Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar

Food presentation is good but the taste is far below marginal, very bland, no flavor, just blahh, and not just one item but for everything.  The service is good, but nothing about the food will have us going back.  When we arrived the at 6pm restaurant was maybe 1/4 full, if you know Rockford it is near impossible to eat around that time.  I have a suspicion management knows there are issues.  Upon leaving a manager opened the door for us and said nothing except for "have a nice day".  The manner in which he did, purposely avoiding eye contact made us feel he did not want any dialog regarding the meal.

poor service, poorly put together food! this is what bothers me. chain restaurants are supposed to have consistent food (a reason why many people eat at them), but this place just looked sloppy. the food was cooked "lazy", i.e. the cheese isn't even mixed in on some of the dishes, not even spread out, just in a pile on the side! what is that?!

avoid this place, go to a different applebees even

I've been to Applebee's quite a few times for business lunches (not when I'm the one who gets to choose).  The service is ok at best, there's nothing on the menu that makes me think "Oh!  I want that!"... it's all the same choices that you can get in any other chain place, it seems like everything is doused in salt or sauce, and there's never been anything that I had there that I considered a great meal.  Considering that Stone Eagle is just blocks down the street at about the same price range, go there instead and support a local restaurant.