Taste and Share

When we went to TGI Friday's with my parents recently, I was expecting to see lots of promotion for that ridiculous "endless appetizers" deal. We weren't planning to partake, since even if we all got it and had 4 different appetizers on the table, it wasn't really what we were looking for for dinner. Also, all I could think of was how I was turned off by that stupid experiment someone did for one of the websites (can't remember which one) where they ate mozzarella sticks all day and felt sick, but really didn't even eat that many in the end. (Really, why would you pick mozzarella sticks when there was bruschetta or boneless wings or even green bean fries?)

Anyway, we got there and there wasn't even a card in the menu about endless appetizers. Guess they weren't participating in that. Not a problem for us. I didn't care one way or another about appetizers, but my parents wanted to get some, so we ordered a few off this "taste and share" portion of the menu that I had never seen before (but could have been there for some time, we don't go often enough to know). From that section, you pick 3 appetizers and it costs $16 (or you pick 5 for $23). 

One real problem is that the quantity of each appetizer is different. Some plates had 2 things, some had 3, some had 4, which kind of makes it a little challenging to truly share, don't you think? I suspect that one of the big reasons why this irks me is that the menu tagline was, "Big flavor, smaller plates, perfectly shareable." I see no way in which these are "perfectly shareable" until you get to 12 people, and by then, you're not really sharing much of anything. Stupid incorrect marketing line.

We started with the hibachi chicken skewers, which had chicken skewers "marinated in garlic-black pepper soy sauce with a miso glaze" that were served on pieces of grilled pita with a ginger-lime slaw. Fancy description, but really not very exciting. They just tasted like grilled chicken in soy sauce (with one charred pepper per piece) on an ordinary piece of pita with an Asian-inspired cole slaw. I could make this at home if I had a grill pan, and probably make it more interesting. It was also not that fun to eat for 4 people, since we had to split it up before we could eat.

The one appetizer we got that came with 4 pieces (there were only 2 things on the menu that even had 4 pieces) was the garlic and basil bruschetta, which consisted of "Roma tomato, roasted garlic and fresh basil on freshly baked Parmesan baguette crostinis with a balsamic glaze." That description was pretty accurate. It was basically a cheesier version (and therefore, a richer version) of bruschetta. It was good, and the roasted garlic pieces on the side were especially welcome, but in the end, the regular bruschetta they have is just as good. Another thing I could probably also make at home, although with the prep work, I don't mind ordering it outside. (We prefer to order things we wouldn't or couldn't make at home if we're out at restaurants.)

The last part of our appetizer trio was the 3 piece ahi tuna crisps, marked as a favorite on the menu. This was, of course, the hardest to split among 4 people, and my parents ended up just splitting one chip. This had blackened Ahi tuna slices, lightly seared, on top of tortilla chips with jalapeño pepper slices and a dollop of guacamole. The dish was drizzled on top with sriracha and an avocado vinaigrette, and the crisps were served on top of a (relatively flavorless) slaw. The crisps weren't bad, and they remembered me of tasty hors d'oeuvres you could get at a party, but it would have been nice if there had been 4 to an order.

In the end, our favorite was probably the bruschetta or the tuna crisps, but none of them were really that original or amazing. If you divide out the price by the number of pieces, it's kind of on par with the expensive hors d'oeuvres at a catering hall. By size, they're probably a bit larger than some of those, but not by much, and those hors d'oeuvres are already hugely marked up. All that to say that I don't think it's that great of a deal to get these appetizers at TGIF, where you would expect to get more moderately-priced food than a fancy catered reception (and some of those reception snacks are much tastier ... mmm, tuna tartare crisps). Probably should have just gone to get the half price apps at the bar.