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Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL
With all the menu items at family-friendly restaurants, wouldn't it be great if someone you trusted would give you the low-down on the best choices? Our Slashfood and KitchenDaily team is doing just that in our new Best of the Menu column. We're tasting our way through appetizers, drinks, entrées, and desserts from the most popular chain restaurants, and putting our heads (and taste buds) together to recommend the tastiest offerings. First up? Applebee's.
Menu Overview: Thirteen appetizers graced our local Applebee's menu, ranging from straight-on tortilla chips with a chipotle-lime salsa (chips were too thin and tasteless; salsa tasted like it came from a jar) to Dynamite Shrimp (flavorful but greasy and heavily breaded). Potato Twisters turned out to be thin, crisp, nicely salted chips, but the accompanying Queso Blanco dip tasted, one editor said, "like cheese soup from a can." Cheeseburger Sliders got the "way too much bread" thumb's down, but the fries that came with them were just right.
Find out our Appetizer Winner, Runner-up, and Loser after the jump.
Our Winner and Runner-up ran neck and neck, depending on whether we came into the sampling as Classic or Boneless Wing lovers. In the end, the bone-in wings won the day.
Elizabeth Hait, AOL
The Winner: Classic Wings
We admit it – we're all wings fans from the get-go. And our expectations are high. Applebee's Classic Wings were meaty and well sauced, in both the Classic Buffalo and Hot Buffalo flavors (our two favorites of the five flavors offered). "A solid wing," said one resident wing lover, who compared them with those in her favorite neighborhood bar. Not greasy and not fatty, these wings are meaty enough to make this appetizer almost an entrée. "Spice lovers will fall for them," said another of our group, who chomped her way through all her celery sticks to temper the heat.
Elizabeth Hait, AOL
The Runner-up: Boneless Wings
Tender and moist, these wings also come in five flavors, and, again, we loved the Classic and Hot Buffalo flavors, but also found a nice balance to the Sweet & Spicy. The Southern BBQ was on the bland side, but the Honey BBQ was another favorite, with just enough sweetness but not cloyingly so, and they maintained a gentle kick. Juicy and crunchy, these very meaty wings had us hooked.
Elizabeth Hait, AOL
The Loser: Chili Cheese Nachos
Sorry, Applebee's, but you went wrong with a dish that's almost impossible to get wrong. This was a bland-o-rama, starting with the flimsy chips that wouldn't stand up to the toppings. Well, if there were many toppings. The promise of spicy chili, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, and jalapeños was left to our imagination, as there was mostly a pile of naked chips with a dollop of toppings. And what was there was underseasoned and gooey. All thumbs down on this one.
Gluten-free? Not here: For those who have celiac disease, as our photo editor does, Applebee's menu may be a minefield. After consulting with the manager, our editor was told that practically all of the appetizers were unsafe for her to eat, either because they contained gluten or were potentially contaminated in the kitchen (through shared cooking utensils or reused frying oil). A plate of plain steamed broccoli was the only safe bet.
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1-14-2011 @8:13PM linda said... I've eaten at Applebee's and I also found their food to be very dull. Won't be going back. Worst steak I've ever eaten.
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1-14-2011 @10:30PM Nugget said... I've eaten at applebees twice . . and both times I had a bad case of the poopies . . Never again will I eat there!
1-17-2011 @6:18PM animemom said... I agree. I have had a bad history with Apple bees. 3 yrs ago, they kept us waiting for over an hour after being seated, no one showed up to take our order. We left. 2yrs ago, they took our order, and then an hour lapsed, we got angry & our meal for free ( who knows what was in it). My husband insisted on going there for his B-day last Sunday, and how ridiculous. We waited 20 min.to be seated. The waitress was trying so hard to be cordial, being over worked will do that to ya. She was very good, the drinks flowed, and even with an order change after the order was taken, the order came back correct. The mgr. kept apologizing for delayed food, although it was expected. The food was, over seasoned, over sauced, and not that great for the cost of 95.00 for 4 people. Should have stuck with Black Angus.
1-16-2011 @4:46PM dave said... i agree i think their apps stink their wings are bland and the boneless ones are all breading there is no meat inside i think chilli's is a better choice
1-17-2011 @1:23AM sandy said... Oh my gosh, I totally agree about the steak. I'm not saying I won't ever go back, but the steaks there are the worst I'v ever had.
1-16-2011 @7:21PM Jackson said... I got so sick from salmon I ate at an Applebees in San Antonio a few years ago that I spent 2 days in a hotel recovering. ( I'm a traveling sales rep ) Ruined the entire work week and cost me $$$ thousands in lost sales and productivity. If I could have proved in court it was their food that was the culprit , I would have sued.
