TGI Friday’s

Enough already, stop YELLING AT ME!
Once upon a time, at an age far, far younger than I am now, I enjoyed the occasional stop at TGI Friday’s. Ok, that was probably when I was under age, and they served me alcohol, but once in a while it seems like a good idea when you are in a hurry. Why… I don’t know, considering we are usually in a rush, and we just want a «quick bite», but instead end up polishing off several rounds of Long Islands, and appetizers before the actual meal arrives.
Big props for the cocktails! The plan last night was to get a little more stuff moved to the new house, but after several of these yummy concoctions, I was pretty much worthless.
The boneless wings… I was rather partial to. Really good!
The side salad… strangely gross.
The petite sirloin… not so much.
The mac-​n-​cheese that came with the little steak was a nice consolation.
The Hubby on the other hand, enjoyed all of his meal. Had flank steak with mashed taters. He ate most of the wings, all of his salad, and didn’t even offer me a bite of his steak when I had to send mine back to be cooked a little more.
So, in a pinch this place will do, quite nicely, especially if you liquor up before the food arrives.

It pains me to write this because I have a long and happy history with Friday’s. Up until a few years ago, it used to be a real treat to go to Friday’s. The food was always excellent (LOVED the real blue cheese dressing!), the service was good, and the restaurants were old-​fashioned, but still fine.
Today, the service is still good and the restaurants are okay, but do need a makeover. The bigger problem is the food/​value equation. Yesterday, I paid almost $ 14 for a chicken dinner that consisted of two practically see-​through slices of processed chicken breast with what looked like fake grill marks, served with a pile of soggy, plain, tasteless broccoli and beans. I opted for the salad instead of the mashed potatoes. Although that was the most edible part of the meal, the ranch dressing also tasted processed. Fourteen dollars! Sorry, but I expect a real chicken breast and veggies that have been given some thought for that price.
I don’t want to blame this on the particular Friday’s I was at because I’ve noticed this decline across the board, from Oregon to New York to California. While my husband’s bacon cheeseburger and fries were actually pretty good, we won’t be back again. For the same price, we can go to the Cheesecake Factory or Claim Jumper and get high quality food, regardless of what we order.
I’m giving one star for the bacon cheeseburger and one for the good service. Sadly, there’s no day of the week that’s good for Friday’s.

TGI Fridays is where you go if all the Red Robin’s have burned down.
Besides that, I’m really having trouble finding something to say about this restaurant. It’s not awful. Fun, busy establishments with a bar for drinks and quick bites, lots of family seating, cute red and white tables, a huge menu. Yet, at the same time, none of these things make me want to rush back.
Just because they have a huge menu doesn’t mean that they make a lot of things well. I had the pasta once, won’t make that mistake again. It’s really a burger restaurant. They make good, ol fashion burgers. If you’re not a burger person they have decent steaks, good appetizers, lots of different sandwiches, typical chain restaurant salads, filling sized servings. Their dessert menu looks really good, I’ve never been hungry enough for dessert after eating though.
And that’s about it. Really, the restaurant is as non-​descript as this review. Go to Red Robin, it has whatever it is that TGI Fridays is missing.

I am pretty anti-​chain-​restaurant… but I do enjoy that occasional meal at Friday’s.
Since I am from out of town (waaay out of town) I look forward to going to Friday’s when I am in this neck of the woods. The food, atmosphere, and service are always good. The drinks are always delicious.
The new appetizers are on the menu, so they are a relative bargain at $ 5 each when you have an entrée. We decided on the Fried Mac n Cheese. It was everything I always want Fried Mozzarella to be… warm, soft, gooey, and cheesy. It is a tribute to the Joey Tribbiani in everyone’s heart… and everyone can use a little bit of «fried stuff with cheese» in their lives once in a while in his honor.
I will go to Friday’s, any day of the week.