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The weekly dish: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
Posted: Apr 16, 2008 in Dining
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VENUE INFO
If the crowd clamoring in the entry area at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers was any indication, then Carmel has plenty of red-meat fanatics.
Families and couples clutched buzzers and watched the flat-panel TV embedded in the floor as they waited for tables to open up at the restaurant, the newest tenant at the Clay Terrace shopping center.
My husband, Pete, and I showed up for dinner midweek and were lucky enough to score two chairs at the eight-seat bar, so we bypassed the hungry hordes.
Jason, the bartender, greeted us cheerfully, took our drink order and offered an oversight of the oversized, two-sided menu.
In the open kitchen that stretches along one wall, a line of burger chefs grilled up beef patties, as well as pork, chicken, salmon, cod, turkey and veggie versions.
Along with more than two dozen gourmet burgers, the menu offers entree salads, wraps, pasta, carnitas, fajitas -- even fish and chips. It takes a while to plow through all the choices, so we ordered an appetizer of Cheeseburger Con Queso ($6.99), served with crispy tortilla chips, to tide us over.
Since this was our first trip to Red Robin, part of a Colorado-based chain, we decided to go with ground-beef burgers.
Pete ordered the blackened Bayou Burger ($9.29), featuring "angry onions" (onion slivers grilled with jalapenos), along with roasted red peppers, pepper jack cheese, a cabbage/carrot mix, Creole mustard sauce and a dash of Tabasco, stacked with the burger on a jalapeno-cornmeal Kaiser roll. The ingredients meshed well for a spicy bite.
Burgers can be ordered pink (medium) or no pink (medium-well).
Pete went with pink, and the meat was cooked exactly as promised.
Meanwhile, I dug into my Chili Chili Burger ($9.49), listed on the menu in the "knife & forkers" category.
Although the menu described my burger as containing "so much chili you can't pick it up," I found it easy to handle without resorting to flatware.
Topped with shredded cheddar, diced onions and chipotle mayonnaise, the open-faced sandwich (with the top bun served on the side) lacked the spiciness of Pete's burger, but the meat was cooked to my "no pink" specifications, and the toppings tasted fresh.
Burgers are accompanied by a "bottomless" serving of steak fries, sprinkled with Red Robin's house seasoning, or a garlic-parmesan variety, heavy on the garlic.
It wasn't too long ago that ordering a burger in the $10 range seemed like a luxury; now it's common.
The good thing about Red Robin: The restaurant makes it easy to share -- the staff will do a split plate at no extra charge.
The Red Robin promises to be a big hit with families, but it's also nice to have a bar area here, an unexpected plus for couples-sans-kids hoping for a little adult time along with a cold brew or fruity cocktail.
It's a long haul for us (Indy Eastsiders) to grab a burger, but the next time we're at Clay Terrace, we might have to drop by again, if only to try a Royal Red Robin Burger. According to Jason the bartender, this bacon-cheeseburger, topped by a fried egg, is the chain's best-seller.
Taste Test
Appetizer:
- Cheeseburger Con Queso, $6.99
Entrees:
Blackened Bayou Burger, $9.29
Chili Chili Burger, $9.49
By Julie Cope Saetre / Indy.com correspondent
I've been to Red Robin in Denver, but not here. The burgers are OK, but it amazes me that people would wait in line with a "coaster" beeper to get burgers and fries, when there are so many great non-chain restaurants around.
And Cheeseburger Con Queso? Even without the chips, 1577 calories and 100 gms. of fat!! A whole days worth of calories and two days worth of fat in one appetizer! Awesome!
For them to say that their burgers are the best in the world is way out of line. I thought my burger was pretty gross actually. Very dry, thin, and just didn't live up to the hype. I was expecting thick and juicy and all I got was piece of well done meat I would've fed to my dog. Maybe I need to go back and try something else besides a burger because I really did enjoy the fun atmosphere. I guess it just ticked me off that they were trying to say they were the best at something when they were really the worst.
The "bottomless" serving of steak fries is a joke. What are we expected to do,go to the counter to reorder? Once the order is delivered, no one ever checks back. Drink refills are impossible to get. My tips are based on customer service. If my coke glass sets empty for 5 minutes,they loose a dollar. If you don't show up again until we are ready to leave to see how everything is, you loose $2. If you want my business you need to do what a company expects of you. We have too many good restaurants for me to waste my money on places that don't train and retrain their servers.
Thanks for the info! I had never actually heard of this place until I just recently saw a commercial for it on TV. I'll have to check it out now.
Hamburger connoisseurs may not like Red Robin, after being spoiled by some of the better local burger choices we have in town, (Boogie Burger comes to mind) Red Robin is not the at the top of the burger heap. My girlfriend and I have been frequenting the new Red Robin off of Michigan Road north of 96th street and we have found that it offers an excellent selection for the non-meat eater. Usually as a vegetarian at a restaurant like this, she would have one or two options; but, at Red Robin every sandwich can be made with a Boca Patty. Obviously some sandwiches would go better with a hamburger than others, but we have tried several with the Boca and they all have turned out to be good selections.
Way overpriced for the quality. I was not impressed by the burger at all and bottomless fries really doesn't mean much if they aren't very good. Granted, I'm not a steak fry person, but even by steak fry standards they are pretty underwhelming. If you want to try a new burger chain in town I would recommend Five Guys. It costs half as much and tastes much much better. Besides, Indy has plenty of solid independent places to get a good burger why bother waiting in line at RR for overpriced mediocrity.
I ate at a Red Robin in Portland, Oregon. The only good experience was the Alaskan Amber which was on tap. Best beer in the world.
The Noise level was unbearable. The burgers are mediocre. The fries are bland ordinary. The service on drink refills is lousy. Will not go back. Prefer "5 Guys", "Jacks"(talk about great fries), and "Boogie Burger"
I've ate twice at the one on Michigan Road. Both burgers were nothing to brag about. I usually love fries, but I've never finished the first batch they give me. So who needs the "bottomsless pit" of fries they offer? I would recommend staying away from the garlic-parm fries unless you like soggy limp strips of cardboard. They must dunk them in a vast of garlic-water before they toss them in your basket. Also, I've heard people talk like this is a new restaurant in town, but wasn't there one in the Castleton mall before the remodel? As for me... I would prefer a burger from Pat Flynns on 51st and Allisonville.