IamA (Applebee's Cook) AMA!

Is it fair to say that Applebees is the malt liquor of the restuarant world?

Yes it fair to say that. I agree 100%

Microwave accusations (applebee's microwaves everything), how true are they?

We microwave our sauces and then hold them hot. We microwave our rice and some vegetables. i want to say at least 45% of things go in the microwave.

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i'm aware of everything that happens in that place. have you been to applebee's and if so tell me what you order and i'll tell you what is microwaved on that dish

Napa chicken and portobellos?

Okay the napa chicken. Grill the chicken, red potatoes are fried, all the veggies are sautéed on the flat top. The napa wine sauce heated up in the microwave. add parmesan cheese and parsley on top.

Cowboy Burger, French fries, ranch.

or

Sirloin, Mash Potatoes (not loaded), Broccoli.

Cowboy burger any day 86 the ranch

Do they serve anything there that doesn't come out of a freezer bag?

Yes. all of our salads and fruits. But our meats are pretty much a frozen.

Why do you get 10 fries with a burger now? It seems greedy, potatoes are cheap.

good question, I can't speak for the entire applebee's chain but in our franchise it's 4oz or 5oz.

4oz? That number is down right depressing.

True but our fries taste like shit either way.

Why do you microwave my steak?

Because if I don't I won't be able to become a pokemon master. All seriousness we don't we use a grill

Almost every time I've eaten at our local Applebee's I've gotten terrible service. Super long wait times, forgotten items, etc. We're talking over a couple years of visits. Obviously, we don't go there very often anymore. Where is the breakdown in your opinion?

Breakdown as in why you get shitty service?

Yes. Since it has been over a long period of time and management and servers change frequently would you say that the Applebee's system is flawed on the backend or we just have a cursed Applebee's?

It all comes down to a number of things. Maybe the Hosts didn't give a menu count to the BOH staff and they were not prepared for the rush. Or maybe the kitchen manager didn't assign enough prep work. Lazy or slow cooks is always a thing. But if you went and you were the only table there than yea you have a cursed Applebee's

So if I gave you my iphone you could make it teal for me, Mrs? is that some kind of dye, or paint?

You give me your iPhone a I personally guarantee you won't see it again

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No. this is my first cooking job. I originally applied to be a server. Manger saw i was of hispanic origin and automatically gave me the job as a cook.

Dude, that sucks.

I've applied for cook / back of house jobs before and after orientation I get thrown on register or something customer related. I specifically chose a non guests service position because I was tired of dealing with customers. The manager sees that I'm a pale white dude and wants me to "represent" the company image... Wtf?

Seriously I can't believe this kind of shit still happens with so many politically correct mantras being crammed in our faces while at work.

If someone is interested in a position and qualifies for it then they should be able to work that position. Bastards making hiring decisions based on skin color.

i know but happens all the time. The bad thing is after a month i asked to be trained as a server, they listened to me and i completed 3 out of the 4 days of training. On my forth day they said they need me in the kitchen because i was more "useful" back there. They told that next week i could finish my last day. Till this day I've been waiting to complete my last day of training to become a server.

If you mean what I think you mean then that's really shitty. Do cooks at least make more money than servers?

I don't think so, cooks are hourly paid and servers get tips. Tips can go either way. It depends on the customer i suppose.

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no it's bad you laughed. I find it funny too. but i assume you understand why he gave me the job as a cook rather than a server.

Because you're an iPhone thief ?

Yea bro, I've recently upgrade to iPads and MacBooks. The struggle is real!

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Best think to order is our Cowboy Burger and no i don't cook outside of work because i'm a lazy bum

Me and my GF are obsessed with the Cowboy Burger. But for the love of god, take the paddy off the grill sooner. I ask for a pinkish center, and I get a well done burger. Throws off the entire thing....

Sorry, Your the only restaurant in my town that serves edible food. That, and I have 19 minutes left to waste at work. So I'm just going to complain...

Feel sorry for you if that's the only place that has edible food for you to eat

Worst job related experience thus far?

Each item on the menu has a specific cook time. On Valentine's Day the VP of our franchise came in, and he was asking for food that was no where near the cook time Worst shift ever

Are you remotely worried about losing your job over this? I've read about many employees in various fields who have lost their jobs due to to online "exposés." It's not right, in my opinion, but it happens.

No not really. Unless the hacker known as 4chan hacks my things and exposed my identity. either way i'm only their until i graduate.

Does one who microwaves plastic bags all day really deserve the moniker "chef"?

No. I would call it a cooking job.

I've worked at two competing national chains. They always told me that Applebee's just microwaves its food, and I thought it was just made up for employee morale bullshit. According to your AMA so far, it actually appears to mostly be true.

Were you aware that other restaurants hold up Applebee's as a "don't be like them" example?

I wasn't aware of this until now. It makes sense though. The employer wants to make as much money as possible and in order to do that shortcuts must be taken.

Have you ever had a tragedy in your kitchen where the dish takes forever/is ruined and had to start over again? How was it?

Bro Applebee's isn't a quality restaurant. Let's say a table of five orders and out of those 5 dishes I only have to cook 2. The other 3 go to the other cooks. I finish my dishes and put them in the hot window. And it will sit there as long as it has to. We don't remake anything unless something is overlooked, burnt or raw

Does it surprise you that the restaurant is sometimes referred to as "Crapplebee's"?

Nope it doesn't one bit. Like i said before I die a little bit on the inside whenever i work.

How do you live with yourself sir...?

