Chilli's a lot of pepper less fun (Enhanced)

Without a doubt expensive taste is a luxury; especially in this year of stimulus based dollar menus and financial commercial jargon. So whenever the chance presents itself, be it sub par, top notch or in between one can’t help but to get a little giddy. Its bye bye microwaveable easy mac and hello heaven.

That’s why places like Chili's, The Olive Garden and even Shooters were established. Each embodies a certain niche and level of expertise. The Olive Garden has practically the perfect service except when the waitress or waiter abandons you in your time of hunger. But even with that the food doesn’t fall by the waist side. Shooters on the other hand is like a self serve gizmo. Its very much reminiscent of a free-for-all. Therefore thoughts of guilt and angst towards Granny who cut you off in the stir-fry lane is totally optional. As for Chili’s… well speaking of expertise, lets just pepper in some fun…

At arrival, or rather survival, I entered the scene devastated by the rain only to cross the threshold of a colorful little place called limbo. And being a newbie to the whole Chili’s scene but no doubt a fan of the commercials, I was all too eager to taste what they had to offer. The hostess was nowhere to be found and my party was seriously about to take our own seats until someone finally spoke to us. Seated in a booth of triangular proportion we sat for a good five minutes till our server popped up hastily. Typical drink to choice appetizer exchange came next, followed by the Terminators all to cool catch phase.

With the wait the atmosphere beckoned. It screamed urban and even club. It couldn’t have been the all too loud electric green scattered everywhere or the male bartender shimming like a salt shaker. Or even the cold instead of hot water in the bathroom. But either way the place was hip, one could not help but notice the plasmas. The table tops were adorn with simple mosaic patterns, delicate and light, almost terracotta in tone. While the booth seats were a loungy blue and comfortable.

Once the waitress finally came back the evening took an off-putting turn. With the Boneless Hot Wings and Hot Spinach & Artichoke dip we wanted garlic bread for dipping; instead we got duped. The bread was slimy on one side and titivated with burnt particles on the other. My sisters’ lemonade had a strain of hair half way in the mix. And the waitress scrambled to and fro. She seemed apologetic for the mishap, but with its occurrence it opened another can of worms. Lets just say the manager was more than helpful. His waitress rarely came back to check up on us and instead handed off piles of napkins periodically once the real food came out. And if you needed a refill, getting her attention was like getting rid of a gapers delay midday. And like a car wreck, this dining experience went up in flames. I took a fork full the zesty rice that accompanied my Honey BBQ ribs an I thought I’d die of pepper and salt intake. It was more like rice mush, and even harsher with the added lemon ingredient. Complements to the chef for diminishing my taste buds.

The spiraling downward didn’t end there, all we wanted was the check. It would’ve been better to be rushed then endure the never-ending dine out from hell. Keep it simple with this one folks, the Sweet Shots are by far the only upside to this restaurants’ fiasco. Aside from the main course dishes you can recognize.

So if you’ve got a strong stomach or a weak bowel movement. Definitely choose this Chili’s because it’s got the flavors you’ll love at the prices you’ll want.