We have a hard and fast policy about not dismissing any restaurant without visiting it at least twice. A bad experience the first time won't necessarily mean a bad experience the second time. And, it's not often that a great first experience is followed by a bad one.
We were excited about returning to Red Robin. This time we went on a Friday night during their peak dinner hour. The place was packed to capacity and seemed to be quite popular with families with children. Once again, we had a very pleasant server who was attentive and eager to please. This time Big Daddy ordered the Colossus Burger. Available for only a limited time, it's a fire-grilled patty piled high with finely chopped smoked brisket, provolone cheese, red and yellow onions plus their Campfire and Triple S BBQ sauces.
I selected the DGB Burger, that same fire-grilled patty topped with oven-roasted tomatoes, savory roasted garlic aioli and fresh arugula tossed in citrus olive oil dressing on a toasted ciabatta bun.
My burger was much better than his. It had a very organic quality to it to be a burger. The arugula felt fresh and with the dressing, almost salad-like. The bun was perfect and the aioli was a nice complement.
The Colossus was a bomb and Big Daddy was disappointed. The brisket was nothing but large chunks of unchewable fat that we had to keep pulling out of our mouths. It took away from the experience. Those bottomless French fries came in quite handy this time around.
This time we ordered dessert and our excitement was quickly dashed. We started with the Gooey Chocolate Brownie Cake. Their menu describes it as an indulgent chocolate brownie cake and hot fudge topped with vanilla ice cream and served with sweet strawberries and berry sauce. Our waitress swore it was her favorite. When it arrived the berries and sauce were frozen chunks and the cake was cold and dry. There was nothing gooey or brownie-like about it and it tasted very cardboard-like. A manager was quick to rectify the situation and replaced that disaster with their Mountain High Mudd Pie, an avalanche of chocolate and vanilla ice cream layered with Oreo cookies, fudge and caramel and topped with whipped cream. The portion was substantial, almost too large for both of us to share. And it was chocolate ice cream and Oreos. You can't get that but so wrong.
Neither of us was as impressed the second time around, but Red Robin remains on our list of places we'd eat at again. There are still things on the menu we'd like to try and great customer service continues to make them a win for us.
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