TGI Fridays

Critic's Review

I was up in Plantation and I've been to most places that I care about up here, so I decided to check out TGI Fridays new combo menu. I used to go to TGIF quite often; there was one between my office and my house on Long Island; back at a time when the food was better and there were fewer other choices.

They've remodeled for the 2nd time in 10 years; they've dropped the plastic and they're back to a more traditional decor; with lots of painting. They do, finally, have more modern TVs, and a few more of them as well.

TGI Friday's Plantation Bar

They also have lots of big comfortable booths; red vinyl is the material of choice in the current decor.

TGI Friday's Booths

Another good thing is that when you ask for "extra" anything they give you a boatload of it; both iced teas I received were overflowing with lemon. The don't, however, have Splenda. They try to trick you by putting nutrasweet in a yellow package ,which shouldn't be allowed.

TGI Fridays Setup

I decided on one of the higher end combos; the Sizzlin' Chicken and Shrimp and the Potstickers. Potstickers used to be one of my favorite apps along with the Tostida Nachos, which they foolishly no longer have.

I was expecting a short order of potstickers, by the $16.99 deal includes the full monty.

TGI Friday's Potstickers

One taste and I was saddened that these are not like they used to be; the wonton skins they used are dry and don't have the correct doughy consistency. They're also not "potstickers" anymore; they're supposed to be fried in oil but these looked like they were dry roasted. The "sticker" part is what makes them special.

The inside tastes about the same, and the sauce is very good.

TGI Friday's Potstickers Close

The dough completely wasn't worth it, so I figured out that the best way to eat these was to cut them open and just dip the inner ball into the sauce. Not potstickers anymore, but a good save.

TGI Fridays Potstickers Inside

Music is loud and they're clearly trying to create an atmosphere more appealing to teenagers than adults. The clientele has become much like the Red Lobster; 28 out of 30 people in the dining room were black; Plantation is 70% Caucasian. These chains don't understand what they're doing to their restaurants with their menus and music policies; if your establishment doesn't mimic the local demographics you're going to have trouble growing the business organically. Music blaring included "Instant Crush", Broken Bells and The Black keys; it reminded me of intermission at a Panthers game.

The "Sizzlin'" Platter comes out smoking on a hot caste iron pan. It normally comes with mashed potatoes but I sub'd them out for cole slaw. Or at least I thought so.

TGI Friday's Sizzling Chicken and Shrimp

The big problem with this dish is that you can't eat it when it first comes out; you can't even sit near it (or photograph it), because it's just a cloud of smoke. By the time it stops "sizzling", the chicken and shrimp are so overdone that they've lost their flavor. The cheese is burned to the pan, and the pepper are ruined as well.

TGI Friday's Chicken and Shrimp Aftermath

I picked out some protein, but a good word to describe this dish is "unfortunate". If this were prepared differently, it could be a very good offering. The cheese is wholly unnecessary and the "sizzling" part is just a gimmick which detracts from the final result.

My server offered me cole slaw as a choice, but this is "ginger-lime" slaw, which is a lot different. It has a lot of cilantro in it. It's well-prepared and not overly creamy, but not what I was expecting either.

TGI Fridays Ginger Lime Slaw

About $20 for all of this; too much for the fast food that it is, and a far cry from the "handcrafted" burgers on english muffins that they used to serve on 1st Ave in NYC when there was exactly 1 TGIF wordwide.