I don't go to mega-chain restaurants very often. Local places are usually better because they know they have to make a solid impression to stay afloat. Big chain restaurants can afford to skimp because they know their advertising will make people think they're the best anyway. When they usually aren't.
There are some bad local places, of course, but they tend to close within a year. A lot of my "usual" joints actually have multiple locations, but they're locally-based and at most have grown into regional chains.