In a blatant ripoff of John_Stamos’_Left_Ear thread asking about discontinued fast food items, I ask:
You have the power to persuade a casual dining chain to bring back a discontinued item and have it on their menu again. What do you choose?
I am going with the original Tequila Lime Chicken dish at Applebee’s.
It came with the chicken, jack cheese, mexi-ranch sauce, and pico-de-gallo that is still there today. However, instead of rice, it was on a bed of chili-penne pasta, which was actually somewhat spicy*. There was also no lime sauce covering the chicken, which imho, is a bit too tart on the “Fiesta Lime Chicken” (Which I just learned yesterday was changed from “Tequila Lime Chicken”, because it was such a popular dish that Applebee’s needed to copyright the name).
*A pet peeve of mine is any fast food or casual chain that claims something is “Spicy!” or “HOT!”, when they never are :mad:
BTW, does anyone else remember it being on pasta when it debuted- 1997. I think? I can’t find any reference to it on the net, and nobody I have mentioned it to seems to remember it.
My favorite one of these was when I ordered buffalo strips at Denny’s and the waitress firmly warned me that they were hot. In actuality they don’t taste bad but they don’t even make my nose run.
I was in line at WaWa recently, and grabbed a box of their spicy chicken chunks while waiting in line. Holy crap, they were actually spicy. I was stunned.
Unfortunately, the chicken itself was subpar, which is odd because their food is usually really good (Sandwiches and whatnot).
I will also give credit to Chick-fil-a for their spicy chicken sandwich, although I have noticed that it seems to be a per-location thing.
Years ago, we ate at a Long John Silver’s. One of the workers asked how I liked their fish. I told them I found them to be very bland. He nodded and said they changed the recipe because people were complaining the older version was too spicy.
On The Border used to have something called Pico Chicken and Shrimp, which got dropped when they revised their menu a few years ago. For a while they would let me order it even though it wasn’t on the menu, but then that stopped too.
Bennigans had my favorite Chicken Quesadillas. They were better than ones I had at Mexican places even.
It wasn’t national but Steak & Ale had my favorite Lobster tails. I like the just a bit over cooked and they did it perfect. They also had something called Blackened Chicken Pasta that was addictive. The shame of it was the S&A by me was a goldmine always busy but the parent company went under.
Bennigan’s had the best chicken tenders I have ever eaten. S&A was good all around, and, as you said, a goldmine where I lived. Man, that parent company of both must have made some really, really, bad decisions along the line. Supposedly there is a comeback planned for both restaurants.
My favorite chicken nugget-type meal was Papa John’s tenders, which had the best tasting chicken and best tasting buffalo sauce. However it was around twice as expensive as you’d get at a comparable place (maybe at higher-end restaurants they’d be more if they even offered chicken tenders.) I say “was” because I haven’t ordered from PJ in a long time.
Knapp’s was our family go-to place for a good report card, after/before college football games, promotions, engagements, etc. I loved their homey food.
The one single item I miss is their cinnamon ice cream. It was best, of course, with a slice of warm apple pie.
Runners up were their killer chocolate cake, their au gratin potatoes, and ham and bean soup.
There used to be a restaurant in Winnipeg called Grapes - they had a handful of locations. Their Spinach salad dressing was amazing. I miss it so much.
Well, I’m not sure if this counts… we’ve got a great casual-dining place across the street, they actually just reopened because of a fire, and I haven’t been back there yet, but…
They had Turkey schnitzel as a special one time, and I’d love it if that made their regular menu. I’d like it if it made anybody’s regular menu.
The Monterrey Chicken at Chili’s. It was a piece of chicken coated with a sort-of glaze and had bacon strips. It was nice and the only thing I ever ordered from there. Maybe I was the only one, because it’s gone now.
Speaking of Chili’s; what the hell happened to their chili? You used to be able to make a meal out of a bowl and now it’s basically chili-ish tasting soup. For that matter, what happening to the curly fries that were perfect for dipping into it?
Every now and then, especially if I’m hungry, I’ll drive by a Chili’s and my mouth will water and then I’ll remember there’s nothing there I care to eat any more
The first two that spring to mind are both items from Sizzler: their Hibachi Chicken platter and their original recipe Hot Bacon Dressing at the salad bar. The chicken was the perfect foil to a plate of salty fries. The dressing…ok, I can see why the dressing went away. That item was declared a Public Health Hazard in California decades ago. But it was soooo gooood! You could hear your arteries snapping shut just walking by the salad bar.
As long as we are bringing entire chains back, I really miss Uno’s. Like **Quimby **'s Steak and Ale, our local Uno’s was always packed, and then one weekend we went and it was closed. For a couple of years after that, if we wanted Uno’s we’d have to drive into Kansas City, but eventually those closed up too.
Nowadays Outback only sells the pepper crusted prime rib. I wish they still sold the regular prime rib. I have yet to find one at any other restaurant as good.
I think it was Chile’s, they used to have a lettuce wrap that was great, and unlike anybody else’s lettuce wrap. And it’s gone. I used to go there just for that. Since they discontinued it I’ve hardly gone there at all.
