7410 Laguna Blvd
Elk Grove, CA 95758
Rating: 
Located in a small strip mall across from busy Target on Laguna Boulevard, Chili’s serves up classic American fare along with Mexican and Texan influences. The restaurant was fairly busy for a Sunday night, but seating only took five minutes or so. After being seated and menus provided, a friendly server came by to take drink orders and answer questions about the menu.
Today, I decided to order the Strawberry Lemonade, Texas Cheese Fries, and half rack of baby back ribs with Dr. Pepper sauce. The strawberry lemonade tasted sweet and was not too sour. There were quite a few seeds in the drink, but no actual strawberries. The server was quite prompt on providing refills without being asked, and I drank at least three of them. The Texas cheese fries had very small bacon bits that fell off easily. The bacon could have easily came out of a container. There was quite a few green onions topping the fries, which seemed quite unbalanced with only a few jalapenos. There was enough cheese on top of the fries, but quite a bit of cheese was sticking to the plate. The Monterey Jack, pepper Jack, and cheddar cheeses added a savory flavor to the appetizer. The appetizer provided a small dish of ranch that was inadequate for the amount of fries provided. The baby back ribs came with a side of corn and regular fries. The corn on a stick definitely tasted soaked for a while because it was juicy; however, there was no flavor in the corn. The fries tasted fresh, but did not have any seasoning. The plate of ribs looked quite small for a half rack. All of the meat fell off of the bone, but there was quite a bit of bone and not a lot of meat. The meat itself tasted a bit dry and there was not a lot of sauce on the ribs themselves. I can taste the Dr. Pepper in the sauce, but I mostly taste and old flavor in the bone itself making me feel that the ribs were not fresh.
I also ordered the Classic 10 oz Sirloin steak with broccoli and mashed potatoes to-go. The steak was ordered medium-well and was received closer to medium-rare. The meat was tender, but lacked flavor unless I added A1 sauce. The broccoli was crunchy and looked fresh. The mashed potatoes had a tasty layer of cheese on top, but the mashed potatoes themselves tasted odd and not fresh.
Overall, Chili’s was more of a disappointment than expected. Chili’s provided great service and has a great strawberry lemonade, but the rest of the food did not really do the restaurant justice, especially with their famous baby back ribs. Most of the prices seemed quite high for what you actually get, and this is especially true if you order the half orders. If you are tired of eating at other American chain restaurants, you may further increase your dissatisfaction by visiting Chili’s. If you are looking to save some money in the future, you can avoid coming here, but if you do want to continue coming, at least sign up for their rewards program to save some money. The restaurant does utilize the kiosks at the table to help you call your server and pay your bill.
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