We just got back from a birthday dinner at Applebee’s. Daughter #1 turned 22 and wanted to try some of the new menu items that were crafted by her favorite chef, Tyler Florence.
Tyler’s one of my 3 favorite chefs to watch on the Food Network, too, and it was a great move for Applebee’s to add his name to theirs, kinda like the casino’s are doing in Vegas.
But Tyler can’t be in every restaurant to oversee the service, so you’ll be at the mercy of the local college-age crowd to make or break your meal.
It took me several years to convince my wife to go to another Applebee’s after her and all three daughters had a terrible experience at the Clarksville (IN) location.
Finally, I caught her weak from hunger and convinced her to eat at the St. Augustine (FL) location and we had a great meal.
Our local reataurant, Owensboro (KY) has been hit or miss, service wise, and tonite’s fiasco was par for the course.
First our waitress, Hannah, didn’t think we could get rid of the fries that came with the new Bruschetta Burger. ” Why not ? “, was my question. ” Because they’re new dishes,”, was the reply.
I’m betting that’s not the policy and if it is, they need to change it quickly. I ain’t eating oily garlic fries with my meal unless I absolutely am forced to.
Next, daughter #3′s meal came out with (regular) fries that she’d asked to be substituted with Onion Peels.
Our waitress didn’t bring our food, so we wanted to wait for her to tell her we needed her to fix that. Too bad she was busy running outside with Carside To Go orders and we were halfway finished with our meal before she came by and we were able to ask her for some Onion Peels.
As we were finishing our meal, without Onion Peels, she finally brings ‘em and doesn’t bring the dipping sauce. She performed a Stop-n-Drop with ‘em, so we couldn’t get her attention … again.
Finally, she came by with the check and I asked for 3 to-go boxes for the ladies with me, who cannot eat all the food at one sitting AND one for the Onion Peels and some dipping sauce in a to-go cup.
She came back with the sauce and two to-go boxes. Not four, two.
We crammed it all into the two boxes, left some food behind and wished she’d hurry and bring back my credit card and let us end our misery.
What the heck kind of tip do you leave for someone who doesn’t do anything right ?
Nothing ?
10% ?
15% ?
You tell me.
By the way, I had the Bruschetta Burger and Tyler did a helluva job making it one of the Top 5 burgers I’ve ever eaten. It’s a little smallish, but it’s at least a 4.75 out of 5.
The parmesan fries that are the side items are okay, but I’d prefer they come up with a choice between 2-4 items. Steamed veggies would be nice, since us 250 pounders don’t really need those fried taters.
The ladies had some of the other new menu items and they were all good additions to their menu, but I’ll let them tell you about it on their own food blog.
Service is still king, no matter if it’s food or another industry. They’ll have to step it up a notch or the $100 + that I spend to take out my crew of five a couple times a week will go somewhere else.
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