Earl Eats with "Turkey" at Red Robin and We Both "Pig Out"

Our favorite place to have a 'burger night' is closed. It was the Applebee's near us. In search of another sit-down, dine-in restaurant that serves a good burger that isn't way out of our price range, I thought we would try Red Robin. It isn't close to home, but is on the way home from my wife's workplace...sort of.

Over the years we have eaten there only a couple of times, and those were not memorable enough to bring us back, but they are offering their $6.99 Tavern Line-up with bottomless steak fries right now so it seemed like a good time to go back.

My wife gets off work kinda early, (I felt like I was early enough for senior dining), but at least the parking lot was fairly empty! They had remodeled since we last ate there, and I liked the style. I was greeted by two young ladies who were happy to see a warm body and took me to a secluded table (all the tables were secluded!) though a work Christmas group of 8 to 10 people were seated near me almost as I arrived. Our server was very nice and attentive, and promptly offered a drink while I waited for "Turkey" to arrive.

Above:Their Advertised. Below:Our Reality

There were 4 or 5 offerings from their Tavern line-up of burgers, and a couple more for only 50 cents more. We both ended up wanting the same burger—their "Pig Out" Tavern Double. To quote from their menu "A bacon lover's dream—hardwood-smoked bacon with creamy smoked-bacon sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and American cheese. It's bacon and more bacon." It didn't quite live up to it's hype though. The image here shows the picture from their menu and the reality, but I don't care that it is as tall. How did it taste?
—The patties were nicely cooked and had a great flavor.
—The bacon was almost non-existent. I had almost forgotten it came with bacon. I had to check to see if they forgot it.
—And the creamy smoked bacon sauce was just a sauce. No discernible bacon flavor.
—The Lettuce was great! It was a curly edged green lettuce in a full leaf that didn't overpower, but added a nice freshness that that is often missing.
—The cheese was fine. It was properly melted American.
—The steak fries were a BIG disappointment. Lukewarm and limp we both thought they may have been under a heat lamp for some time. They are bottomless, but we had no desire to ask for more. They do come with a fry sauce. It was okay. BBQ Sauce & Mayo is my guess. However, after trying it, my wife made her own.

Conclusion:
The best thing I can say about this is I feel we got what we paid for. We will probably try it again, but it may not become a regular stop. Too bad. I wanted it to.

Rating: ★★★✰✰