J and I still had a few bucks left on our Applebee's gift card, and I didn't feel much like cooking today, so we headed back to spend it on a late lunch.

Our waitress was attentive and friendly, the food was timely (except for our appetizer) and actually, pretty tasty. I ordered the Fiesta Lime chicken and there was no fussing or up-charging when I wanted to sub my side of rice for veggies. It was well cooked and seasoned, and the veggies were actually cooked this time. The manager was also making her rounds doing a bit of quality control, asking everyone how their meals were.

Consider this somewhat of a retraction, or as close as I'll ever get to saying the place isn't half bad. It's probably one of the better experiences I've had at Applebee's. Luckily, though, we've burned through the gift card, which means I won't have to see the inside of Shena - errrrr, Applebee's for a while.

You know, the place with the mozzarella sticks and all the shit on the walls?

I'm actually referring to (cr)Applebee's, which is where my fella, J and I dined tonight. I use the term "dine" VERY loosely.
I know, I know - no self-respecting foodie would be caught dead eating at Applebee's, but 'tis the season of blindly giving gift cards. We have enough that we'll be eating there at least once for lunch and once for dinner. So, I figured it was a good a time as any to burn through the first half since we have zero food in the house and it's right in front of Kroger.

My first beef with Applebee's is that they serve Pepsi. I can't have much sugar, and that leaves me with Diet Pepsi, which appeals to my palate somewhere on the scale between sweat and horse urine.

I don't think Applebee's has ever gotten my order correct. If they've managed to get it correct, they haven't gotten it right.

Sounds like I've been there a lot, right? Unfortunately, that's spot on. Being a savvy business gal, I "do lunch" relatively often with my boss. She's vegetarian and frankly, a bit limited on her dining choices in her own mind. I've gone to Olive Garden and Applebee's more times than I care to admit. And while I don't understand the appeal of a meatless rueben, I'm always relieved when she chooses Max & Erma's.

Anyhow, this would be a good time to mention that I'm an avid low-carber. It started off as a weight loss regime and ended up more of a health matter, having discovered I'm a bit intolerant of gluten and starch.

We opted for the 2 for $20 deal, as J and I were both starving, so we could get an appetizer. He got the bacon cheddar burger with fries and I ordered the sirloin with 2 servings of veggie medley instead of veggies and a starch. I order medium, as opposed to my normal mid-rare order, assuming the people they pay to microwave food there could find some middle ground between blue and cremated.
The steak was the tiniest little cut of beef I've ever seen, but cooked to a decent medium and well-seasoned. Upon seeing the teeny sirloin, I was glad I ordered up all the filling veggies - until I realized the "cooks" at Applebee's have no concept of "fork-tender." The veggies were slightly warm, very dry and as solid as the day they were picked. I put on my big-girl pants and ate everything but the carrots.

I really expected nothing more and nothing less from my neighborhood bar & grill.
Speaking of the bar part, here's a nice bonus. I ordered one of their pomegranate margaritas, which was actually pretty heavy-handed on the booze - but most importantly, they leave you with the shaker. So, you can usually squeeze two more drinks out of it after you've killed your first one. And when you're on your way to Kroger in Dayton on a snowy night, you'll need to be as liquored-up as possible.