Has anyone been to Chili's lately?

I know, I know, ..... Don't bust my britches for mentioning a Chain. It's a question from Mom. She and Dad used to go there (Chili's) all the time, and wondered if it was still good. I've not been in some time (last visit was unremarkable).

Junior Bridgeman, former UofL, NBA basketball player, who makes Louisville his main residence (we are very lucky) is the franchisee for the area and most if not all of KY and 5 or more states in the area. He bought into the Brinker operation a few years ago. He hired my son-in-law as his first employee to take over the Hurstbourne store and others plus begin building new ones. There is a Chili's near us in Brownsboro Crossing so we frequent that, depending on the time of the year.
Pretty good tasting food. Consistent. Entree salads are big. Usually another meal or two for me. My husband and I love the burger bite appetizer. Enough for us to share usually plus one or two drinks.
I realize it is a chain, but it is 'locally' owned by a wonderful person who could have lived anywhere else. And these are local people who work at these restaurants.
On a side note, the company I work for has been having a Herradura promotion - buy a cocktail made with Herradura, save the receipts, receive prizes, and eligible for $350 bottle of Herradura. One receipt per visit, so it 'forces' us to eat out and support local and/or chain restaurants. I hope they continue these promotions to remind people to eat out. Another one involves a SoCo drink at Applebees, but I'm not an Applebees fan. Their owners are from SC....I won't give any details.
To restaurant people: my husband and I love eating out. Love the interaction with others, whether customers at the bar (where we sit 99% of the time) or the staff. We will not spend $150 per experience. Can't afford it, but we will order some food, a drink or two, and leave at least a 20% tip. (Usually the smaller the check, the higher the tip. That's one of the main reasons we sit at the bar. Servers are always disappointed that you don't order a five course meal so we prefer having bartendars wait on us. (My husband and I both worked in restaurants, combined about 30 years.)
Sorry, I went on. I had to respond to the Chili's thread:-)

Chain or not, I could eat Southwestern Eggrolls for every meal.

Back in May I had lunch at the one at Brownsboro Crossing. I had the chili and side salad option and the chili was really good. I think I had 3 bowls of it. The salad was pretty standard but it was served cold and crisp and the dressing was a nice chunky blue cheese. I don't eat at chains much at all but this is one of the better ones, IMHO.

When I go, I usually get the Margarita Grilled Chicken. Love it!

I love their chicken tacos. and I'll be honest..I had the most fantastic cake there...

Chain or not, I could eat Southwestern Eggrolls for every meal.

Are they comparable to what Alameda used to serve on their tapas platter?

Well, we went last evening, and it was very good.......and plentiful. Mom had the Chicken Tacos (looked yummy), and I had a sampler appitizer platter of the S/W eggrolls, Chrispy Chicken, and Spinach/Artichoke dip. Have enough left over for dinner this evening.

Service was a bit sluggish, however, the waitress had 3 six tops working, in addition to us (why don't people training host staff better not to over burden the wait staff) at 5:45, and you could have shot a cannon thru the rest of the place when we got there. By the time we left, it was fairly full.

It was determined good, and we'll be back.

I was actually going to say just that. The food isn't bad, but the service has consistantly been AWFUL for me.

I stopped going there for lunch because it was impossible to get in and out in an hour. Servers stand around the bar talking while drinks go unfilled. The kitchen gets backed up with the place half full. General disinterest from the staff.

Most of my experience has been with the Hurstbourne Lane store, but I've seen it at the Brownsboro one also... and even one in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

During my family's visit to Dayton for my college graduation, we celebrated with dinner at Chili's. I was a true-American chain-loving-fool at that point in my life.

I was actually going to say just that. The food isn't bad, but the service has consistantly been AWFUL for me.

I stopped going there for lunch because it was impossible to get in and out in an hour. Servers stand around the bar talking while drinks go unfilled. The kitchen gets backed up with the place half full. General disinterest from the staff.

Most of my experience has been with the Hurstbourne Lane store, but I've seen it at the Brownsboro one also... and even one in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Going from what I said earlier, I continued going to Chili's ever now and again. I liked much of what was on the menu. But, to second Chris, the service became unbearable. I guess I tooknotice of such issues once I started serving tables myself. My mom and I had to return a number of cold entrees at the location on Hikes, and, the wait time for food (not for tables) was more than should be expected.

Now that I think about it, I've had poor service experiences at the Hikes Chili's, in Bethesda, and Urbana, IL. I guess I need to be more perceptive of these trends!

I recently visited the "Chili's" near Hwy 22 and the Snyder Freeway (near Lowe's and Costco)....very good burgers....

The one over in the Hikes Point area is usually excellent, service-wise. My husband has picked me up from work, and taken me to lunch there, several times, and I usually get back to work with 20 minutes to spare.