We got a giftcard for Christmas so we thought we'd give Applebees another try. My son actualy insisted I write this review during our dinner so some of this review will contain his words.
Caught up to hubby and son at Applebees after a PTA meeting and they had already ordered appetizers. The cheesesticks were pretty basic. Cheesy, crispy, and not bad though the marinara was bland. The steak quesadilla thing was decent too. I'm sorry I don't know exactly what its called...that's what son called it. It was like a burrito though and not a quesadilla but I don't care enough to go look. Again, the flavor was ok, but just not sure what to expect.
Dinner however was just blah. Hubby and our friend each ordered the Quesadilla burger. Both said it was totally bland. Hubby had coleslaw which was overdressed. Friend had french fries which were crispy and hot but bland. Hubby added mayo and ketchup and that still didn't help the burger though.
I had the 3 cheese chicken penne. Bland. Thank god they put diced tomatoes in it or there wouldn't be any color to it either. The pasta was overcooked and also appeared to have been sitting around in another vessel before I got it because it was very oddly bent for penne.
My son had a rueben. He's used to the ruebens at Archie's Deli which are A-MAZING. This one at Applebees was so very salty that he couldn't eat it. The meat wasn't fresh and the saurkraut was clearly from a can. He was very disappointed and after 3 bites informed me that I better Yelp this restaurant because it's TERRIBLE and people need to know.
Now the only saving grace was our server. I didn't catch her name but she was friendly, polite, unintrusive, and kept our drinks filled. She brought the food out while it was hot rather than letting it sit in the window and the crappy food wasn't her fault at all. That's the only reason Applebees didn't get 1 star.