I use the best restaurants available based on local and TripAdvisor info. Hit and miss describes it well. Chinese in the smaller centers is generally crap but usually hot; we were served Yorkshire pudding and recycled spuds in a takeout stir fry in Smithers years ago.
On chains, Red Robin consistently serve up cold meals in BC (always eaten, no complaints by locally born (and my daughter, raised here....)
Your point about the heat lamps, they seem to serve another purpose out west. Because the food can be plated and parked under those bloody things theyre able to hire fewer staff to take the meals to table.
There may be good food out there and maybe we're unlucky but family and friends visiting from SA and England have commented on the poor quality, limited choice and general blandness of the food.
Mrs S is a brill cook btw and when we stop our business travels I shall never complain of bad food again!