Red Red Robin

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I finally ate at Red Robin. I think there’s been one in Topeka for at least six years but I never had a reason to try it out. My sister gave my husband and I a gift card for Christmas so we couldn’t let that go to waste.

            Upon entering, the restaurant looked like a sit-down restaurant and was decorated in an American-like theme – sort of like a fancy drive-thru. I didn’t notice any particular theme in the décor, some were photos of classic American movies and next to where we sat was a life-size carousel horse, which I thought was creepy. The servers were friendly and I enjoyed their prompt service.

            We started off with an appetizer, of course, the Game Day Nachos. I thought the Towering Onion Rings looked pretty cool because they stack them up to look like a tower, clever, but I didn’t want a fried appetizer on top of a greasy burger and fries – good ole’ Weight Watchers. Anyway, that came pretty fast and with a whole heaping gob of guacamole on the top, which was much appreciated. The nachos come with hamburger queso, black beans, pico da gallo, cilantro, sour cream and fresh jalepenos all on tri-colored tortilla chips. This was pretty tasty and the guacamole was zesty and the perfect touch.

            The burgers came next. I decided to order something other than the plain cheeseburger this time and went for one with more avocado because I love it so much. So I of course ordered the Guacamole Bacon Burger with fries and my husband ordered the Burnin’ Love Burger, both cooked medium. The menu actually has a lot more to offer than just burger, as I originally thought the case. They have an entrée section, which I only glanced at, it includes seafood options like fish and chips and a chicken pasta. There is a section of chicken sandwiches, salads and wraps. You can check out their menu on their website, Redrobin.com. There you can see a huge photo of the burger or entrée and get a full description.

            The burger I got was cooked medium like I asked for and had more of the guac on it that I enjoyed in my appetizer, so that was cool. I took off some of the bacon because I am trying to eat healthier than I used to, but I left about half of it on there. It also had melted Swiss cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise. It was a little messy but I didn’t mind because it was so good. The only thing that would have been better is if I wasn’t on a diet and could have gotten refills on my steak fries. That’s another cool thing – if you order a burger you get bottomless steak fries with your meal. It wasn’t a big deal for me because I don’t really like steak fries, and these ones were ok because they weren’t huge like some. These were pretty small so the inside wasn’t so fluffy, I don’t really like that, I prefer crispy French fries.

            At that point I was incredibly full and ready for the check but they do have a good selection of shakes, smoothies and desserts. The one dessert that stood out to me was the Mile-High Mud Pie which looks like it could be shared with two to three people and gets its name from the fact that it’s so tall. You can go look at their menu and they have photos uploaded from guests who’ve taken photos with their smart phones.  

            Overall I was happy with my experience at Red Robin, but I think I would rather go to Burger Stand if I had to choose between the two. There wasn’t anything memorable or that stood out about Red Robin, at least not to me. It seemed like just another chain restaurant and will probably not be going back soon.