I die a little bit when i go to work but outside of work i'm alive and well

It could be worse. I live in the Midwest. You ever hear of Golden Corral? It's a buffet. I've never been in one without vomit somewhere in the bathroom. They eat themselves sick at that place.

yea there's one here where i live. I don't like it. They always have food that's hours old. We had an Old Country Buffet which was a way better version of Golden Corral.

How come every god damn time I order my steak cooked RARE, I get it back, and its Medium Rare, to Medium?

I'm not the kind of person to complain to the waiter/cook, especially on a busy night.

But it's your AMA, and you literally asked for it.

Your local applebees cooks don't know how to cook a steak. When I work rarely does a streak get sent back. I use the Gordon Ramsey technique to cook the steaks

What menu items are made completely from scratch with raw ingredients?

right now all i can think of is one of our pasta called Four Mac and Cheese.

So bechamel and everything?

pretty much. several of our cheeses.

Fry, mid or broil! Or did you master them all? And do you hate the half off appetizers after 9 as much I did. Oh ding 9 o'clock, 15 app samplers ordered with only 2 cooks.

I've mastered them all, but I prefer broil. My strongest is fry side. I hate half price apps but i can handle it on my own (on fry side only).

How much of the food comes prepackaged and precooked compared to what's made in-house?

All of our meats come prepackaged and pre cooked i would have to say our frozen stuff like all of our apps. In house all i can think of is our Four mac and Cheese pasta

Why should I eat at Applebee's over some other restaurant?

You shouldn't eat there unless you have a gift card to the place.

Is chicken fat really an ingredient in the dressing for the pecan chicken salad?

The pecan chicken salad we use balsamic vinaigrette. Idk if chicken fat is used to make that.

Whenever I get ToGo it seems like the portions are noticeably smaller than what you would get if you dined in for the same price, is that true?

Probably is true, i think all ToGo's and drive thru's are rip offs.

What is one item that I shouldn't order at AppleBees?

Cross Cut Ribs

why?

Heart attack waiting to happen. The ribs are greasy to begin with, and then you deep fry them some more.

I have never eaten at Applebee's. After your AMA I don't think I ever will. Thank you.

What did you read that made make this harsh decision?

Where can I get some of that honey pepper sauce

Honey pepper is delivered to us. All we do is portion it and heat it up

Hot Buffalo boneless wings, any insight on that? as that's the only thing i visit applebees for.

Let me guess, half off late night apps? nope nothing sketchy there. It's exactly what you expect. Boneless wings fried and tossed in sauce.

You got it, those things are pretty bomb. Especially the Tabasco seasoning on top

I'll have to agree with you on that one. I like so much i take some home once in a while. But next time you go in just ask for a side of the hot season.

What's in the sauce? Or does it just come as Applebee's buffalo wing sauce? And how can I get some?

yea the bag just says wing sauce.

What's the grossest thing you've ever seen happen in the kitchen (that the customers never knew about)?

grossest thing? Not really gross but whenever cheese gets burnt, all the cooks do is put more cheese on top to cover up the burnt cheese. 9/10 don't get brought back.

My friend was served potatoes still in their plastic bag. How many people did that plate get passed to before it made it to our table like that?

I laughed when i read this. Assuming all Applebee's are like the one i work at. 2 people should have seen that bag. 1st the expo and 2nd the server. The bag technique is a good way to ensure the food stays hot. They should have removed the bag once they were running your food.

How many microwaves are in your kitchen?

5 or 6 two per station, but one keeps on breaking and management send it off to get fixed. usually takes a month for it to be repaired and then breaks within a week.

How are the endless ribs?

Shit

Are you really Real?

Yes

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Sure no problem I live in Arkansas

How true is the thing about if we return the food they spit on it? Love Waiting the movie you should check it out

I'll check it out but I've never seen anyone spit on anyone's food. Maybe people over exaggerate ?

Did you ever get any crazy requests for meals that weren't on the menu? We're you able to make them anyway?

Crazy request to make food not even on the menu is a no. But crazy orders yes. Once i was told to cook a steak half MR half MW.

Please explain to me what cross cut ribs are and why they are unlimited? I've never been to an Applebee's but I am aware it is a popular drunk spot due to the cheap fried food they have at night.

Cross cut ribs are pork ribbletts floured and deep fried for a minute 45. We have an AYCE special.

That doesn't sound very good but I assume you get quite a crowd for the AYCE special. I am noticing that is the trend with these sort of restaurants. Same as Outback, Fridays and some others who are heavily advertising on TV.

Yea it's a pain. Once the same table got 20 refills in one hour.

That's disgusting. So the frozen riblets are thrown directly into the deep fry for 1:45 and played?

They are thawed out and then portioned. They are floured as the orders come in. After that they are tossed in the sauce the customer has picked

how is applebee's compared to olive garden? which one is lower in quality?

Idk never worked at there. Like I said this is my first cooking job

Are the salads fresh ? Or does the lettuce come in frozen ?

Nope fresh. One of the freshest thing on the menu

Have you eaten at any of San Pelligrino's top 50 restaurants? How do they compare to Applebees?

http://www.theworlds50best.com/

Nope I haven't, I don't even live near one of these restaurants

Do you ever feel ashamed of the food you send out? Just how close are you to committing suicide?

Do I feel ashamed? Nope because people shouldn't come in to begin with.

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Can't speak for the entire Applebee's franchise but my store is completely clean. During our dinner rush we stop cooking and clean up our areas.

Sorry, could you provide some additional proof? A picture of food doesn't really prove your claim.

http://imgur.com/Gd1JlQp

Could you take a similar picture with a note that says your username?

I will when I go in for my shift later today