1-17-2011 @10:00AM BJV said... I AGREE. MY HUSBAND ORDERED STEAK DURING ONE OF THEIR ADVERTISED STEAK SPECIALS[that SHOULD HAVE WARNED US]-AND HE HAD TO SEND IT BACK THREE TIMES. THE MGR ASKED WHAT WAS WRONG WITH IT-AND MY HUSBAND TOLD HIM STEAK IS'NT SUPPOSED TO BE GRAY.
I USED TO LOVE THEIR QUESEDILLAS, BUT THEY STARTED TASTING LOKE OLD OIL-AND AFTER A FEW TIMES OF THAT WITH THE ACCOMPANYING STOMACH BLOWOUTS-THAT WAS ENOUGH FOR ME.
ADD TO THAT THE LOUD MUSIC THEY REFUSE TO TURN DOWN-AND THE DIRTY FLOORS-
FORGET IT !
1-17-2011 @10:28AM LISA said... I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY PUT THIS CRAP INTO THEIR BODIES. IT DOESN'T EVEN LOOK GOOD. IT'S NO WONDER THAT MORE THAN HALF OF THIS COUNTRY IS DISGUSTINGLY OBESE.
1-31-2011 @9:39AM NotMe said... Our local Applebee's is odd. Believe it or not, never order from the regular menu at it. Somehow they goof that up. Either undercooked or burnt to a crisp, but never cooked properly. Order from the special menu, and one's fine. You'd think the specials would be a bit more likely to get cooked wrong since they aren't what they normally do day in, day out but no, not here. Having said that, IMO they don't strongly stand out. I'll usually go to Red Robin or a local place kind of like Red Robin with a 50's automotive theme before I go to Applebee's. Or a similar place to the local one with a 50's music theme to it. (They were opened by the same people, the music themed place opened first, one partner split on I think good terms and opened the car themed one).
Then again, we used to have a second Applebee's. Next to the same local car themed place. And a Denny's. And a waffle house/IHOP clone. With what was then a Chinese restaurant and a sports bar trying to turn itself into an Applebee's or Chili's clone around the block. Now, mostly due to oversaturation for this area (all closed before the recession truly hit full force) the Denny's, local 50's themed place and the Chinese place, now different owners and a Mongolian grill are still open, the Mongolian grill IMO looks somewhat doomed, they keep pushing the bar specials more and the food specials less in the paper now. (Usually a sign a restaurant is dying when they advert their bar more then their food IMO).
1-14-2011 @8:13PM Kelley said... Just went to San Antonio Applebee's by the airport. We have to agree that the hot wings were delicious and the 550 calorie steak and shrimp entree was excellent. What an excellent value for the price. Believe it or not the steak was cooked just perfect and the shrimp was very tender and tasty. I highly recommend this Applebee's with their new menu. The place was also newly remodeled and very clean. Service was excellent also. We just had a great experience.
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1-16-2011 @4:29PM VICTORIA said... It is cold in Iowa and no fun to eat if a restaurant is cold. We went to Applebee's a couple of nights ago and it was warm and inviting. It was fun to have a choice of "under 550 calories" meals to choose! I also chose the Steak and Shrimp. The shrimp was luke warm but over all it was good. I love their onion soup for 150 calories!
1-16-2011 @6:51PM jap said... I love Applebees
1-14-2011 @9:44PM Heather said... My husband and I enjoy the boneless wings appetizer whenever we go to Applebees and we're never disappointed. We normally get the classic flavor.
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1-16-2011 @2:51PM Karen said... That is a horrible meal to be putting into your body. No nutrition or fuel whatsoever. I'm willing to wager that your body felt pretty sad after ingesting that combination.
1-16-2011 @3:49PM Jim said... I have gone to Applebees before just for the Boneless Buffalo Wings.
1-16-2011 @11:15PM Theresa said... Hey Karen; stop preaching! It is OK to splurge sometimes. Get over yourself - geeze.
1-20-2011 @2:04PM Kim said... Agree, Theresa! Sure, it's not healthy to eat Applebee's boneless wings daily, but geeze, they're fine for a treat every once in a while! I'm not sure why people are so concerned with what others eat anyway.
1-26-2011 @12:55PM Cassie said... People are concerned because we are basically the fattest country in the world. I'm embarassed about that and I'm sure Karen is too. Youre preaching as well.
1-15-2011 @1:48AM surebet said... Good for you! What does you getting lucky with some female or guy pertain to in this article? Am I missing something?
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1-15-2011 @5:35AM Mike said... Bet that was in the bar after a couple of Presidential Margs. Their food is so so. They do have good Burger though. Would not buy a Steak because you are getting what you pay for at that price point. They are more or less pub food and the demographic is more of a younger 18-28 crowd who are not going there for high end food products.
Mike
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