Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews — Restaurant in Apple Valley

It only took three days, but I finally got my fries. Part 1

My wife and I decided to try this place last Friday evening for a date night. My favorite burger joint closed a couple of years ago and we have been desperately trying to find a comparable burger and fries. Thought maybe this could be it.

Unfortunately, I had broken my reading glasses out in the parking lot before we entered. I didn't think it was a big deal until it was. As I looked around, there were a lot of families having a good time. There was a birthday celebration. The food smelled good. Everything about the decor and the brand seemed to shout 'Merica! which I love.

It was a simple answer when the waiter asked what I wanted for dinner. I told him "I'll have a double cheeseburger and fries". He then told me he was sorry but that was not a menu item. I was a bit confused at this point and I had to ask "isn't this a burger joint?". He then explained as he pointed at the menu that I could order a Monster Burger and have the toppings that I didn't want removed. I was a bit embarrassed and informed the waiter that I had just broken my reading glasses. He would have to tell me what was on the burger so I could figure this out. The waiter went on to list a pretty significant number of ingredients that they intended to add to my poor cheeseburger. Stuff you might find at the local farmers market and whatnot. I couldn't remember everything he said and I didn't want to further embarrass myself, so I just asked him to remove the onions, mayonnaise, and relish. The stuff that really didn't belong on a cheeseburger.

This is where the fun started though. The waiter then asked if I would like "standard" fries. I told him I would like steak fries and he happily replied "those are our standard fries". I was like "cool".

For as busy as this place was, it really wasn't a very long wait before another waitress came out and presented our food. However, to my surprise, my burger did not come out with those good smelling, much anticipated, bottomless fries that everyone seemed to be so excited about. Mine came with a big, heaping pile of raw carrots. I quickly explained to the waitress that there must be a mistake. The waitress said she thought it was weird too. My wife found it hilarious and was quick to jump in and assure the waitress that her husband would never voluntarily order carrots. My wife knows me well enough to know that I am of the mindset that carrots are only a viable food source when used to lure rabbits. You can eat a rabbit. They don't taste great, but that is probably because they eat too many carrots.

The waitress called the waiter over and they decided it must have been an honest mistake. And we all laughed and I thought "no big deal". Mistakes happen especially when a place is hopping like this. The waitress told me, my wife, and the waiter that she would put in an order for a "fries refill" and bring that right out.

So we eat. Not the carrots, but the remaining actual food. And then we wait. And we wait. And when we are just over it and ready to leave, the waiter returns to the table and asks if he can bring us anything else. Dude is probably wondering why we are still holding this table hostage. I wasn't rude and didn't complain, but I had to let him know that I never did get my fries. But then the waiter was like "did you order fries?" and I was blown away. Was this the same waiter that had the whole conversation with me about "standard" fries? The one that me and my wife and the waitress laughed with about the carrots and the "honest mistake"? Was there another waiter running around this place that looked identical to my waiter because my waiter would certainly remember... unless he was messing with me.

To be...

It only took three days, but I finally got my fries. Part 2

So the waiter runs to the kitchen and he comes out with this big old basket of fries and he drops them on my table quick like and moves on. And I just got this look. And my wife laughs and laughs and laughs. I'm not kidding you guys. There were seven bottomless fries in this big old basket. I should have taken a picture because it was hilarious how sad that meager portion of fries looked when compared to a basket that size. If any of you were there on Friday night around 7pm and your basket of bottomless fries seemed one fry light, I'm sorry but that was because of me. I'm guessing dude ran to kitchen, grabbed the biggest basket he could find, and then applied one fry from each meal that was ready to go out the door. That had to be it. And as far as being a "bottomless" basket of fries, that just isn't true. I could very clearly recognize the bottom of my basket even without my reading glasses.

I thought I would just get over it and continue on my quest to find the most American cheeseburger on Earth. But I haven't. What bothered me was the "honest mistake". You see, when I got home and put on my other reading glasses, I pulled up Red Robin's menu and nowhere on the menu do they offer "heaping pile of raw carrots". Not anywhere. How could the waiter have "honest mistakenly" ordered me an item that doesn't even exist on the menu? Was the waiter just overly concerned about my heath and deteriorating eyesight? Was he just trying to help me out? My good friends say that he probably just looked at me and decided that I'd had enough fries already. Maybe he was trying to save my life.

To the waiter: I appreciate your concern. However, you should know that carrots do not really have a significant impact on a person's vision. They may help with vitamin A deficiencies, but those are rare in the western world. The myth was actually propagated by the British military during WWII. They had made significant advances in radar technology, but wanted to keep it on the down low. When asked to explain their extraordinary ability to locate enemy aircraft, they told the public that they had been feeding their pilots extra carrots and it had positively affected their vision.

To Red Robin: Please put a cheeseburger on the menu. Call it a kids menu for adults if you want. I am fine with that. I did go to the store today and bought myself a bag of fries. I am hoping this may give me some closure, but I don't know. You should know however that you still owe me some "standard" fries. "Bottomless" I might add.

To the reader: Thanks for spending your time with me. This was fun. I'm not going to leave Red Robin a negative review just because dude wanted to mess with me. I don't roll like that. And besides, my family and friends have enjoyed laughing with me about it and that is priceless. The burger was good, the atmosphere was good, and the fries were just starting...

First off, I don't like to leave negative reviews, especially now during these trying times for restaurants and restaurant workers, but that being said if you really try and earn a negative review you're going to get one no matter the situation. They earned theirs today.

Rude employees , all the from the Gm, to the Manager to the hostess.

So we made the mistake of trying to actually eat in the restaurant and parked in an open space, mind you they were not busy at all a 2pm, and there was not a single person in store or waiting for curbside. I parked in a "curbside" spot and I was told I had to move my car, although there's literally 24 more spots, no exaggeration 24 actual open curbside spots open... 24 and I had to move. The hostess was rude and We told her we were going to leave and she got snarky with us, and then her poor unprofessional attitude, so I figured she knows.... you should treat others like you want to be treated and I told her to f off, so the manager and gm were both unhelpful, apparently they need all 25 spots for curbside no matter what. And because I got upset with their trash employee and ideas they didn't care to listen to me anyways...

Mind you the spots don't say curbside only either. So your supposed to park in the theater parking lot and walk all the way in past 25! Open parking spots. So non existent curbside customers have a place to park.

Also, by eating inside a restaurant, we could have supported the serving staff, but based on the poor customer service from the hostess, manager and general manager, we chose to leave the restaurant. So at the end of the day, the wait staff gets nothing.

A poorly run and managed establishment.

It's still Garbage overpriced food, but it was close and everyone was hungry, but Never again, Treat us like trash we'll not back down, we'll...