Applebee's Grill - Rio Rancho

OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCE! We have eaten at this Applebee's for years. Sometimes good. Sometimes poor. But , an okay place over the years. We stopped going there many months ago. Service and food were not really good. Our son used to work here. Even with that, the food was always so-so. But this time, it was fantastic. Same food. But, so much better prepared. (bourbon street chicken and shrimp) Chicken was perfectly done. Food was steaming hot. And, no excessive salt, like in the past. Jose, the greeter was excellent. Just what you need in a greeter. When he wasn't. busy, he even checked on us to make sure everything was okay. Nice young man. But, the highlight was Kaylei, our Server. She was outstanding. Pointed out specials that gave us a free salad. Informed us that it was Happy Hour and we could get a large beer for the price of the small. Cheerful, friendly and very professional. Never had better. She kept checking on us, which is usual for this restaurant. We can't say enough about Kaylei. Even the manager (I did not get her name) was very friendly and professional. Overall, an outstanding experience.

The food is fine. We had a $25 gift card and the appetizer 2 entree deal for $25 was convenient. For a starter we had the chips with spinach and artichoke dip, which also came with salsa. Some of the chips weren't done right because they were somehow shiny and hard to bite. I had the BBQ Riblets. They were fine. A little dry in some parts, but the oozes of decent BBQ sauce made for it. I loaded potatoes, the loading was definitely not worth it. My wife had the fiesta lime chicken from which she normally raves. She said the chicken was on the par, but the rice was so dry that it was not worth eating. If you have made it so far in my review, you need to wonder why in the world you have it 4 stars? Our waitress was fast and attentive, although she covered a large part. The dessert also went for the meh food. We had the triple chocolate removal with an extra serving of ice. It was definitely worth it!

Recently, the take-out options have been quite disappointing, even when I arrive early to collect my order. To make matters worse, the salads and wraps are filled with more lettuce stems than actual leaves. In my opinion, salads should consist entirely of leaves. Additionally, the croutons were stale; I believe they should be packaged separately in a container for take-out orders. Overall, I have been very let down by my last few experiences.

The food is typical of a franchise. The two-for-$24 deal is a nice offer. The chicken penne was enjoyable, and the spinach dip complemented it well. My friend also liked her salad. However, the highlight of our experience was the service. We arrived about an hour before closing, and our server, who initially forgot one item, was fantastic. She was attentive and friendly, always wearing a smile, which added a cheerful touch to our meal.

We had previously only done takeout during the height of the pandemic, but now that things have eased up, we decided to dine in. We visited on a Sunday afternoon and requested a table that was a bit more secluded from other diners, which the staff happily accommodated. Our waitress arrived promptly to take our drink orders and returned shortly after to finalize our entrée selections. Our meals came out quickly and, as usual, they were excellent. The only downside was that our waitress didn’t check back in after serving our food to see if we needed drink refills. Other than that, it was a great meal at a very reasonable price. I highly recommend the Bourbon Street chicken and shrimp; it has fantastic flavor with just the right amount of spice to satisfy even a green chili lover like me.