TGI Friday's!

To kickstart my blog, I thought I'd start with a post about one of my many loves in life; food!
(please excuse the quality of the photographs, I was only equipped with my trusty iPhone)

Yesterday was my Daddy's birthday! As a family, we went to Marion shopping centre and I convinced everyone to have dinner at TGI Friday's. Just a very brief history of this restaurant; TGI Friday's is an American restaurant chain which opened up in Marion in 2011/2012 (I think, don't quote me on it!). The restaurant is situated on the first floor of the shopping complex, by the carpark.

Above the entrance

Upon entry of the restaurant, the first thing I noticed was the decor. There were things adorning the walls such as surf boards, electric guitars, ukeleles, pictures of Elvis Presley, and even a bicycle! This really helped give a very casual and relaxed feel to the entire place. Adding to this atmosphere, rather than having tables like most ordinary restaurants, TGI's had booths of black wood (?) and red leather, which were very comfy to sit on! The place was packed, but we were lucky enough to be seated within 2-3 minutes of arriving by the lovely and very cheery staff. I also noticed that there was a bar, but being the still young 17 year old that I am, I wouldn't have been able to do much there!

Table arrangements

So, the menu. Let's just say I had the hardest time trying to decide what I wanted to have for dinner!
There were steaks, salads, pastas, burgers, Tex Mex and grill options.... and they all sounded so good! I ended up settling with the Championship BBQ Pork Cutlet and a side of the House Salad, and a Virgin Pina Colada to drink. Our food arrived about 15-20 minutes after ordering and smelt pretty spectacular!

Championship BBQ Pork Cutlet with onion rings, cheddar cheese mash and championship BBQ sauce $30.95

 [From the left] House salad $9.95 

Shanghai Chicken Salad $21.75 

Jack Daniels Half Rack Ribs & Shrimp $34.95

TGI Friday's Shrimp $28.95

[From the left] Virgin Pina Colada $6.95

Strawberry Surprise $6.95

My pork dish was delicious! The pork cutlet was cooked to perfection and the cheesy mash was oh so good. Would've loved it if it was a bit smoother as I found that there were chunks present, but that could just be my personal preference. The onion rings were also crunchy and nicely seasoned. However I am a bit suspicious about the 'championship BBQ sauce'. It tasted good, but it reminded me very much of the BBQ sauce you can get at McDonalds. Now, I haven't eaten fast food for a good 7 or 8 years now, but the flavour of that sauce isn't one which I can forget! 

All the other meals were pretty tasty, from what the rest of my family said. I tried a bit of Mum's salad, which was very refreshing and I quite enjoyed the dressing. I tasted the famous Jack Daniel's sauce on Dad's dish, and I loved it! Very rich and flavoursome, but (in my opinion) best enjoyed in small portions. My sister's shrimp dish was average. The shrimp was cooked nicely, but the 'cocktail sauce' that it came with tasted suspiciously of straight sweet chilli sauce. The House salad was simply salad veggies chopped up and thrown onto a plate. I would've loved a dressing to go with it. The mocktails were both lovely in flavour. However, my Virgin Pina Colada was probably 60% ice, so it was a bit annoying to drink!

By the time we'd finished our meals, food babies were already forming in our stomachs so we didn't even bother with desserts.

TGI Friday's gave me a very good first impression and I will definitely be back to sample more of their menu! I would definitely recommend it for people who enjoy casual dining.

Overall, 8.5/10.

Vy

xo