Cheddar’s
A group of 8 of us, all women, went to Cheddar’s off of Interquest. 11136 Rampart Hills View to be exact, last Friday night.
We had called ahead, knowing we were a large group, hoping they would take a reservation, to no avail, and much to our dismay. When I approached the ‘front man’ to tell him we were a party of 8 he asked if we would like to be split up in to two booths. No, we wanted to eat together, that’s why we came together. So we waited like cattle, hungry and needing to be fed.
Cheddar’s is a southern restaurant chain that began in Texas in the late 70’s.
I had never been to one or had heard of it until this one opened here.
I’m not a big restaurant chain fan. I find their fare almost all the same and you can slap the same name on almost all the menus and you couldn’t tell whos is whos. Of course the ‘shctick’ might be different, the food is the same. Loaded with fattening ingredients disguised as colourful and healthy ‘looking’ with portion sizes large enough for a family of 3.
After about twenty minutes of standing around and getting in other peoples way we were seated with menus in hand as our waiter introduced himself. Our first order of business was to get our drink order in. “7 Painkillers please.” The Painkiller is a strange concoction with pineapple juice, orange juice, cream of coconut and rum. The strange part is, it’s topped off with a dash of nutmeg (which is actually grown in the Caribbean) which makes it a bit like a tropical eggnog, it sounds odd, but it works. There is a limit of two per guest, we found out why after we had consumed the second Painkiller.
On perusing the menu I couldn’t find cohesion except the ‘Chicken Tenders’ which I normally find on the kid’s menu, were ALL over the place, from the appetizers to main courses. Chicken Tender platter for $8.99, Steak and Chicken Tenders for $ 13.79 and Babyback ribs and Chicken Tenders also for $13.79. I was coming to the conclusion they really wanted me to try the Chicken Tenders.
I was going to get the Chicken Tenders and Shrimp for $11.69. I had my choice how I wanted my shrimp prepared, grilled or hand battered and fried. If I was going for Chicken Tenders, already fried, I was going to go all the way with the fried food. I also had my choice of two sides. They had an assortment of choices: Fresh steamed broccoli, broccoli and cheese casserole, red beans and rice, loaded backed potato, french fries, mashed potatoes and more. I went with the loaded baked potato and southern green beans.
Our poor waiter, when it came time to write my order down, my friends looked the other way knowing I would have some special request, and I did. I wanted sauces, lots of them to dip what I was hoping to be my deliciously fried food in. On the menu is a Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa for 9.99…I wanted the mango salsa. Also on the menu is Grilled Salmon for 9.99, either Blackened or Bourbon Glazed…I wanted to hijack some of that Bourbon Glaze. Our waiter was patient with me as I read off 5 different sauces I wanted with my meal.
Several of my friends wanted smaller orders of the regular meals and the staff was happy to oblige lunch portions for a few dollars less.
Our food arrived in a timely manner and we started to dig in. Yes, women like to eat and we are not all about a “salad and a glass of water”. My Chicken Tenders were worth the amount of print on the menu, juicy and tender on the inside and crisp without an over bearing batter on the outside. The shrimp, which I often find over cooked, was perfect! The flavors of the sea exploded in my mouth as I bit into large sized, ideally fried shrimp. As for the sauces and sides, the Ranch, Honey Mustard and Cajun sauce with a bit of horseradish were pedestrian at best. The Bourbon Glaze though sat on my tongue sweet and savory and absolutely delicious. I would try that Bourbon glaze on cardboard and I bet it would be good. The Mango Salsa was fresh but lacked depth and had no heat. My sides, the loaded baked potato and southern green beans, well, there was nothing loaded about my potato, except butter, sour cream and maybe 9 shreds of cheese on top. My green beans however tasted like my grandmother had been stewing them all day and were seasoned skillfully with the right amount of fat to make them ‘Southern’. One of my friends had gotten the side salad that comes with a honey butter croissant, which I had to try, the croissant was buttery, too buttery, way to buttery.
The atmosphere was friendly as were the staff and certainly family oriented as the sounds of children permeated the air. The décor however, was kooky, stone walls, fish tanks and paintings of Colorado skylines that reminded me of the 70’s. The prices were reasonable, the food palatable, not someplace I would go on a date but somewhere I would take my children for sure.
