I recently got to re-live my youth by having lunch at Red Robin recently. When I was in middle and high school out in Pennsylvania, this was THE PLACE to go. Probably because it shared a parking lot with a movie theater, one of the few activities for kids in my metro.
RR has undergone a bit of identity change - it's still got all the pieces of flair on the wall that haven't changed since the late 90s when I started going, and the signature menu items are there, but they seem to be branding their menu up and have increased the prices to match. A $15 burger, Red Robin? Really?
Most of their items are in line with any major "neighborhood bar and grill" chain, though, and they're probably my favorite among their peers. They consider "anything between two buns" a burger, so I was easily able to swap a grilled chicken patty in for their A1 Peppercorn burger. Unfortunately, the chicken had kind of a weird texture, but it looked and tasted fine so I rolled with it. The steak fries are still as delicious as I remembered them, and they've still got the poppyseed dressing that I dunk them into with abandon.
Our server on this trip was very nice but a little discombobulated - he was running around like a madman and carrying several different orders at a time, which led to some sloppiness. My to-go box, for example, had its inside christened with melted vanilla milkshake.
On a good day, I could maybe bump them up to four stars (they are what they are, and I'm not going to ding them for being a chain), but the freezing temperature (I was still uncomfortable wearing both my and my boyfriend's hoodies) and crowded, awkward parking lot just weren't my jam.