I used to hate Applebee’s, but we stopped there out of desperate hunger on a road trip last summer, and it was pretty decent. It was somewhere in Maryland, I believe. The food was quite good, and the service was excellent. I was shocked.
I’ma go ahead and jump on the Applebee’s Sucks bandwagon. My wife and I went there last year while the in-laws were in town, and like the OP, we got the food before the silverware. My soda was flat, and when I asked for a replacement, they said they were out of CO2 and nobody knew how to change the tank. They were also out of alfredo sauce, which wouldn’t be such a big deal were they not currently advertising three feature dishes made with… you guessed it!
As plowblades-and-crates-and-crap-nailed-to-the-walls chain restaurants go, the food just sucks. I’ll stick with Chili’s.
I’ve never been inside an Applebees, but when I drive by them I always get a kick out of their slogan - something like “A neighborhood kind of place.”
Sure, as long as your idea of a neighborhood is a mall parking lot!
In the immediate vicinity around where I work there are three good Mexican (well, Tex Mex) restaurants, a not-particularly-nice BBQ joint, a fried fish joint, and more fast-food places than you can shake a stick at. If you’re willing to drive a little bit, you’ll find more variety, but I’m often rushed at lunch and just go to what’s close. While I love good Tex-Mex, it’s not exactly diet food. Last summer a new Applebee’s opened up in the neighborhood, and I’ve been very happy with them. I’ve had good food that includes good veggies, and good service.
I guess this is just one of those chains where quality varies greatly depending on who’s running the place.
I ate there just yesterday as we were meeting some friends for lunch. It was okay, though all I had was french onion soup. Service was good.
I have always thought that Chili’s was an Applebee’s with a different sign out front.
I was very hungry last time I went to Applebees, and hadn’t eaten all day, but I was tight on cash and watching my budget so I ordered what I thought would be the most filling and the cheapest dinner on the menu, which happened to be a marsala steak tip concoction with pepper and onions piled on top of mashed potatoes.
Big mistake! The steak they use at Applebees is just weird, maybe a low grade, I really have no idea how it can be so bad. I mean it’s supposed to be beef, but it doesn’t even have the taste and texture of beef. It’s even worse than the cheap Argentinian steaks that you get at Ponderosa. I actually prefer Ponderosa’s beef to Applebee’s and that’s saying something. The steak tips were gelatinous, and tough, and chewy, and riddled with connective tissue. I doubt the cut was actually sirloin tips, it had to be some other cut, because as far as I know gristle does not exist in sirloin tips.
Bad experience, but I ate it nonetheless. I’ll stick to the chicken wings, those are pretty good. And I do like their spinach artichoke dip. Wouldn’t mind trying some of Tyler Florences new menu creations either, just as long as it doesn’t involve their beef.
My roommate and I ate there last night. I’ve eaten there a bunch of times and have never had a problem with it. It’s not gourmet but some of their stuff is really awesome. Service was pretty good. It’s a decent place to go if you want a meal for 10 bucks or so and don’t feel like fast food.
Now that you mention it, I had the “steak,” too, and yes, the texture and flavor were not what I would call beef. It grosses me out just thinking about it.
Yeah, Applebees is pretty much synonymous with crap. About 5 years ago I went on a field trip to New York city with my college astronomy club to see the newly-opened Rose Planetarium. Here we were within walking distance of some of the best restaurants on the North American continent and these idiots insist on eating at the Applebees in Times Square. I wept. And vowed to never eat at an Applebees again. I still tell that story and people are amazed that I’m still angry about that a half-decade later.
Hey, I work there an I try not to eat there. Keep in mind that their entire business model is based on cheap cheap cheap. It’s how they make money, and it’s not a great place to be an employee. Then again, I’m not sure why people think they’re getting wild salmon for 9.99.
So, if anyone has any questions about Applebees, fire away. I’m transitioning out of there, so I’ll answer as honestly as I can.
We’ve had $60 worth of Applebee’s gift certificates for about 3 yrs and not used them. Why? Because even free, we don’t want to eat there.
Damn. At least the Times Square **HoJo’s ** had that mid-20th-century rundown urban historikitsch vibe to it (gone as of last year, alas) but an Applebee’s?
(Which is not to say I lack sympathy for the NY visitor’s fear of stepping into an unfamiliar place to be served an entree consisting of less than 26 grams of moose mousse on a woven-lemongrass nest sprinked with with a laudanum vinaigrette… 
or to come face to face with the Soup Nazi…)
I believe I’ve been to Applebee’s exactly once, and can’t recall what I had, so un-memorable it was – but it certainly was well over 7 years ago. Still all I’ve ever heard about it is a veritable song of mediocrity.
Weird thing is, they completely ruined one the best things on their menu: the Blondie with Vanilla Ice Cream and Maple Butter Sauce. An excellent and unique dessert, it really, truly, deserved all of those capital letters…until now. The last time I had it it seemed different, somehow. I think they ruined the Blondie, for one; it seemed more cakey than Blondie-ish. Not only that, but the blondie and the maple butter sauce (notice no caps) are no longer warmed up. AFAICT, the only thing heated up is the iron skillet they serve it on. Lazy assholes.
I work at Applebee’s too. We definitely do NOT pre-make anything. Your server probably didn’t know what was going on or was lying to you (Applebee’s doesn’t exactly hire top-notch staff). On busy nights, I’ve had a table wait 37 minutes for their meal, however, because the kitchen was so busy, but the manager apologized and comped the entire thing. A lot goes into it; if you come in before/after the rush, you would have your food in 10 minutes. I do live in a fairly nice suburb though, so our standards may be a little bit higher than the typical Applebee’s.
On the other hand, some of our food is not good. And sometimes I look at the plates I’m bringing out, knowing how much each item cost and feeling bad about it.
It pays the bills though.