• Football season is a time for chain restaurants to draw in customers.
• We tried classic cheeseburgers from four chains to determine the best option for game day.
• Buffalo Wild Wings impressed us with its juicy, double-stacked burger.

Football season is in full swing, and restaurant chains are rolling out crowd-pleasing tailgate favorites to win over fans.

In our series "Tailgate Taste-off," Business Insider is pitting these chains against each other to uncover the best versions of popular game-day dishes.

Nothing says football season like a juicy, classic cheeseburger from your favorite local chain, and while chicken products are one of the biggest fast-food and casual-dining trends as we kick off 2025, the burger still reigns supreme among many US consumers.

Restaurant Business reported that limited-service chains where burgers are a core menu item generated $110 billion in total sales in 2023, more than double the sales generated by limited-service chicken chains like Popeyes and Chick-fil-A.

In 2024, casual dining chains capitalized on America's need for beef.

Chili's and Applebee's introduced value meals that highlighted burgers. Chili's added its Big Smasher, a play on the McDonald's Big Mac, to its "3 For Me" value menu, while Applebee's released the "Really Big Meal Deal," which included a chicken sandwich or bacon cheeseburger, bottomless fries, and a drink for $9.99.

"We've always had incredible burgers on our menu, but for about a year now, we've been hearing more and more frustration from fast-food fans over rising costs," Chili's director of culinary, Brian Paquette, told Business Insider last spring, adding it's one of the reasons the chain is leaning into burgers and drawing inspiration from fast-food favorites.

We ranked classic cheeseburgers from four chain restaurants — Applebee's, Chili's, Buffalo Wild Wings, and TGI Fridays — based on taste and value.

Here's how the four chain restaurants' cheeseburgers ranked, from our least to most favorite.

My least favorite burger came from TGI Fridays.

I ordered the cheeseburger at the restaurant I visited in Massachusetts. It cost $12.49, excluding taxes and fees, and came with a side of french fries.

I live in New York City, but I had to travel further afield to try the chain's burger because many of my local TGI Fridays restaurants have closed.

In early November, the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Reuters reported that it was facing $37 million in debt, which led to some underperforming restaurants closing.

The TGI Fridays location I visited in Massachusetts is locally franchised and owned, so it's not included in the larger brand's bankruptcy filing.

The cheeseburger was topped with two slices of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and red onion.

The burger, like the other burgers I tried in this taste test, was served on a brioche bun. When I lifted the burger to examine the toppings, I noticed that the very soft bun had partially stuck to the melted cheese.

This wasn't necessarily a knock on its own, but adding a sauce or butter to the bun could have made it less dry.

There's no sauce on the burger, but there's ketchup provided on every table, or you could request mustard or ketchup on it if you desired. However, I tried it completely on its own.

The burger was a touch overdone, even though I ordered it medium.

I requested my burger to be cooked medium, but it came out closer to well-done and was quite dry. That said, I did enjoy the flavor of the meat, which I found to be peppery and well-seasoned.

The sliced tomato tasted fairly fresh, but I found the lettuce limp and forgettable. The burger had a generous serving of pickles and onions, which I enjoyed. However, overall, I found this burger to be lacking in flavor, and a layer of sauce could have gone a long way.

The fries were also well-seasoned, and I enjoyed them.

Next up was the Oldtimer with cheese from Chili's.

At the Massachusetts location I visited, the most classic cheeseburger on Chili's menu cost $13.29, plus tax.

Though Chili's is not primarily a burger restaurant, burgers are a major part of the brand's strategy, which appears to be working.

"Over the past two and a half years, we've removed around a quarter of our menu to focus on our core four offerings: burgers, crispers, fajitas, and margaritas, which now represent 47% of our business," Kevin Hochman, the president and CEO of Chili's parent company Brinker International Inc., said in October.

In the chain's third-quarter earnings report, Chili's reported a 14% increase in same-restaurant sales and a 6.5% increase in traffic last summer compared to the same three-month period in 2023.

The Oldtimer Burger was topped with cheddar cheese, pickles, shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, diced red onions, and mustard.

The cheddar cheese was perfectly melted, and the burger patty also had a nice char on the outside. The burger was definitely cooked medium and had a nice juiciness to it while remaining slightly crispy on the outside.

When I lifted the top bun, I saw a light smear of mustard on top of the cheese. While it wasn't an enormous amount of mustard, it permeated each bite.

I thought the mustard could have been dialed back a bit.

The mustard was quite sharp, and while I do like mustard, it was a bit too much for me.

However, the rest of the burger really impressed me. The char on the smashed patty was perfectly crispy, and the other ingredients were fresh. The red onion brought a nice bite, and the brioche bun held everything together. I also liked the choice of shredded lettuce, which added a crispy freshness.

