Dave

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Saturday, September 6, 2008

Lunch Report: Bennigan's...

Years ago, I recall Bennigan's as being a leader in the Bar & Grill style chain restaurant, and you could always count on them as a good place to grab some food and a beer - in the same type of format as Chili's, Applebee's and TGI Friday's. I guess about two years ago or so, my wife had a series of bad experiences at the Bennigan's on Cinema Ridge near Ingram Park Mall, and aside from calling the manager as we drove to a competitor, to explain why he lost us as customers, we really had no need to ever call or set foot in the place again. Until this afternoon.I recently purchased one of those fund raiser Entertainment coupon books and figured, if anyone can get $20.00 worth of use in restaurant coupons, we could. So, Bennigan's got their long awaited, much anticipated, second chance from us and, I'm here to tell you, it wasn't bad at all.If you are familiar with this area, you know that right next door to the Bennigan's is Texas Road House. TRH is packed from the minute it opens until it closes, everyday, without exception. Benningan's on the other hand, was seriously empty. Fine by me.

My wife and I both ordered the Guinness Glazed Bacon Cheeseburger. They do serve up some huge burgers, but I have to be honest, I am usually leary of these specialty types of things. For eaxample, I think Applebee's has just totally gone overboard with all the wierd sauces and stuff they put on thier entire menu. At some poiint in time, you just want a burger with a little salt & pepper and some cheese, not all the extra syrup and such.
So, we were both surprized when we got these bad boys and bit into them. I have long suspected that the burgers are simply microwaved or something, not actually grilled in the kitchen. Who knows? But however they were made, it turned out to be a pretty descent burger. My wife even started doing her little happy dance in the seat - thankfully no witnesses.

Other than it was good, the only remarkable thing about it was the Guinness Glaze. Good stuff on the burger, and especially good when used as dip for the fries.

The other really important point - and this may have had to do with the fact that aside for one or two folks in the bar, we were the only people in the restaraunt and we had awesome service. Not only did our server attend to our needs, several other people, presumably other servers or floor managers came by to ask how we were doing. Funny, had they done this a few years ago, they would have seen us back sooner.

You are officially free to end your own boycott and give Bennigan's a try.


3 comments:

muse said...

I have also been boycotting Bennigans, but I'm not thinking my boycott will be ending soon...glad you had a great burger.

TRH is the only steakhouse in the area...I know there is an outback but the construction off of 410 is a killer. Did you know you could call ahead for reservations at TRH? They give you this number and when your number is called they seat you...you don't have to wait in that long-ass line.

Fitter actually used this trick on Valentine's Day. Which was our 2nd date...impressed me enough to keep him around for another date.

Dave said...

We ALWAYS call ahead at TRH and most other places we go to on a regular basis. My wife just giggles when we walk up and have only a few minutes to wait and get "the look" from other folks who aren't in on it.

Shhh, don't tell anybody or we'll all be sitting outh there for an hour.

Anonymous said...

Bennigan's is the nastiest place on earth and I guess that's the reason why they are bankrupt and will be closing soon...the only good thing served there is the beer!

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San Antonio, TX, United States
I love to observe the odd things happening around me as I go about my day. I especially like it when I can get a picture of people being themselves. Here, I attempt to report the various people and events I have encountered in my neighborhood, and my city. I'd also love to hear from you. Feel free to e-mail your experiences and photos of life in San Antonio.

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