Red Robin

On April 19th, 2010 (my birthday), I went to Red Robin. This is typically a very busy restaurant since it is on the west side of Olympia, right next to the mall. When I went there, there was a short line but things were moving pretty quick. I wasn't even waiting for 5 minutes until I was seated. When I looked around, I saw a bunch of people and the employees singing happy birthday to groups. I didn't want them to sing to me so I didn't let anyone know it was my birthday.
Once I was seated, the waitress came right up and asked us if we wanted any drinks or appetizers. I was with my girlfriend so I decided we could share some mozzarella sticks. As busy as it was I was expecting it to be a while until I would get my drinks and appetizer. The mozzarella sticks and drinks were on my table in about 4 minutes. I ordered a prime rib dip for my meal and my girlfriend ordered the gourmet burger. Our meals came out in pretty good time but it wasn't until I started eating that I finally had a problem. The table we sat at was a little two person booth. I have fairly broad shoulders so I found it difficult to manage eating in a tight spot. My meal was prime rib with onions on a French bread roll with a side of garlic fries and coleslaw. I finished my prime rib dip very quickly and then got to the garlic fires. It was all delicious but I had become full because of the mozzarella sticks before. My girlfriend couldn't finish her burger either. Although my meal tasted very good, I found the fries to be greasy. I typically don't eat greasy food so it was hard on my stomach.
When the waitress brought out the bill, I noticed that book the bill was kept in was also a dessert menu. My first thought was, good marketing idea. Then, this made me realize how our American culture is used to large amounts of food and very unhealthy food. It is nice to eat out every once in a while but I couldn't eat like this every day. When I got back to my dorm I had to take a nap because I was so full. Another downfall of this restaurant is that it is a little bit on the pricey side. For just my girlfriend and I the bill came to $32.63 and I left a tip on top of that. It isn't that much money but just for two people it seems kind of expensive. All in all, my outing made me realize that our culture spends a lot of money on large meals that are nothing more than grease.