Regions, An American Cafe

Ah, Regions... home of the $15 Cobb salad and $8 PBJ sandwich.

Located at the top of the Apparel Center in the Holiday Inn  and across the street from the Mart, this was one of my regular lunch spots for over 5 years.

The biggest problem I have ever had here was consistency. When you have eaten almost everything on the menu, you don't expect variations, and yet, there were always subtle changes and the meal never seemed to be the same twice. Even something as simple as the 5 ingredient Loaded Cheese Fries could vary dramatically from one day to the next. Sometimes it would come with green onions, sometimes with white. Sometimes they'd forget the bacon. Sometimes the processed cheese food product would be cold and lumpy. Luckily, as a regular (and damn good tipper), the wait staff never had a problem sending my plate back for a "do over". As a side note, the wait staff are wonderful, unless you're a bad tipper.

The brightest star on their menu has to be the tossed Cobb salad. Big enough for two, tossed table-side, and worth (almost) every penny of its $15 price tag. The French Onion soup is marvy. The grilled cheese is one of the best I have ever eaten, but then again, for 8 dollars, it had better be!

I'm pretty sure that the bread and butter of Regions' business comes from the hotel and therefore, diners that probably would not be back again. But even as a local patron with a variety of choices available in the area, the fact that they kept me coming back for more for all those years means something, even if only to me.

We had the opportunity to dine here with friends on Friday.  Although we had our dinner in the bar area as the other eating area was not very full and is currently being considered for renovation.
The bar area has a bar with comfortable table seating through out the room.  Several flat screens playing varying sports can easily be seen.
For appetizers the 4 of us shared the beef carpachio, enchiladas, scallop and crab ceviche, and the crab cakes.  All of the appetizers were good in portion and some even a little larger than expected.
Entrees included 2 filets, pasta, and a shrimp and fish risotto.  All of the entrees were compliments and very well done.  My filet was a perfect MR and the baked potato was also very good.
All in all a very nice evening.  This is in a hotel as mentioned but they are trying to really step it up a notch.  The food is very good and if possible ask to sit in the bar area to dine as it is comfortable and has good views of the river.

Wow!  The level of mediocrity of this place is stunning.  I have never seen anywhere or eaten anything so forgettable.  Nestled in a hotel known for it's conferences I hadn't expected the best food or the best decor but Howard Johnson's move on over!