Applebee's Review

I would give the Applebee’s in Christiansburg a 7.5 out of 10 for an overall good experience. It was about a 10 minute drive from campus, making it easily accessible to students here at Virginia Tech. I went to Applebee’s with my roommate Keith and his girlfriend Laurie. We arrived before the dinner rush and were seated immediately at a table in the bar area rather than a booth because the size of our party.

Applebee’s was very clean, but I think that was due to the fact we arrived there before the dinner rush. The dining area is decorated with pictures and items from all eras and locations across the nation. Some items include sports pictures, old sports equipment, and pictures of famous people. I don’t think there was any open wall space. All of the decorations made great conversation pieces and definitely made the restaurant more appealing. The menu is very easy to read and it includes concise descriptions of the food with many mouthwatering pictures, and neatly organized text. I ordered the Southwest Chicken Fajita Wrap, but was disappointed because by the time my dish was put on the table it had already cooled off. All of the food my party ordered must have taken longer to prepare, which probably left my food sitting under one of those warming lights or on a kitchen counter somewhere. In my opinion, the cook should have accounted for the time differences in his preparations and made my dish after everyone else’s was in the oven.

I was a little disappointed by that, but our waitress was extremely nice and attentive. She got us several refills and brought Keith and Laurie’s appetizers out very quickly. Then, the main dishes came. My Southwest Chicken Fajita Wrap tasted fine, but it would have been much better warm. The flavor was great because the chicken was grilled so tenderly and the chipotle dressing mixed in the wrap compliment the chicken perfectly. I also wished the wrap had been a bit bigger because it did not leave me full when I was done eating. The rest of my party ordered deserts, but since I was not in the mood for dessert I just sat and waited for them to finish. It took almost 10 minutes for the waitress to bring out their brownie sundaes. The reason she gave us was that they had to bake the brownies fresh because they had no more ready to go in the back.

It’s a great family restaurant and is perfect for parties because they have a few large booths in the corners of the restaurant. My dinner was a decent value for the price I paid, but I would have been willing to pay a little more if the wrap was larger and had more filling inside. I have been to several other Applebee’s and they are all decorated with the same memorabilia and use the same menus. I have ordered different dishes each time and they have all been good. I would recommend he Applebee’s restaurant chain to anyone here on campus and when I get some extra money I would go back and try another one of their “All American” dishes.

By: Jonathan Follmer