Baxters American Grille — Restaurant in Bloomington

Oh boyo. They're still a mess five years after covid. They simply haven't recovered. Three gals up front tonight, working their butts off to ignore a line of people standing in front of them. Impressive level of dedication to avoiding interaction really. Seating folks would be a lower effort, lower stress solution. They don't seem comfortable with it. It's just people are trying to join already seated parties - not waiting on tables to open up. I was left to meander in and around the place looking for the group as the third time I addressed the three hostesses from within four feet one finally let me know that my party wasn't there. They were, had been for 30 mins, and confirmed they had let her know others were coming. The waiter let us know pretty openly that he couldn't care less. He'd been there since six, which was remarkably early for him, and was "just looking to get today over with." Knowing they can't handle a steak, I got sliders and potato chips which weren't totally botched - so a huge improvement.

A disappointing spot, heavily invested in decor and social media worthy photo backdrops. They really present themselves well until you have to interact with their hostesses, waiters, or kitchen staff's work. There really isn't an element being done well. They just got a spot near the airport and a hotel, so will be around with or without good service. They seem to understand this well. They know themselves. That's what I'd say they do well.

Sliders - 5/10 -Your typical kids menu fare. Bun, meat, cheese... It's hard to go wrong here.

Potato chips - 4/10 -Overcooked. Browned and oily, a bit chewy instead of crispy.

Salad - 9/10 -Their salad starter is good! Too much topping and moisture compared to lettuce, but this you can scrape off. A ton of cheese, and a Midwestern amount of dressing on it.

Here tonight. Rating this dump while we yet again wait.

Buns - 4/10 -Below average. Undercooked and gooey/white. The butter was good.

Baxters Salad - 2/10 -lightly oiled and very mildly vinegar'd. Huge uncut leaves, full-size onion rings, a wad of cheese, some carrot slices and walnuts. Embarrassing to eat in a restaurant when you're wiping greasy leaves all over your face.

Calamari - 1/10 -Dry, chewey, overcooked, burnt exterior. All suckers and no mini octopuses.

Steak - 0/10 -$50 for a bone-in ribeye, this is how they cook a medium rare, with blue cheese and onion COOKED ON THE STEAK. Wouldn't make a deal out of the sides, but specifically he asked me when I said on the side am I sure and he recommends cooking on top. I agreed and he said good choice. and made sure that I did indeed want it cooked on the steak only to throw it on the side. Didn't aks a w thing when i sent my full plate back. They just don't care at all. You be the judge of their cook. I'd rate it as low as possible.

French fries - 7/10 -as good as burger King, not as good as McDonald's or steak and shake. The best thing on their menu by FAR. They just cater to college kids that's their regular crowd now.

Drinks: Blackberry 'smack' something - 4/10. -Not quite as good as whiskey and coca cola so below average for sure. A bit weak. Plenty of accoutrement though.

Sweet Caroline - 6/10 -Not at all to my taste, but I can see people liking this. Very very saccarine, with raspberry chunks. There may or may not have been alcohol in this one.

Service - 1/10 -I sat with an empty drink for 60 minutes of our 70 minutes here. He wasn't busy. He was talking with another girl and guy at the computer screen most of the night 15ft from our table.

Atmosphere - 2/10 -Loud, hard chairs, a strange mix of business people in sport coats, and 18 year olds in grey goodies and sweat pants. This isn't on Baxters, but I'm a 6'1 250lb guy. Fairly built. Some 80 year old, bald spot on top, white hair around sides, in a white sweatshirt, was peering over the stalls in the mens room smiling and murmuring in the bathrooms (at 7:07PM on Friday, March 24th 2023 if you want to actually do something about it). It's all on camera, do something about this...

A friend of mine and I got appetizers to share. The food was tasty (cajun calamari, herb and garlic roasted goat cheese in marinara, and drunken mushrooms) but there are a couple weird things. 1) even though there were two of us, the bread only came out in baskets of three. 2) the crostini that comes with the mushrooms and the goat cheese is just nowhere near enough to enjoy all the sauces and cheese and stuff. The food was good quality, but there wasn't anything really special about it tp warrant the price: small amounts, the goat cheese tasted just like the herb and garlic ones they sell at the store (which is fine, but don't charge me 2x as much for 1/2 of what I'd get, pour on some marinara and charge me like you'd done something fancy by hand.) It was fine, but it wasn't as fancy as they think they are. I might raise my review if I go back - maybe their entrees are...

Delicious food at good prices. My fiancé had the sirloin tip gnocchi and loved it, I had the chicken piccata and thought it was perfect. It is very lemony and in my opinion, better than the piccata at Biaggi’s or Cheesecake Factory. Their signature salad was great, if the onions were pickled it would be perfect. The gratin potatoes are very heavy and are meant for sharing. We barely ate any but had them as leftovers the next day. Nothing particularly special about them but the potatoes were cooked to a correct level of doneness. The white chocolate raspberry bread pudding was delicious, a definite must-have! We also got a pretzel app and drinks, but I would pass on the pretzel (actually probably not get any apps) and get a different cocktail next time. The blackberry mojito was just okay. Overall, I’d say this is a great date night or celebration spot we will go...