T.G.I. Friday's in Orlando, FL (International Drive)

At about 12:45 am, I found myself at the T.G.I. Friday's on International Drive for a very late dinner (or really early breakfast).

Luckily, their kitchen was still open. I decided to go with one of the three course meals that they offered. For my appetizer, I had the Pot Stickers. These pork dumplings were served on a long, rectangular plate over a bed of cabbage. I really wasn't sure what to expect since I was ordering Chinese food from a big chain, but these pot stickers were surprisingly tasty. For an appetizer in a three course meal, it was a lot of food as well. I could have stopped eating after this...

For the main course, I had the Key West Shrimp. It came with two skewers of about six blackened shrimp each. A pile of broccoli was served on the side. The shrimp were tasty, but the broccoli was cold and overcooked. I think I received the last batch of broccoli of the day, since soon after delivering the food, the waiter had announced the kitchen had closed.

I had cheesecake for dessert. The slice of cake was quite large, consisting of about half cheesecake and half frosting with a graham cracker crust. It was good, but at this point I really didn't feel like eating more food. Like I said earlier, I was sort of full from the appetizer, so I was really full when dessert came.

T.G.I. Friday's is a very strange chain. Normally, chains are really consistent from one location to another, but I've found Friday's has huge quality differences between it's stores. Sometimes the service and food in certain stores are just plain horrible, and on return visits to that location, nothing has improved. Then other Friday's, like this location, seem to have consistently good service and the food is always up to par with what I've come to expect for food from T.G.I. Friday's. I really can't think of any other national chain like this that differs so much from store to store. Very strange...

Cedar Seared Salmon Pasta from T.G.I. Friday's

Due to a large buildup of coupons to the restaurant, I ended up at the T.G.I. Friday's in Lake Mary, FL. I ordered the Cedar Seared Salmon off of the Right Portion, Right Price section of the menu, basically meaning the dish was under $10. The pasta tasted really good. The presentation, not so much. The salmon was placed on top of the lopsided pile of pasta with the ugly skin side up. Since the pasta was all piled on one side of the plate, the cheese that was sprinkled on top melted to the plate instead of the food. In a big chain like Friday's, you would think they would make a big deal about their food always looking and tasting the same from visit to visit and from restaurant to restaurant. I guess this isn't the case.

Shrimp and Grits from T.G.I. Friday's

I had this buy one, get one free coupon for T.G.I. Friday's, and used it at the Friday's off of Kirkman Road in Orlando, located across the street from the main entrance to Universal.

I ordered the Spicy Southern Shrimp, which was basically shrimp and grits. It consisted of shrimp, andouille sausage, and scallions, all served over cheese grits. The food took a very long time to be served, and I was a bit disappointed when my shrimp and grits finally came. There were hardly any grits. There was probably a teaspoon sized scoop of grits in the middle of the plate, hidden under the shrimp and sausage. There was actually an exponentially larger amount of sauce on the plate than there was grits. Grits are cheap, so I don't see why putting enough on a plate so they can actually be eaten with shrimp would be that hard for Fridays. The picture on the menu looked very different that what I received. You could actually see the grits on the menu.

Also disappointing, the Gourmet Mac and Five Cheese that some someone else ordered on the healthy menu, which cost less than $6.00, was served on the same plate and had a much larger portion than my $14.00 Shrimp and Grits. I don't quite understand how a large portion of macaroni and cheese with chicken and bacon made it on to the healthy menu in the first place.

It seems like there is some sort of issue every time I eat at this Friday's location. It's always extremely slow, and there is always some sort of food issue.

Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp from TGI Fridays

I ate at the T.G.I. Friday's on 192 in Kissimmee, FL. I ordered something called Sizzling Chicken and Shrimp. It sounded something like the meat part of a fajita and involved chicken and shrimp served on a sizzling plate with peppers and onions, all topped with cheese and served with mashed potatoes. The food took a while, but when it eventually was served I was kind disappointed. Compared to the picture on the menu, the dish looked thrown together and skimpy looking. The main offense about the this meal was the lack of sizzling. With sizzling in the name of the dish, I was expecting the skillet that the meal was served in to at least be hot, but I could touch the plate with my hand without it being too hot. I'm guessing the food sat there a while before it was actually served. Besides from the look and the lack of sizzle, it did taste pretty good.