I had never been to a Red Robin before, it's a national chain of what they call "gourmet" burgers. To give you an idea what it looks like inside, just imagine your regular national family restaurant chain (i.e TGI Fridays, Applebees, etc.) combined with a seven year old's birthday party. Somehow there was very little lighting, but the blaring primary colors and Americana plastered all over the place brought a brightness.
As for the meal itself, it gave me a conundrum to think about. For the most part, the chains have been better than the local places. In the U.S, you're always taught to root for the little guy, that the underdog has some kind of secret magic that makes them special, and in the case of the mom and pop eatery, that pride or some other attribute makes their meals just a little better.
But this corporate juggernaut was clearly above average when it came to what I ordered. The choice was between a Guacamole and Bacon burger versus a Barbeque based burger I can't remember the name of, but the fact that Guacamole costs extra but onion straws don't made me go with the former. One of these days I am probably going to get a heart attack from eating this crap, but damn, if I got a heart attack solely from this burger, then that would be a delicious heart attack.
I think the thing I noticed most about this meal was the light and buttery sesame buns. Well that and the "seasoning" they had at all the tables had "smoke" as one of its ingredients (have the Tobacco companies found a new way to sell their product?)
As for the milkshake, I was pleased, although it was not the highlight here -- this burger was damn good and got me ready to root for the home team a few hundred feet away at Gillette Stadium.
Meal: Guacamole Bacon Burger and Peach Milkshake
Price: $13.68
Time of Day: 5:30 PM,Weekend
Speed of Service: 25 minutes
No comments:
Post a Comment