The fries were also solid: warm, crispy, and well-seasoned.

Overall, it was a good classic burger, but I've had Chili's burgers I've enjoyed more in the past, like the Big Smasher, which is their take on a McDonald's Big Mac, and the chain's southwestern-inspired Alex's Santa Fe burger.

My second favorite burger came from Applebee's.

I ordered the burger as part of the chain's "2 for $2X" deal, which also allowed me to get an order of boneless wings and a chicken tender basket.

However, the burger typically costs $16.99, excluding tax, at the location I visited in Brooklyn, New York.

This year, Applebee's teamed up with the NFL as the league's official grill and bar partner, recognizing a strong overlap between their customer base and NFL viewers.

"We know our guests are football fans," Applebee's chief marketing officer Joel Yashinsky told Business Insider, adding, "This season, we've been all in on the NFL."

Data collected by Applebee's in April revealed that 64% of its guests were interested in or very interested in the NFL, and around 34% had watched the NFL in the past year, which helped shape the chain's strategy for the football season, Yashinsky said.

The Classic Cheeseburger came with two slices of American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and pickles on a brioche bun.

There was a thick, gooey layer of cheese melted onto the burger. I thought the two slices of cheese did a lot to elevate this burger.

The outside of the burger patty was quite dark, which made me concerned it might have been cooked beyond the medium level I requested.

However, I found the burger was supremely juicy and cooked even slightly on the side of medium-rare.

The burger was slightly less done than the others I tried. I didn't mind one bit.

The melted, tangy cheese covered every square inch of this burger, making for a balanced bite. The thickly sliced red onion also added a lot of flavor, and I thought the lettuce and tomato tasted fresh.

This burger didn't have any sauce, but it wasn't dry at all thanks to the cheese and buttery bun that seemed to melt in my mouth.

Though it was very similar in ingredients to the TGI Fridays burger, it just tasted better, juicier, and fresher.

My favorite burger came from Buffalo Wild Wings.

I ordered the All-American Cheeseburger at my local Buffalo Wild Wings in Brooklyn, New York. It cost $14.49, excluding tax.

Since Buffalo Wild Wings is primarily known for its traditional and boneless wings, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this classic cheeseburger.

The burger came with two beef patties, American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayonnaise, and mustard.

I was impressed that this burger came with two burger patties. Each patty was crispy on the outside and coated in gooey melted cheese.

When it arrived at the table, the bun was glistening, and inside was a hearty smear of mustard and mayonnaise.

The fries were tasty, thin, and well-salted, but I had to admit I preferred some of the other chains' thicker fries.

I thought this burger was a great value, and I scarfed down every delicious bite.

The mayonnaise and mustard added a lot of moisture and flavor to this burger, but it truly didn't need it.

The beef patties were juicy yet crispy, and the cheese was perfectly melted, adding a tangy, savory flavor to each bite. It felt like a more elevated version of a fast-food cheeseburger, and instantly transported me back to my childhood with its classic, fresh-tasting toppings and indulgent flavor.

The addition of the second patty really enhanced the burger. For just under $15, I also thought it was the best value of all the burgers I tried.

This burger delivered a winning bite, hitting all the right notes for a satisfying meal. I would definitely go back to try more of the chain's burgers — football season or not.

• Value meals at Chili's have boosted the restaurant chain's sales lately.
• Chili's chief marketing officer says the deals aren't leaving the menu anytime soon.
• Competitors like McDonald's and Wendy's also offer value meals amid inflation challenges.

Appetizers and value meals are bringing customers to their local Chili's Grill & Bar in droves — and they're not leaving the menu anytime soon.

Deals like the Triple Dipper and the 3 for Me combo, both of which allow customers to get sit-down meals for under $20, have helped Chili's parent company, Brinker International, beat quarterly expectations recently. Same-store sales grew nearly 15% at Chili's during the company's latest quarter, which ended in September.

Those affordable deals are standing parts of the restaurant's menu, not temporary offers, George Felix, chief marketing officer at Chili's, said.

While some restaurant chains are "scrambling to throw a low-priced offer out there and try and compete," the 3 for Me deal "is something we believe in," Felix told Business Insider.

3 for Me offers diners a starter, an entrée, and a drink for as little as $10.99. Chili's has offered the combo for about two years, and it added a smash burger as an entrée option in April — a move the company said took "aim at fast food" at the time.

Other restaurant chains have ramped up deals this year to attract customers, including many whose budgets have been stretched by inflation, back to their dining rooms. McDonald's, for instance, is planning to launch a new value menu in 2025 after extending a limited-time $5 meal this year. Burger King and Wendy's have also offered their own value meals.

