Applebee's

Harkening back to a late-night roadtrip stop at an Applebees in New York where they played System of a Down b-sides on the radio (I don't know), Applebee's has always been one of my favorite chain restaurants. I think it's more of a nostalgia thing than a food quality thing, but they're still decent. They have an allergy menu online, and I've never had any issues with what I've ordered there.

This time, I had the blackened chicken penne which was really thick with cream sauce and not great. So I won't get that again. (I like the ribs and cole slaw best I think!!) I also got a strawberry 'summer squeeze' which was a pleasant fruity little drink. It was a good time. Plus their 2 entree + appetizer deal for 20 dollars is solid, especially for the portions (they are big).

12/10/17 update: went with a group to check out the "1$ Long Island Iced Tea" promotion. Apparently, they limit you to 3 per hour! This would be reasonable if they contained more than a thimble of alcohol, but I'm not sure that they do. They also have cola in there! But it was still fun and they taste OK. Plus I drank 4 drinks for 4 dollars and was still OK to drive, what a day. Also got the half price steak quesadilla app, which was just about worth the 4 dollars it cost. Very standard chain-resto quesadilla, worse than your chipotle/el rodeo level but better than a frozen meal. Snagged a few mozz sticks too, which fared better wince they were basically the pinnacle of mozz sticks (if that's what you're into).

5/23/22 update: went with a different group and got the Chicken Broccoli Alfredo (with a Blue Moon), which was solid! I was too meek to mention my allergy, but the online menu said it was safe. I didn't eat the breadstick but I ate the noodles and chicken and broc. A slight improvement over a frozen meal, and a good portion. Applebees is such a road trip destination for me!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10