Friday, April 29th: the conclusion
So, I am sure a few of you figured out the reference
. Dinner that Friday night was, very aptly, planned for TGI Fridays. We really like the Kissimmee location….the staff are great and the restaurant itself is newer and nicely maintained…..and as a bonus, it was close to Congo River.
The parking lot looks empty in that photo, but it’s a bit deceiving. While it wasn’t at all packed, it was moderately busier. Less busy, however, than we anticipated it would be…..especially for a Friday night
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We were seated immediately and greeted by our server for the evening, a young fellow named Darius who was just the sweetest, most eager-to-please young fellow we could have ever met. We could tell he was fairly new…..he was stumped by several of our questions about various items on the menu, and apologized sincerely about not knowing the answers to those queries off the top of his head, but he was quick to return with exactly the answers we needed in each case. We placed our beverage orders….a beer for Steve, a Coke for Jake, and Coke Zero for me….and perused the menu.
We attempted a photo, but it was dark in there…..and poor Jake was not expecting the flash
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We all like the atmosphere here: it’s casual and comfortable, a little on the noisier side but not so much that’s it disruptive or annoying. We also like the menu options, and all three of us (even fussy Jake and picky me) can find many things that appeal to our more selective palettes.
Since it was by now quite late and we were all pretty hungry, we indulged in an appetizer plate to share. We opted for three of our favourites from the “Pick 3” menu: boneless wings, fried mozzarella, and pot stickers.
Three thumbs up and rave review from our table on all items. They were hot, fresh, tasty, and on the table
fast. It was also just the right amount as far as quantity was concerned: not so much that we were too full for our entrees, but enough that we were satisfied while we waited for the balance of our meal. A pretty decent value, too, at $12.40 for the 3-item platter.
Our entrees were not far behind. Soon after clearing away our appetizer plates, Darius was back with three hot, steaming plates in hand.
Jake had chosen the Jack Daniels chicken sandwich …. His TGI Fridays favourite … with no tomato, lettuce or pickles and a side of fries. He LOVES their fries
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Steve had picked the Smoke Stacked Burger with Caesar salad. It was a MONSTER!
I had the parmesan crusted chicken with mashed potatoes and mac ‘n cheese:
Our entrees went over as well as….or perhaps even better than!....those yummy appetizers. The portion sizes were massive, and both the taste and presentation were fantastic. Darius continued to keep our beverages filled (Steve switched to water after his Bud Light was gone…..he was driving, after all) and we all enjoyed sampling each other’s meals. Both the guys especially loved my mac ‘n cheese…..I think you’ll be seeing them order that item themselves on future visits
.
We were all dying a little (of gluttony…..not natural causes) when Darius inquired as to whether we had room for dessert. We didn’t…..we were SO FULL .....but yet somehow, the word “yes” still managed to escape our mouths
. I think Steve would have forced down his beloved vanilla bean cheesecake if it killed him.
He was a bit disappointed that he forgot to ask for caramel sauce on the top, but still had a little sigh of pleasure as the first bite went down. This is his favourite cheesecake of all time, and while he loved his dessert at the Cheesecake Factory, it still retained its ranking above the CF slice in taste and quality.
Jake and I were near our breaking points as far as stomach capacity went, so we chose to share a Brownie Obsession: a warm brownie smothered in hot fudge sauce and topped with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel
.
This is WAY bigger, WAY richer, and WAY more awesome than the picture suggests. It is easily large enough to share, and by the time we made it to the bottom of that skillet, we were super glad we had the good sense to order one and not two. One of those each and there would have been two of us carried out on stretchers in dessert comas
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Steve, of course, was stuffed but fine. That man has a stomach of iron
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Our bill totalled $74.46 with tax. We left adorable and sweet Darius an excellent (and well earned) tip: he was poised to be a TGI Friday’s Superstar where service is concerned.
Back at the resort, we caught a quick soak in the hot tub and then headed to bed. We had a big day planned for Saturday, and a good rest was definitely warranted: tomorrow we would be breaking out of Orlando’s boundaries and heading to beautiful St. Petersburg
. The afternoon would be spent sailing the waters of the gulf (and hopefully seeing some dolphins!) while the evening would find us cheering on our Jays at Tropicana Field. Yet another sunshiny and unseasonably hot day was forecast, and we were regularly offering up little prayers of thanks for so many rain-free days. Much as it was much warmer than we had planned for, we'll take sunny and hot over rain and cool ANY day.
Stay tuned for our Saturday adventures 
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. I had the same Dr from the time I was 4 until I was about 33. He was such a lovely man. His concern was you and the health of your teeth....never money. When I was first on my own(AKA young and poor)I missed a couple of visits and he called me to insist that I get in. No charge. I even had his home phone number. When he passed away I stayed with his partner who was equally as wonderful. They had been friends since dental school. He retired a few years ago and now I go to young guy. My current Dr and I had to come to an agreement but once we did things have been great. I will say I don't enjoy my visits now the way I did with my previous Dr's but those two were very special people. Never to be duplicated.
I wonder is the franchise itself not doing well?
. Hopefully the weather co-operates! 
. Not only is October pretty much fully planned (with some wiggle room for tweaking and fine-tuning along the way, of course) but its also fully paid for. That's the best part of all! 
All attraction and admission tickets, water park cabanas, and even the park and fly hotel has been paid in advance. Those few items that can't be paid until during or after the trip (like the rental car and some of our meals) are all covered by cash in the bank (already converted to USD where necessary).
.
)
