Applebee's

I must say I've had bad experiences here in the past. My recent experience was excellent. The food was great, it could have come out faster but it was ok. I would think being one of three customers in the restaurant you shouldnt have to wait long for food, but it was cooked to perfection so I didnt mind the wait. The chicken fajita roll up was delicious. Big and tasty, not lacking anything. The Bowie location served the roll up with pretty much just bread and it was cold. Our carry-out desserts were delicious too. I now prefer this location over the bowie location. I think this location is under new management and the service and food has improved greatly.

Not impressed.  My salad came out the same time as my meal.  The nachos we ordered were made wrong and had to be brought back.  The balsamic salad dressing was not balsamic and the waitress didn't bother to inform me that it was something different... Still not sure what it was?!?

***Note: It makes me really sad to post such a negative review because this used to be a REALLY nice Applebee's. So nice that when my friends and I graduated high school back in '02, our families took us all out to dinner here. I also remember going here to celebrate getting my driver's liscense when I was 16 AND this is where I ate dinner on my first, official date.***

It took us almost three hours for a party of four on a Friday night to get food. Now keep in mind, the place was by NO MEANS packed. If they have 30 tables, I'd say 7 were filled with small parties like ours. The bar only had a hand full of people.

I don't feel they were understaffed because there were several waitresses hanging around the front laughing and saying mean things about some other server who apparently is a "loser" because she's in her late 20s, lives at home with her mom and can't drive a car.

Yes, real classy ladies...putting down a coworker right in front of the customers. I'm not saying you have to love everyone you work with, believe me I talk about people at work too, but I do it AWAY from our clients.

Anyhow, we had a very nice, though inattentive waitress. She seated us around 6:00 and came back almost 15 minutes later to take our DRINK order. After another 15 minutes she came back with our sodas and took our food orders. We each ordered simple stuff -- cheesestick appetizer and burger entree for hubby, chicken and rice for me, burger for my brother, and soup and a salad for my sister.

30 minutes later, the appetizer arrives and seeing us all sucking on ice cubes, the waitress days she'll bring back refills. After 10 minutes, my brother got tired of waiting, and finally flagged down another server and who bought us refills.

Another 40 minutes later and everyone's entree arrived except my sister. We all waited like 5 - 8 minutes and no sign of her soup and salad. We flagged down the hostess who apologized and said the kitchen was "backed up" (even though the people around us hadn't gotten their food either) and she'd bring out a salad.

10 more minutes and sis FINALLY gets her salad. It's supposed to be caesar but they've drowned it in so much salad dressing the leaves are kinda wilted and slimy. Sis is picking at her salad when our waitress arrives a minute later with another HUGE caesar salad that is just as gross.

15 more minutes go by and sister's onion soup FINALLY materializes. Everyone else is down eating, so we all order desert shooters so that we can at least kind of eat together.

Another 20 minutes later, the dessert shooters arrived. Everyone is in a foul mood by that time. The only redeeming factor is the waitress DID at least apologize and say that there was a problem in the kitchen...apparently the cooks weren't making food in the right order and they were backed up. (even though they had a full staff and a little bit of customers...hmm...)

After that experience, hubby has flat out refused to return. When we want burgers, we do McDonalds or Ruby Tuesdays.

*Note: I would not recommend this Applebee's for carryout either. After giving Applebee's a break between 2005 - 2011 due to poor dining experience and the fact the place kept smelling weird (like mildew and old cooking oil), I started getting the food to go since the 2 for $20 is such a great deal.  Hubby and I liked it at first.

The to-go service was decent...our food wasn't hot when we picked it up, but at least it was prepared within 20 minutes and almost always correct.

Nevermind the pressure to leave the person who takes your phone order a tip. (Until we complained to the manager, whoever took your phone order would always end the call with, "That'll be $34.52 after tax and BEFORE tip." And heaven help you if you didn't tip them...sucked teeth, rolled eyes, dirty looks..)

Anyhow, something changed because the last three times hubby and I ordered and went to pick it up, the food wasn't ready and we had to wait another 10 - 20 minutes. Keep in mind they'll give us a time like, "5:35" so we wait and leave the house around 5:40, get there by 5:50 and we're told, "Oh, your food ain't ready yet. They still cooking the chicken/hamburger/putting together the salad."

So we'd stand in the little waiting area w/the other people waiting for the food.