While chain restaurants can often provide an element of safe predictability and comfort, they can also be very mundane and generic at times. Perhaps this is why this recent meme went viral around Houston, which showed exactly what everyone was thinking when it comes to chain restaurants.

As seen below, it starts off by picturing Applebees, then moving on to the various other chain restaurants, which are Applebees with a slight twist. For example, Olive Garden represents Applebees with an Italian twist, whereas iHop is just Applebees for breakfast. When put like this, it’s no wonder that one Houstonian branded the meme as ‘depressingly accurate’.

It may not be a coincidence but many of these eateries even share a similar decor and architecture. In fact, it turns out that iHop is actually owned by the same people who own Applebees, so maybe this conspiracy isn’t that unusual after all.

Speaking on social media, one local said: “Oh wow. The first time someone made a post that is so close to my home. I can verify this is accurate. I am pretty sure I have literally seen all of the actual stores in this image.” However, some disagreed, claiming that Torchy’s was too good to make the list. Interestingly though, many people agreed that Cici’s was not good food, with one even referring to it as ‘cardboard’ pizza. This is probably sad but true.

Whether for better or worse, it seems that Houston does have a lot of generic chain restaurants. In reality though, you cold probably apply this image to most of the USA these days which is a sad indictment of US dining.