Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill
I’ve been to Applebees’s a few times. It’s on 15th and Halsey in Portland’s Lloyd District.
The first time, I drove, not realizing it was so nearby. First, I parked my teeny-tiny car in their teeny-tiny lot. Really, parking was okay (if you have a small car). Backing out to leave? That’s a problem.
However, there is a solution. Park across the street. That’s easy and the walk is – just across the street.
Once you enter the doors, the first person to greet you is the hostess. Most of the time, you get a good hostess. When you get a bad hostess…
Well, let’s hope they let that person go quickly.
Now you get to sit down. They have tables, small booths, regular-sized booths, and in the corner Applebee’s has a really big booth where kids can play or crawl under the table and have all kinds of fun.
When they seat you, look out above. If they seat you beneath a vent and the air conditioning is on, it might get too cold (shiver!).
They have Dr. Pepper and that should always be a plus for a restaurant. Oo-rah. They also have a bar with drinks and televisions tuned to the great sporting events of the day.
Don’t order anything that looks like it ought to be Chinese food. Anything else is okay. It’s a good regular restaurant, part of a national chain. There is nothing momentous, but nothing disastrous, either (except the Chinese-looking food). Every once in a while, they mess up but most of the time they do not.
The commercials paint it as a great place for a “gang,” but I haven’t gone with a “gang” of friends or people from the office – just my wife, her daughter and her kids (at different times).
I like it. I go there.