Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar

Applebee's is another one of those places people love to hate because it's a big chain and it's obviously not fine dining. But it's okay Applebee's, I love you!

Favorites:
- Artichoke spinach dip (huge dish, definitely for sharing, with freshly fried tortilla chips)
- Orange chicken bowl (though I'm a little scared to eat it now that I know the calorie count
- The Weight Watchers menu! Applebee's is remarkably diet-friendly with a variety of options that are low cal, low fat, or meet other dietary restrictions. And the food is actually good, except maybe the veggies which can be a bit dry and flavorless. I like to get steak skewers and onion soup. Mmmm.

The only issues I've ever had at an Applebee's came with a surprise ending. We came in here for lunch, and sat there for FIFTY-FIVE minutes, constantly being told the food "will be out soon". Finally at the 55 minute mark we got one appetizer. We told them we'd just eat that and then go, because my husband needed to get back to work asap. They apologized profusely, and then, for some reason, brought another one of the same appetizer out haha. I have no idea what was going on in the kitchen, but they then offer to box up the other appetizer, as well as the rest of our meal, and send it home with us, COMPING THE ENTIRE CHECK. So we got our entire meal to go, for free, plus an additional free appetizer, and of course the free drinks we'd enjoyed.

Now THAT is customer service. We could've/would've left very angry, especially since my husband had to get back to work (and the restaurant wasn't busy), but instead we left with huge amounts of free food, and apologies from several people. We were very impressed, and have gone to Applebee's more often since. Just goes to show that great service really can make up for nearly anything.

Sunday night. Party of eight. The waiter apologizes in advance for being a bit spacey. The expectation was too high. He needed to check and recheck his orders. Then, he didn't bring the right stuff. Didn't know the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Grigio. Mixed up orders. Promised to bring and then forgot napkins and silverware. Seemed to have a feeling things were awry, he did, then started hovering. Egads.

First, the food is Applebees, and it's very plain American food service-style food. Not much chef-ing going on here. If you're vegetarian, you have precious few selections to choose from, and if you're pescetarian, you'd better like shrimp. Vegan? Like potatoes and edited rabbit food?

This poor excuse for a restaurant can be easily avoided. If you like to drink, find a waiter that knows the difference or even gives a hoot about what he's serving. There weren't thirty people in the entire place. Maybe the ordering terminals have Freecell on them. Who knows. Please, there are at least twenty reasonable places not far from here. Go, go to THEM. Save yourselves. You'll be glad you did.

I was a little disappointed with their customer service last time. But the Triple chocolate meltdown was worth trying. Meanwhile, it is a good place to watch games!