Two Restaurants Revisited

Eating out is a luxury for us. Oh, we could do it more than we do, but choose not to. It is an added expense and it takes a huge chunk out of our already stretched time, but it is a lot of fun when we do go out for dinner. This past weekend, we were fortunate enough to dine out twice. Golly gee, right? Well, I loved it! This was a wonderful treat for my husband and I, but especially for me since I didn’t have to cook. So, why am I telling you this? I thought it would be fun to share my experiences with you.

On Sunday, we went to Abuelo’s Mexican restaurant. We have enjoyed eating there on a few other occasions since they opened several years ago. Currently, Knoxville has only one location. It’s a very nice establishment. It’s a bit upscale in appearance than the other Mexican restaurants in town. That’s not necessarily good or bad, just a little fluff of information to throw out there.

We hit Abuelo’s with very good timing, the dinner crowd had not made it in and in fact, the whole time we were there, patrons were slow to arrive. We live in the Bible belt, so, I attributed the lack of diners due to Sunday night service.

Abuelo’s floor plan is nice. They have booths along the walls, with tables in the center of the room. We prefer a booth and even have a favorite we request. Our waiter was Uli. He was very polite. He was quick to bring our complimentary glasses of water, bowl of chips and salsa. Abuelo’s chips are light and crispy and their salsa has a bit of spice, but not too spicy and flavorful. I think Abuelo’s chips and salsa are some of the best I’ve had.

Uli took our order, we decided to share the Four Choice enchiladas. We got one chicken enchilada with sour cream sauce, two ground beef enchiladas with ranchero sauce, and one shredded beef enchilada with chile con carne.  The chicken enchilada was excellent, my favorite first choice. This was my enchilada. I normally do not like beef entrees when we eat at Mexican restaurants. I don’t know why I am persnickety like that. I ventured to try the beef enchiladas that my husband ordered for himself.  The ground beef was plain, but not bad. The ranchero sauce didn’t compliment the ground beef it as well as the chile con carne would have, but my husband couldn’t remember how he normally ordered it. He wasn’t hugely disappointed, though. The shredded beef enchiladas were my favorite between the two types of beef enchiladas. The chile con carne didn’t work out the best on the shredded beef, but the ranchero sauce was an excellent suite. Next time, my husband and I will  be more mindful of which sauces to order for this beef enchiladas.  As always, the refried beans and rice were good. What I like about their refried beans is they don’t taste like a pound of bacon grease was thrown into the pot and the rice has a mildly peppery flavor. The entrée itself was not spicy hot, instead well-balanced with the appropriate seasonings. My husband couldn’t pass up getting dessert. He ordered a Tres Leches Cake, which means Three Milk Cake. The cake is soaked with cream and layered with creamy frosting, and it rests in a pool of heavy cream with a swirl of strawberry sauce in the bottom of the plate. It looks pretty. The cake was good, but my husband noticed it wasn’t as good as it had been three years ago. It disappointed him that they changed the recipe.

Desserts do not break a restaurant for us. Although, it’s nice to find a delicious after-meal treat at the restaurant we dine at.  Abuelo’s will continue to be our preferred Mexican restaurant of choice and will dine there again in the future. We’ll secretly hope that somewhere along the way, the old Tres Leches Cake recipe returns to Abuelo’s kitchen and to our table.

Last night, we ate at Applebee’s.  I’ll be the first one to tell you, Apple Bee’s is not our first pick when it comes to dining out. However, my parents gave me an Apple Bee’s gift card for my birthday and this was the prime time to burn that card.  Let me first begin by saying, why Apple Bee’s doesn’t make our top choice of restaurants.  First, our taste buds usually dictate our dining decisions elsewhere and second, Apple Bee’s booths have terrible support and I always walk out the door with an achy back.

We opened up the menu. The appetizers were first up and even though they looked wonderful, we pushed past the boneless buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, and potato skins. We flipped through the entrees. They have chicken, steak, seafood, and ribs to select from. Right now, they have a promotion menu going  2 for $20, which includes two entrees and an appetizer. That’s not bad, especially if you go into Apple Bee’s frightfully hungry or have plans on a to-go box when you pay your tab.

My husband ordered Fiesta Lime Chicken. This fiesta-style grilled chicken has a zesty lime sauce and topped with Jack-cheddar and Mexi-ranch. It’s also served with colorful crisp tortilla strips, seasoned rice, and fresh pico de gallo.

I ordered  from their new Sizzling Entree options and got the Sizzling Chicken with Spicy Queso Blanco.  My entree featured a 7 oz grilled chicken breast served with sauteed onions and red & green peppers and then smothered in spicy Queso Blanco, cilantro, with a side of fried red potatoes.

Both entrees were an excellent taste of the southwest and an experience we wouldn’t mind repeating on our next visit to Applebee’s.

Let’s not get into too much of a hurry, though. Our meal didn’t end with our last tasty morsel of Fiesta Lime Chicken or Sizzling Chicken with Spicy Queso Blanco. No, no that wouldn’t happen because my husband as always looked at the desserts when we first sat down. He already knew which one…I mean two desserts he would try when Nicole, our waitress, checked with us at the close of our meal.

This is Apple Bee’s Triple Chocolate Meltdown. It’s a moist dark chocolate cake topped with dark and white chocolate, served with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream with ribbons of dark chocolate. When you slice into the Triple Chocolate Meltdown, a stream of soft dark chocolate fudge sauce pours out. Mmm, and it’s good, really good.  Paired with the ice cream and it’s a match made in heaven, but this comes strictly from someone who is a choco-alcoholic.

The next pick was Blue Ribbon Brownie. Apple Bee’s didn’t have a photo of this fine dessert to dangle as eye candy for my readers.  I shall do my best to use the magic of my creative words to paint this image inside your mind. The dessert plate was arranged with two dark chocolate brownie triangles and two, yes two scoops of vanilla ice cream. These nutty brownies were moist and plenty chocolaty.  I was half expecting  crumbly brownies to arrive at our table, but this was by far the opposite which was a pleasant surprise. I love chocolate, but brownies are usually not my first choice.

My husband has an exceptional eye for the sweets and this time proved to be no different from all the rest. We rated both desserts with two-thumbs up. As for the rest of the meal, then we were very pleased with the foods and may some time down the road re-visit Apple Bee’s after we soon forget how sore our back was from eating there the last time.

Take a look at  Applebee’s MenuSave

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