Applebee's - Austin

We think we found a substitute for Chilis - we kept going back to Chilis in the vain hope that it would get its act together but after four straight miserable, slow, cold meals we have finally given up. Oh, I have no doubt we will go back again some time. We will have a weak moment and hope they improve. Meanwhile, Applebees seems to be a reasonably good replacement. Sadly it is not as close to home, and it is a little more expensive, plus, they don't know us like the staff at Chilis do. When we arrive in the door of Chilis, before we sit down in our favorite booth in the bar area, our drinks are being poured. I am afraid that will never happen at Applebees.

I had eaten in Applebees before, when I lived in California, and Mildred had been a few times with Odell long ago. Larry couldn't remember ever being there so we managed to drag him along once and that turned out to be a very good meal. But the extra 10 mile drive deterred us from going again for some time.

On this particular Friday we were definitely not going to go to Chilis, not after our last very unsatisfactory meal, so settled on Applebees.

Our server was very efficient and the drinks were served immediately, the food arrived well before we had time to become impatient and was piping hot - if Applebees can do it, why can Chilis not? They used to be able to. I admit that I am becoming curious as to what it is that suddenly turns a successful restaurant into a failure - proof of which is obvious from the half empty parking lot on Friday or Saturday night when we pass Chilis. I know, I am getting boring, but I am still in mourning for our favorite Friday night venue.

Back to Applebees. We started with the Queso Blanco with chili - I didn't think to take a photo of ours before we had devoured it all so here is their menu photo without the chili. We were glad we had the chili with it because the queso needed a lot more spice and luckily they did serve it with a side of jalapenos and the chips were very good.


QUESO BLANCO
Creamy white spicy queso blended with fresh tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and roasted poblanos. Served
with warm tortilla chips.



I selected from the under 550 calorie section (they also have a weight watchers section). I really enjoyed this dish despite the fact that the chicken was overcooked and there was, as always, way too much food. I did eat all the veggies which were delicious, I have a weakness for mushrooms in general and portobellos in particular and the onions were just like I like them, barely glazed. But I left half the chicken and didn't bother to bring it home, it had already had one too many reheats.


GRILLED DIJON CHICKEN & PORTOBELLOS
Marinated chicken breast grilled and topped with roasted red peppers, onions, portobello mushrooms, dijon sauce and aged white cheddar. Served with steamed herbed potatoes and seasonal vegetables.


Larry's choice was the ribs. He was delighted with both the ribs and the fries though the slaw was a bit too sweet for him.

DOUBLE-GLAZED BABY BACK RIBS
A full rack seasoned and slow-cooked to flavorful and tender perfection with your choice of sauce. With fries and cole slaw.




Mildred ordered good old fish & chips. She was very pleased with her meal though she did agree with Larry that the slaw was too sweet.


HAND-BATTERED FISH & CHIPS
Cold-water white fish fillets, hand-dipped in a light batter and golden fried. Served with fries, cole slaw and tartar sauce.



We will definitely be going back to Applebees.