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| - Eating at a place like Yard House is not typically my choice. I avoid cookie-cutter commercial eateries because I already know what to expect.... sugar/salt/fat bombs, a tummy ache and the potential for mediocre service.
However, being at crocker park for the wine festival + having a gift card (gathering dust from last Christmas) lead me to the Yard House to soak up my wine samples.
My first impression of Yard House was that the interior was classier and cleaner than what I would have expected from a chain restaurant. They did largely employ 20-somethings, but I was pretty satisfied with our service. We arrived at 5pm on at Saturday and were promptly seated at a massive booth that would likely fit 6 people. Our server took our drink order and drinks were delivered pretty quick. They do offer an extensive draft beer and cider selection, including my favorite, Ace Pineapple Cider.
The menu is pretty extensive, as you can imagine. My husband and I decided to splurge a bit & order to queso dip appetizer. The cheese dip was served hot in a cast iron skillet with flour tortillas and tortilla chips. It was.... just okay. Not particularly spicy, although it did have some fire roasted pobalo peppers mixed in. There was the option to add bacon and chorizo, but we passed.
For our entrees my husband ordered Nashville Hot Chicken and I ordered the lunch portion Vodka Shrimp Pasta. Without checking the nutrition facts online I can assume that these meals were likely 1000+ calories, but they seriously lacked flavor. They were pretty enough to look at but overall pretty meh in the taste department. My husbands' pancakes did not slightly taste or resemble sweet potatoes and his chicken was lacking both the salt and spice you would expect. My pasta also tasted bland and under-salted... which was particularly confusing because I can only imagine the sodium content based on the reputation of chain restaurants.
Overall, I may return to Yard House in the future if the stars aligned (as they did during this visit). The facility was clean, we were seated quickly and service was attentive enough. However, the food really wasn't that great nor did it live up to it's description. It wasn't worth the heavy feeling I left with nor the belly ache that ensued later.
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