Applebee's Grill + Bar — Restaurant in Elizabethton

I am a certified chef I went to culinary school. I have been working in the food industry for going on 17 years. I work at a nursing home and assisted living place in Johnson City Tennessee. I work 12 hours a day by myself in the kitchen and cook for 65 people three meals a day. I ordered a whiskey bacon burger from Applebee's with a side of load-it potato fries (extra crispy.) I live 4 minutes from the Applebee's in Elizabethton. I got my food home my fries were not extra crispy and they were cold. My whiskey bacon burger was well done like I ordered it. But only because the cook had smashed it when it was on the grill. My order was $17 and some cents. I gave the waitress who brought it to my car at 20 and told her to keep it because I know they live off tips. But I'm upset because I paid $17 for a Burger. I could have gotten at McDonald's. I did call in and had a conversation with the manager. He was polite and he did offer to refund my food and cook it for me. So that was good on his part. But I believe that people should not be getting served food that is sub par. The people who go into Applebee's and order a burger that is $17 work hard for their money. and yes I understand that the cook who made my burger works hard just like I do. But being a cook he should understand you do not serve food that you would not eat. There are three reasons that you never take your spatula and smash a burger. Reason number one and not the most important reason is it looks bad when you serve it. Reason number two in somewhat important is it dries out the burger. Reason number three and the most important reason you never take your spatula and smash a burger is you are smashing all the flavor out of the meat. The reason I go to places like Applebee's and not fast food is because I would rather wait for good food than have bad food...

After waiting 10 minutes for the bartender to take our drinks, since we were sitting at a high top in the bar area and she had to talk to the people at the bar and ignore us. I ordered a Brewtus PBR, only to be told their house beer is now Busch Light, YUCK!! Anyhow, got Octoberfest instead. Then ordered a sampler as an appetizer, all was good except marinara sauce looked like tomato paste. Then ordered a fajita roll-up, one of my favorites, only to get a burrito-looking roll-up, that looked like someone had puked and rolled it up in a tortilla. It was nothing but cabbage and some fajita puke mixed together and the sides of the tortilla was ripping apart and it was not grilled. It was presented to me with the fries in eye sight, not exposing the cut side of the "roll-up". My husband warned me and said you ain't gonna want that. I turned it around and got the waitress immediately and sent it back. Funny thing was it was time for shift change and guess what they were discussing in the middle of the table, only the "roll-up" I sent back. Anyhow, they're closing a lot of Applebee's and in my opinion, Elizabethton,TN, should be one! Quality of food, and wait staff has gone to the dogs in this establishment! No, I was not charged for the "roll-up", and was offered something else, but after seeing that, I didn't want anything from...

We went for an early dinner yesterday 05/01, we being myself, my wife, my sister and her friend. My sister has early onset Alzheimer's and it can sometimes be a challenge to take her out to eat. We were seated quickly, menus were delivered and drink orders were confirmed. My sister was a school teacher and often is confused that she still is or that some random person was one of her students. She saw our server and immediately assumed it was one of her students that she hadn't seen in a long time and insisted on a hug. Our server, I'm sorry I didn't get her name, never missed a beat and hugged my sister like they were old friends. I don't think many people want to be capable of being this kind. I wish more people could be this caring; she deserves a raise!

Oh yeah, service was fast. Food was actually amazing! There were three chicken dishes that were all complimented for their flavor and tenderness. I ordered a steak, medium rare, which actually came out much more well than I prefer. It was still quite tender and juicy; very pleasant! Personally, I do not write a lot of reviews. THIS was a very different experience that...