These chain restaurants still serve thick, filling stews packed with meat and vegetables.
Stew is the ultimate comfort food, especially in the winter. There is something about a piping-hot bowl of meat and vegetables with just enough broth to eat with a fork. What is the main difference between soup and stew? While both involve meat, vegetables, and broth, the difference lies in the liquid-to-solid ratio. Soup generally has more liquid and is typically thinner, with fewer other ingredients that tend to float. Stew, on the other hand, is denser. Ingredients tend to be chunkier and more plentiful, while the broth is thicker, heartier, and maybe even gravy-like. Ultimately, soup is more about the broth, while stew is more about the other ingredients. You used to be able to find stew at many chain restaurants, but these days it is rare. Here are 4 chains that still serve real, hearty stews.
Golden Krust
Golden Krust
Caribbean and Latin American restaurants are a great place to find chicken stew. Golden Krust, a Jamaican restaurant with several locations across New York, is known for its famous chicken stew, featuring a “perfect balance of protein and vegetables in a hearty broth that warms you up.” It includes carrots, potatoes, corn, and large chunks of chicken, resulting in a hearty and filling meal.
Cracker Barrel Chick
Cracker Barrel
While it’s technically called a soup, lots of diners maintain that Cracker Barrel’s Chicken n’ Dumplin Soup is a meal in itself and hearty enough to be eaten with a fork. It includes homestyle dumplings with shredded chicken, celery, carrots, and onions in a savory broth. It is so good there are multiple copycat recipes online. “Cracker Barrel chicken and dumplings taste like nostalgia and comfort for me,” a Redditor says.
Red Hot & Blue
Red Hot & Blue is a classic barbecue restaurant that, surprisingly, has a great stew. Located in Virginia, Texas, Maryland, and North Carolina, the regional chain serves St. Louis-style ribs and Texas-style brisket, and its Brunswick stew brings the most popular meats together in a delicious meal. It is made with a trio of meat, the restaurant’s Texas brisket, pulled pork, and pulled chicken and potatoes, corn, onions, and tomatoes. The result? A unique stew filled with that quintessential barbecue flavor.
Max’s
Max’s Restaurant
Max’s Restaurant, a Filipino-style chain, earns rave reviews for its Beef Caldereta (beef stew) served in 21 locations across the United States and Canada, including California, Hawaii, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois. Brian Gunterman, butcher, pitmaster, CEO, and Founder of DDR BBQ Supply, previously explained to us why it’s so good. “Their beef stew is tender and they simmer it rather than boil it and the vegetables do not become soft,” he says. Gunterman adds, “the broth retains that slight sweetness of long caramelization which most chain stores lack. It is consumed like a family recipe and not a chain restaurant dish.”
Leah Groth
Leah Groth is an experienced shopping editor and journalist for Best Life and Eat This, Not That! bringing readers the best new finds, trends, and deals each week. Read more about Leah
