Biting Into Red Robin

Sometimes one finds oneself on the outskirts of town (say, shopping, um, at a mall) and one has the need to get dinner, like NOW. And also, one has a toddler so one can't just go anywhere. One needs a family friendly kind of restaurant. In this situation we usually head to Central Market, but we aren't anything if not totally sick of eating at Central Market. We don't care that they have a new menu, it's still bland and overpriced. P.S. Stay away from the Kung Pao Tofu.

So a couple of weeks ago when we were hungry and not wanting to go to Central Market we somehow ended up at Red Robin. Red Robin, as some of you may know, is a chain restaurant. YES, A CHAIN RESTUARANT, BITCHES. Like most good progressive Austinites, we try to avoid chain restaurants. We admit that sometimes we crave the breadsticks and salad at Olive Garden, but mostly we try to support local businesses.

As we enter, we're immediately greeted by someone wearing a red and yellow bird costume. This is "Red", the Red Robin mascot. The kid is smitten, and when the big red bird bends down and opens her (his?) arms for a hug, our kid walks right in to the embrace. This is what brand identification is all about. Red Robin is noisy and busy and full of cheerful waitstaff running amok, but it's perfect for hungry families in need of comfort food.

Austinist orders the the Garden Burger. Austinist's husband orders the Whisky River® BBQ burger after spending 5 minutes debating over the Peppercorn Burger and the Pot Roast burger ("I can never resist the barbeque sauce and mayo combo," he explains). The burgers arrive peeking out of white paper wrapping. Chunky fries come on the side. We take our bites and proclaim them delicious. Gourmet, for sure. We drink them down with a thick banana shake made of 100 percent tasty goodness. The family is fed and pleased. Tomorrow we will go to Hut's to make up for our sinning.

Red Robin has two Austin locations. We visited the one in Sunset Valley at 4809 Hwy 290 West. The other location is at I-35 and Parmer. The address is: 13000 North IH35 SBFR, Building 5.

"Red" image (c) http://www.typewritten.org/~bear/mascot/client/redrobin.html