Sunday, February 22, 2009

Chili's Grill & Bar - Union City, CA

Chili’s Grill & Bar in Union City was my second choice to the Fuddruckers in the same shopping center. The Fuddruckers is now closed permanently, so my brother-in-law John and I went to the nearby Chili’s. I haven’t had a burger in a Chili’s for some time. I remember when they first opened. In the 80’s, we used to eat at a Chili’s in Cupertino. They had a great burger that tasted fresh and juicy. Many years ago when they went to frozen beef, I stopped going regularly.

So it was definitely with low expectations that I ordered the Southern Smoked Bacon Big Mouth Burger ($8.79). It comes with brown sugar chili rubbed bacon, smoked cheddar, onion strings, mayo, lettuce, tomato and ancho chili BBQ sauce. It also comes with fries. John ordered the Big Mouth Bites ($7.99), which are basically Chili’s take on sliders. I verified with the server that the beef is frozen and not fresh.
I must say the burger was very good. The flavors mixed very well. The bacon was great by itself, thick, sweet and a little spicy. I ate the whole thing and was happy I did. The fries are run-of-the-mill medium cut with skins on. They were salty and hot, but unremarkable.

So, in a pinch, Chili’s isn’t a bad option, even though it is a chain. They get my props for giving it a solid effort on the burger.

Burger 4 spatulas out of 5
Fries 2 spatulas

Chili’s Bar & Grill
32120 Dyer St.
Union City, CA 94587
510-675-9810
www.chilis.com

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

While I do like the idea of fries with skis on, I'm pretty sure you're an n short :-)

Scott R. Kline said...

Thanks. Should not have skipped that typing class in high school.

L. Woodard said...

Growing up we used to eat out at Chili's in Cupertino as a treat. I remember the Old-Timer that filled the entire basket. And basket of fries were to die for! Yum. I haven't been to chili's for quite a while - living north of Seattle there isn't one near by. But when they went "chain" I did enjoy their soft tacos.

Great website, btw. Have u been to Seattle to check out their burgers??

Scott R. Kline said...

Liz: I have not burgerred in Seattle yet. What do you recommend? SRK

L. Woodard said...

Apparently, I haven't really checked my email for awhile...

For Recs, there is always Red Robin (which introduced a "naked" burger which I enjoy because it doesn't have all those extra flavors their other burgers do), Dick's is apparently world-famous although I have only eaten there once. The best burger, though, that my family and I always enjoy is Time Out burgers in Mountlake Terrace (north of Seattle). It is owned by a Greek family, that also serves greek food but their burgers are very popular. Just some ideas. Oh, and I just tried Red Mill Burgers in the Greenwood neighborhood which was also very tasty and very popular (cash only).

how's that? lol