• July 14, 2009

Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel continue to be the top-ranked casual dining restaurants in terms of value, according to the latest consumer survey results from BrandIndex.

BrandIndex tracks 1,000-plus consumer brands, gathering opinions on seven brand-health indicators on a daily basis from 5,000 U.S. adults drawn from an online panel of more than 1 million. The value score -- reflecting consumer responses to the question: "Does it give good value for what you pay?" -- is one of the most telling in terms of overall brand health, according to BrandIndex parent YouGovPolimetrix. Scores can range from 100 to -100, and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive feedback.

As of July 12, Olive Garden scored 56.8 and Cracker Barrel 55.61.Golden Corral (54.85) came in third, bumping Applebee's (47.24) down by one ranking since the rankings that were released last October.

Rounding out the top 10, in order, are Chili's (46.14), Famous Dave's (44.28), TGI Friday's (41.43), Red Robin (41.28), Ruby Tuesday (40.7), Hometown Buffet (34.64) and Fuddrucker's (32.31). --Karlene Lukovitz