Meanwhile, Red Lobster discontinued its $20 endless shrimp deal, which was meant to be a permanent menu item, and ultimately blamed the promotion for an $11 million loss in Q3 2023.

For Chili's, offering food options that range from less than $11 to over $30 allows diners to choose what sort of experience they have, Felix said.

"We believe value is not about the lowest price point," Felix said. "We believe value is what you get for what you pay."

The Triple Dipper is an appetizer sampler that's been having a viral moment on social media recently.

Many Chili's customers who come in for such deals return and order higher-priced items, such as a margarita, which can cost as much — or more — than some of Chili's value meals, Felix said.

"You bring them in with the Triple Dipper, but then they come back again and it's the Don Julio margarita — they treat themselves," Felix told BI. (That margarita cost $12 when ordered for pickup in New York on Tuesday.)

It shows that even diners looking for good deals will splurge, CEO Kevin Hochman said on Chili's October earnings call. "The price-quality equation is critical for this guest," Hochman said.

Are you a Chili's customer or worker with a story idea to share? Reach out to these reporters at [email protected] and [email protected]

TGI Fridays has gone through a lot of iterations. It started in the 1960s as a hot singles bar. By the '80s and '90s, it had transformed into a nice-enough family-friendly spot for a cheapish night out. Nowadays, the chain has become a place that nobody really wants to go to — at least not enough to keep the casual dining chain out of bankruptcy.

The writing has been on the wall at TGI Fridays for a while. The restaurant has been struggling to pay its bills and foot traffic is down. Its CEO of five years, Ray Blanchette, stepped down in May 2023, and the next guy in the CEO role, Brandon Coleman III, only lasted for two months before exiting for "personal reasons." Coleman was replaced by Weldon Spangler, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, left the role in August.

Fridays closed 36 underperforming corporate-owned restaurants at the start of the year, citing efforts to "optimize and streamline" its operations — business speak for "things aren't going so hot, and we need to cut costs." On November 2, it filed for bankruptcy, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and its capital structure, meaning the setup of its debt and equity, as the primary drivers. The company says it plans to maintain operations across the 39 remaining corporate-owned US locations when it emerges from bankruptcy. The hundreds of TGI Fridays franchises across 41 countries are independently owned entities and, therefore, not part of the bankruptcy process.

If you're a TGI Fridays lover, that means you can still go to the one nearby if you want. But given the restaurant's troubles, I'll take a guess that applies to very few of you. Even if you can't remember the last time you went but happen to have a Fridays gift card, you may want to hurry up and use it. Apparently there are $50 million in unused credits floating around that the company says it will still honor, but you never know how long that will last.

It's been a tough year for many restaurant chains, including Red Lobster and Buca di Beppo. As The Wall Street Journal notes, other than that pandemic-triggered wipeout of 2020, chains appear to be on track to declare more bankruptcies than they have for decades. Like companies in a similar situation, the story of TGI Fridays is one of slow decline before an accelerated crash. The chain was cool and hip until it wasn't, and no one's been able to right the ship — including its private-equity owners. While those firms aren't the sole reason for the chain's death knell, they haven't helped by putting debt on the books they can't pay off.

"You just really have a lot of different challenges. And then eventually private equity looks at businesses like this, and they're like, 'Let's load it up with debt, and that's how we're going to make our money,'" Jonathan Maze, the editor in chief of Restaurant Business Magazine, said. "That's really kind of what happened here."

Your memories of TGI Fridays likely depend on your age. If you're a baby boomer, you may remember the original singles bar that started on New York City's Upper East Side. (If you want to get a sense of the vibe, check out the 1988 Tom Cruise movie "Cocktail," because that's where some of it was filmed.) If you're Gen X or a millennial, you might recall it as more of a family-friendly sports bar. On the fancy scale, it fell closer to Olive Garden than McDonald's but also developed a reputation as a little hokey. (For a sense of this, see the 1999 film "Office Space.") Over time, TGI Fridays became indistinguishable from other bar and grill chains like Applebee's, Chili's, and Ruby Tuesday. So maybe it's no surprise that those restaurants — with the exception of Chili's — have floundered.

"You've got these bar and grill concepts that, on balance, there's just not as many people who want to visit these on a regular basis any longer, for one reason or another," Maze said.

This is partly a story of changing tastes: If diners want a good burger, they'll go to Shake Shack or Five Guys, where the quality is comparable but the price tag is lower. A night on the town might be somewhere nicer, perhaps not a chain restaurant at all. And if they're in the mood for a chain sports bar with more of a focus on the actual sports, they'll hit up, say, Buffalo Wild Wings.

