Where:
Applebee's
1200 NJ-23, Butler, NJ 07405(973) 283-8410
http://www.applebees.com/
What:
The American Standard
Build:
Cheeseburger with pickles, bacon, and onion seared into the burger patty with signature sauce and American cheese on a traditional bun.
Comments:
I have to give Applebee's an A for effort on their "All-In" burger campaign. I first heard of it from my brother-in-law, and finally got a chance to try one. The onions and bacon are seared into the meat on the grill, hence the tagline: "All-In" burgers.
I opted for the American Standard and surprisingly, I was not disappointed with meat flavor. After the first bite I knew they had stepped up the quality of their meat. It was actually very good – they even paid attention to detail when searing the toppings into the meat. The cheese was ample and burger-to-bun ratio great, however, my disappointment came with the bun, the stale bun.
I have gone off the deep end in other reviews on how a chef\cook could ever place a stale bun (the crowning jewel) on top of a freshly cooked burger. Who does this? It's a burger bun for God's sake, how much could it cost? Throw it out and open a new package! Nope, someone cooking at Applebee's in Butler, NJ thought it was okay to use a stale bun. I'm not going to belabor my point, but this is a prime reason why Applebee's will never be more than Applebee's. All that tweaking of the burger ingredients and advertising for what? All it took was for one uninterested employee to top my burger with a stale bun rather than a fresh one - chalk up one more dissatisfied customer.
Perhaps Applebee's should focus more on the competency of their employees, after all, a good plan that's executed poorly is worth nothing...
I can't even give them the benefit of the doubt by saying, "It's okay, this type of thing happens from time to time and this was probably just a one-off." Nope, that doesn't fly - how can you cook every aspect of a burger to near perfection and then screw up with putting it all on a stale bun? I'm sorry, there's just no excuse for that.
And to top it off, the service was lacking. Our waitress forgot fried onions on one of the burgers we ordered and my order of pickles on the side never arrived.
This burger would have been a 10\10 if not for the stale bun. What a shame, I was really rooting for this burger, but unfortunately, it gets an 8.1\10 (which is becoming "just average" in this crowded world of casual burger joints).
Applebee's
1200 NJ-23, Butler, NJ 07405(973) 283-8410
http://www.applebees.com/
What:
The American Standard
Build:
Cheeseburger with pickles, bacon, and onion seared into the burger patty with signature sauce and American cheese on a traditional bun.
Comments:
I have to give Applebee's an A for effort on their "All-In" burger campaign. I first heard of it from my brother-in-law, and finally got a chance to try one. The onions and bacon are seared into the meat on the grill, hence the tagline: "All-In" burgers.
I opted for the American Standard and surprisingly, I was not disappointed with meat flavor. After the first bite I knew they had stepped up the quality of their meat. It was actually very good – they even paid attention to detail when searing the toppings into the meat. The cheese was ample and burger-to-bun ratio great, however, my disappointment came with the bun, the stale bun.
I have gone off the deep end in other reviews on how a chef\cook could ever place a stale bun (the crowning jewel) on top of a freshly cooked burger. Who does this? It's a burger bun for God's sake, how much could it cost? Throw it out and open a new package! Nope, someone cooking at Applebee's in Butler, NJ thought it was okay to use a stale bun. I'm not going to belabor my point, but this is a prime reason why Applebee's will never be more than Applebee's. All that tweaking of the burger ingredients and advertising for what? All it took was for one uninterested employee to top my burger with a stale bun rather than a fresh one - chalk up one more dissatisfied customer.
Perhaps Applebee's should focus more on the competency of their employees, after all, a good plan that's executed poorly is worth nothing...
I can't even give them the benefit of the doubt by saying, "It's okay, this type of thing happens from time to time and this was probably just a one-off." Nope, that doesn't fly - how can you cook every aspect of a burger to near perfection and then screw up with putting it all on a stale bun? I'm sorry, there's just no excuse for that.
And to top it off, the service was lacking. Our waitress forgot fried onions on one of the burgers we ordered and my order of pickles on the side never arrived.
This burger would have been a 10\10 if not for the stale bun. What a shame, I was really rooting for this burger, but unfortunately, it gets an 8.1\10 (which is becoming "just average" in this crowded world of casual burger joints).
Not a Bad Comparison...
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