FoodQuest Rerun: Red Robin
OPEN: JANUS FILE #0407
This is yet another FoodQuest Rerun stemming from a birthday offer. This time, it was Red Robin that was giving me a birthday present, as part of their rewards program. Their present was a free burger, and I went to Mall St. Matthews for another late lunch or early dinner, depending on your point of view.
As was the case on my last visit, the restaurant was not all that busy, which meant I didn't have to wait for a seat. Once I was settled, I took a few minutes to take a careful look at the menu. The one thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to try something different from my first visit.
I decided that I was also going to get an appetizer, and I went with the Guacamole, Salsa, And Chips. This was a basket of tri-colored tortilla chips -- red, white, and blue. (Very patriotic, don't you think?) A red corn tortilla had been formed into a cup, and it was filled with the guacamole. A similar blue corn tortilla cup held the salsa. And as I discovered after the server brought the basket to the table, there were also a couple of chips made from jalapeno-cheese flour tortillas.
The salsa, as I mentioned on my previous visit, is on the mild side. The guacamole had more of a kick to it. It was close to the way I like it, with the right mix of creaminess and chunkiness. It contained tomatoes (which I don't put in my guacamole when I make it at home -- I prefer straight avocado), and what I think was just the right amount of spice. I think the best way to describe it would be to call it an afterkick; the spice would sneak up on you after you had taken a bite. Not hot by any means; just spicy.
I didn't have time to finish all of the chips, because my burger came out close on the heels of the chips. I was in a guacamole kind of mood, so I decided to go with the Guacamole Bacon Burger. With a couple of slight changes. No onions, and definitely no mayo. In case I haven't mentioned it before (and even if I have), mayo is Evil White Slime. There is nothing worse than discovering that they didn't hold the mayo. But I'm getting a little offtrack, aren't I?
Besides the obvious guacamole and bacon, the burger also came topped with Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. It made for quite a substantial burger. The blend of flavors was enjoyable, but it might have been better from one viewpoint if it had only come topped with the guacamole and applewood smoked bacon. At times, it was kind of hard to distinguish all of the different components of the burger as I ate it.
As is the case with all of Red Robin's burgers, it came with bottomless steak fries. I think I ended up getting three baskets of fries, and I took basket #3 and part of basket #2 home with me, as well as a good portion of the tortilla chips. I did finish off both the guacamole and salsa.
Red Robin does serve alcohol, so as I had done yesterday when I went to Hooters, I asked if they could make a Spayed Gerbil. Short answer -- no. No Campari. Well, at least they were honest about it.
I think I have one more birthday offer, and I think I'm running out of time to use it.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0407
This is yet another FoodQuest Rerun stemming from a birthday offer. This time, it was Red Robin that was giving me a birthday present, as part of their rewards program. Their present was a free burger, and I went to Mall St. Matthews for another late lunch or early dinner, depending on your point of view.
As was the case on my last visit, the restaurant was not all that busy, which meant I didn't have to wait for a seat. Once I was settled, I took a few minutes to take a careful look at the menu. The one thing I knew for certain was that I wanted to try something different from my first visit.
I decided that I was also going to get an appetizer, and I went with the Guacamole, Salsa, And Chips. This was a basket of tri-colored tortilla chips -- red, white, and blue. (Very patriotic, don't you think?) A red corn tortilla had been formed into a cup, and it was filled with the guacamole. A similar blue corn tortilla cup held the salsa. And as I discovered after the server brought the basket to the table, there were also a couple of chips made from jalapeno-cheese flour tortillas.
The salsa, as I mentioned on my previous visit, is on the mild side. The guacamole had more of a kick to it. It was close to the way I like it, with the right mix of creaminess and chunkiness. It contained tomatoes (which I don't put in my guacamole when I make it at home -- I prefer straight avocado), and what I think was just the right amount of spice. I think the best way to describe it would be to call it an afterkick; the spice would sneak up on you after you had taken a bite. Not hot by any means; just spicy.
I didn't have time to finish all of the chips, because my burger came out close on the heels of the chips. I was in a guacamole kind of mood, so I decided to go with the Guacamole Bacon Burger. With a couple of slight changes. No onions, and definitely no mayo. In case I haven't mentioned it before (and even if I have), mayo is Evil White Slime. There is nothing worse than discovering that they didn't hold the mayo. But I'm getting a little offtrack, aren't I?
Besides the obvious guacamole and bacon, the burger also came topped with Swiss cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. It made for quite a substantial burger. The blend of flavors was enjoyable, but it might have been better from one viewpoint if it had only come topped with the guacamole and applewood smoked bacon. At times, it was kind of hard to distinguish all of the different components of the burger as I ate it.
As is the case with all of Red Robin's burgers, it came with bottomless steak fries. I think I ended up getting three baskets of fries, and I took basket #3 and part of basket #2 home with me, as well as a good portion of the tortilla chips. I did finish off both the guacamole and salsa.
Red Robin does serve alcohol, so as I had done yesterday when I went to Hooters, I asked if they could make a Spayed Gerbil. Short answer -- no. No Campari. Well, at least they were honest about it.
I think I have one more birthday offer, and I think I'm running out of time to use it.
CLOSE: JANUS FILE #0407