meal.
Southern Baked Pie Co.
With locations across Georgia, this growing regional takeaway chain focuses on family-style pie recipes, including the indulgent pot roast pie. The dish starts with a flavorful, slow-cooked pot roast recipe, topped with rich gravy and placed on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. It's then baked to perfection in an all-butter crust. While you can pick this pie up at any of the chain's four locations, the Southern Baked Pie Co. also ships, so you can get this pot roast wherever you are.
Twin Peaks
This bawdy sports bar and so-called "breastaurant" may not be the first place you think of when you're craving home-cooked pot roast. But, prepare to be surprised by Mom's Pot Roast, which sees brown gravy atop slow-cooked beef, garlic mashed potatoes, and sautéed green beans, all served in a skillet.
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