TIME visits my Applebee's

How truly bizarre - TIME Magazine's staff writer John Cloud turns in this article In Defense of Applebee's. In particular, my Applebee's, the one in Jamestown, over and against the more local establishments. It clearly goes against his inclinations, but after several hit-or-miss dining experiences ("My meal was prepared with indifference. My bison sirloin was so tough and flavorless that I couldn't finish it; the fries tasted of old grease. And apart from the two deer heads on the wall, virtually every other decoration at Frontier Fort was supplied by national beer companies; the clockface read "Miller Lite, A True Pilsner Beer." The undersalted cole slaw was delivered in a plastic Dixie cup; the Heinz 57 bottle had old congealed sauce around the rim."), Cloud finds himself returning to the predictible, if uninspiring, Applebee's experience.

For what it's worth, he does recommend downtown restaurant The Brass Rail quite highly. But overall, Jamestown cuisine doesn't fare very well.

Truly bizarre to have the Applebee's phenomenon examined through the merits (and lack thereof) of the nearest Applebee's to my little burg.