Red Robin = Pure Burger Happiness

For years people have been telling me how amazing Red Robin is. I never really knew anything about the place except two things:

1. They serve "gourmet" burgers

This is YUMMM. Observe the fried egg below the bacon.

2. Their advertising tagline is Red Robin...YUMMM -- which gets stuck in my head and I can't help saying it out loud at random times. In fact, I will right now: Red Robin.... YUMMM

Then I found out that they serve you bottomless fries with your entree. That's right people, BOTTOMLESS. Which basically means you can eat fries until you explode, cry or both.

With the advertising jingle in my brain, my wife and I headed over to Red Robin this past weekend. Much to my surprise, it's so much more than just a "gourmet burger joint". The atmosphere is fun, exciting and lively. There are TVs in the floor, good music, and passionate servers (who obviously love their jobs).

The moment we sat down our server greeted us immediately and explained how the bottomless fries work. Here's how: you ask for more and you get them, forever, and ever and ever. Then, he shared his favorite burger with us: The Royal Red Robin Burger: juicy burger, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo and most important of all.....FRIED EGG.

I have experienced fried egg on a cheeseburger once before and it changed my life completely. At first, the thought of an egg on top of a burger horrified and disgusted me. However, with some coaching and emotional support I tried my first burger with egg a little over a year ago at a magical restaurant called The White Spot in Charlottesville, Va.

Since this very first burger + egg experience I have been dreaming of having this again, but until now had been unsuccessful in my quest. Its very difficult to explain why it tastes so good, but there is something about the moist egg sitting proudly atop the burger that makes my heart sing. In the words of Red Robin, once you put the fried egg on top "the rest is history".

As you might imagined, I ordered The Royal Red Robin Burger and just as I had dreamed, it was absolutely perfect in every way. Enormous, full flavored, extra juicy and cooked to perfection...I literally went on a short trip to burger heaven on my first bite. I now must have a fried egg on every burger I eat - there is absolutely no other way to enjoy a burger.

The bottomless fries were just icing on the cake and tasted amazing (especially when topped with Red Robin's special seasoning).

At the end of the day, there's a reason that Red Robin's tagline is: YUMMM. Because it actually is, their food is so good it makes you think/say/scream YUM when you eat it. They have somehow combined revolutionary burgers, fantastic service and a fun atmosphere and rolled into a simple, enjoyable and satisfying dining experience.

After you eat at Red Robin (and if you haven't eat there, you probably should) you can say YUMMM with confidence. It's not just an advertising campaign, its the truth.

12 Reasons to Eat at Brio Tuscan Grille (Instead of Olive Garden)

If you've never been to Brio Tuscan Grille, you've been seriously missing out. From an Italian restaurant perspective, it is by far the best option.

When people think Italian they always seem to think: "Olive Garden." Aside from pasta and free bread sticks, Olive Garden doesn't have much else to wow you with.

Brio is so much better and here's 12 reasons to prove it:

Looks nice outside. Tastes good inside.

1. Brio has the Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Panini. By far one of the tastiest sandwiches on earth. It falls apart in your hands because it's so juicy and fantastic.
2. Most meals are served with crispy  homemade potato chips.
3. You get Free Bruschetta for signing up for the Brio email newsletter. Olive Garden just emails you a picture of some over priced pasta. 
4. Olive Garden's "fake" Culinary Institute doesn't make their food good. Note: McDonald's has a Hamburger University.
5. Fancy outdoor patio with luxurious outdoor drapes and sweet tables and chairs.
6. Crayons to draw on the tables. 
7. Sunday brunch with open faced omellettes and the best breakfast potatoes on earth. 
8. It feels like a special occasion, but at "every day prices."
9. Lobster Bisque tastes like heaven + it's served in sophisticated goblet. 
10. Free tasty bread (I know Olive Garden has bread sticks....ooh laa laaa. I'm over it.)
11. Last time I was at Olive Garden, they ran out of olives. I'm not joking. Here's the story. (Yes I'm still holding a grudge about it.
12. Brio atmosphere makes me feel warm and fuzzy. Olive Garden makes me feel like frozen soup. 

Olive Garden interior. Puts me in the "Italian" mood.

Brio interior, yes please.

If you need more than 12 reasons to go to Brio, send me a tweet @DanHolm and I will give you some more.

Find your Brio here. Sign up for Free Bruschetta here.

Spicy Biscuit Didn't Light My Fire

In case you missed it, Chick-Fil-A just gave away an enormous amount of their new Spicy Chicken Biscuits last week.

I made my reservation and got my coupon and because I didn't want to go eat a Chick-Fil-A Spicy Biscuit alone, I got a coupon for my wife as well. Little did I know at the time that she doesn't like chicken for breakfast (I must admit chicken for breakfast is a little odd).

Spicy Chicken Biscuit (it needs Chick-Fil-A sauce or cheese)

We arrived at Chick-Fil-A with coupons in hand to get our Spicy Chicken Biscuits and then my wife decides to drop the chicken bomb and informs me she doesn't even want the Spicy Chicken Biscuit.....she wants something else.

In an effort to keep my wife happy, I relutanctly had to purchase a Sesame Seed Bagel with Chicken, Egg and Cheese (with no Chicken) and then had to redeem the two Spicy Chicken Biscuit coupons for myself (I wasn't too upset that I had two meals).

I love Chick-Fil-A. But, as I chowed down on my two Spicy Chicken Biscuits, I couldn't help looking at my wife's chicken-less sandwich with just a little envy. It looked so good, so moist, so breakfast-like.

She didn't offer to share any with me and when I asked if I could have a bite, she promptly responded with "Eat your chicken, you dragged me here so you could have it."

Wallowing in my own chicken pity,  I realized that while I love Chick-Fil-A, I don't love their breakfast. So, I wrote down these 5 things that I think would make Chick-Fil-A's Breakfast better.

5 Steps to Make Chick-Fil-A Breakfast Better:

1. Get better coffee: this is just a given. The coffee at Chick-Fil-A is horrible. Based on the fact that Burger King is now serving Seattle's Best I don't imagine it would be that difficult to get good coffee at Chick-Fil-A.

2. Make my coffee for me: After you finally get good coffee.....offer to put the cream and sugar in for me. If McDonald's can do it. You can do it.

3. More Cheese (on everything): the biscuits soaked in butter are good. But......they would be way better with some cheese thrown on top. It's still just too dry for me and my experience has taught me that if there's anything ever wrong with your food: add cheese.

4. Not just Chicken: I know you're Chick-Fil-A. I get it. I support it. I love it. But for breakfast...we need options. It can't just be chicken. You have that awesome sesame seed bagel thing and I know we can get it without Chicken....but just give me more options and variety.

5. Cheaper: Maybe I'm just cheap (it's actually highly possible that I'm cheap). However, I believe that Chick-Fil-A breakfast  needs to be more affordable. I'm not demanding a dollar menu....that would just be off brand....but it wouldn't hurt to bring down the price 50 cents or $1.

Oh, and as far as the Spicy Biscuit goes....it' tastes just like a mini Spicy Chicken Sandwich (which is my favorite). But, I like my Spicy Sandwich with pepper jack cheese, a wheat bun and an unusual amount of Chick-Fil-A sauce to make it perfect. Adding these things to the Spicy Biscuit makes it feel like lunch....and who wants to eat lunch for breakfast?

Bottom line: the biscuit is an inferior 2nd best to the Spicy Sandwich and if I was going to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast it wouldn't be my 1st choice.....I would probably order the Sesame Seed Bagel with Chicken, Egg and Cheese (minus the chicken).