"Buffalo Wild Wings started with, originally, the sports aficionado who'd get bombed on a pitcher of beer and watch NFL games all Sunday afternoon and night," Burt Flickering, the owner of the retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group, said. "It's been moving to more family-oriented and team-oriented."

It's not that TGI Fridays hasn't tried some different things — getting into events, adding different menu items, trying out different cocktails — but none of it has really worked. Adding to the chain's woes was the pandemic, which crushed dining establishments everywhere. There's been a "delayed effect" of the pandemic on certain restaurants, said John Bringardner, the head of Debtwire, a trade publication that covers dealmaking and debt. Many restaurants were able to scrape by, banking on customers returning post-lockdowns, but that hope has faded.

"The ones that managed to stay through, now they just can't hang on any longer," Bringardner told me. "Business didn't bounce back in the same way that they were hoping."

In addition to grappling with changing tastes, TGI Fridays has also been subject to another trend in the restaurant business: private equity financial maneuvering. The restaurant chain was sold to a pair of PE firms — TriArtisan Capital Advisors and Sentinel Capital Partners — in 2014, though Sentinel eventually exited in 2019. In 2017, Fridays' PE owners decided to undertake a financial deal called whole business securitization, where a company issues debt that's secured by assets that generate cash, like royalties paid by franchisees. They sold debt that was contingent on money that was expected to be made in the future on franchise agreements, IP, licensing agreements, etc. It's not an uncommon practice — Five Guys and Planet Fitness have done it, too. Bringardner explained that at a basic level, it's similar to a bond, but instead of the debt being backed by the entire operations of the company, the assets and liabilities associated with the WBS are carved out from a company's balance sheet and put into a separate entity called a special purpose vehicle, which can usually borrow money at a lower interest rate.

"The interest rate is lower because investors are given very detailed data on the underlying royalty and franchise payments being made to ultimately repay this debt, and investors are first in line for payment, ahead of the company's other costs," he said. The setup has not gone well. As part of the WBS, Fridays was supposed to make regular updates on the associated finances — stuff like the amount of incoming franchisee royalties. But Citibank, the manager overseeing Fridays' financing, terminated its role in September after the company failed to make certain financial reports on time. (Think of it like a publicly traded company being late in filing its annual report with the SEC.) That's the first time a company's been dropped by its financing manager since the 2008 financial crisis. There's now a backup manager, FTI Consulting, in place.

"That was a clear sign of trouble. I mean, a healthy company does not get kicked out of managing it," Bringardner said.

Ragini Bhalla, the head of brand and a spokesperson for Creditsafe, which tracks businesses' financial stability and credit, said the company's track record of paying its bills on time has been "erratic and volatile" over the past 12 months. "You could see they're struggling," she said.

Alicia Kelso at Nation's Restaurant News outlined the "dizzying number of changes" at TGI Fridays over the past few years as the private-equity-led owners tried to see what might stick. One of those attempts included a partnership between TGI Fridays and the virtual kitchen company C3 to add items such as poke bowls and sushi to its menus, which are not Fridays' normal fare. As Kelso notes, TriArtisan invested $10 million in C3 in 2021, so there may have been some mixed incentives there. (I'll note here that TriArtisan is also an owner of Hooters, which, when is the last time anyone was in one of those?)

Strategic Resource Group's Flickering also argued that TGI's owners have been less nimble in reacting to the current environment. The Wall Street owners have been happy to take what profit they've made to pad their bottom line, he told me, rather than reinvesting that money back into the chain to help it improve operations and adapt to changing tastes.

"The private-equity people were so obtuse and not operators, they didn't look at their food-service competitors and channels," Flickering said.

Earlier this year, it looked like Hostmore, which operates TGI Fridays' UK locations, might take over the entire company, but that deal fell through. In September, Hostmore fell into administration, which is basically British for bankruptcy.

TriArtisan and TGI Fridays did not respond to requests for comment.

TGI Fridays isn't necessarily a case where absolutely everything went wrong. It's a situation where enough things just didn't go right. Consumer trends and tastes changed. The pandemic hit. It failed to reinvent itself or pivot. Private equity, as is often the case, wasn't really a boost. The goal of those firms is ultimately to make a profit on their investment, which can happen even absent a true business turnaround.

I went on my very first date, in high school, to a TGI Fridays, though if I'm being honest, it might have been a Chili's or Applebees. I can't tell the difference. That's part of Fridays' problem. The other part of the problem is that I probably wouldn't go there in this day and age unless there really weren't any other options. And apparently, I'm not alone. Given the chain's struggles, a lot of people feel that way. It can always be Friday anywhere, not just TGI Fridays, and maybe at a better price point or nicer experience.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.