Monday, September 1, 2014

Allen Cafe

When I am not dining out, I enjoy spending time outdoors.  Outdoor activities can often work up an appetite, which usually leads me to searching for a place to grab some grub.  On a recent day that I had done a little fishing at Bethany Lakes Park in Allen, I decided to try out the Allen Cafe.  I really hadn't heard that much about the place, but it had a high rating on Urbanspoon.  Since I was already in the area, I stopped by the restaurant on my way home.


I arrived around 11 a.m. and saw that about half the patrons were ordering breakfast and the rest of them were ordering lunch.  Breakfast didn't sound appetizing on this particular morning, so I began to scan over the lunch menu.  As I was looking over the menu, the waitress informed me of the daily specials.  Chicken Fried Steak was one of the specials and it came with a soup or salad, your choice of potatoes, and a vegetable for $8.59.  That sounded like a very good deal, so I ordered went ahead and ordered the special.
Salad with House Dressing
My salad arrived within a couple of minutes of placing my order and I liked the taste of the house dressing, but would have liked some croutons on it.  Shortly after I finished my salad, my entree was placed before me.  The chicken fried steak was tender, but it was very bland and the batter was not crispy.  It was quite possibly the worst chicken fried steak I have had all year.  That is saying a lot when you consider the fact that I had a chicken fried steak in a school cafeteria just a few months ago.  The fries and okra were very basic, but the okra was far superior in taste and I enjoyed the batter on the okra much more than the batter on the chicken fried steak.
Chicken Fries Steak Special with Fries and Okra
I cannot say that I was very impressed with the Allen Cafe.  My waitress was very friendly and gave outstanding service, but I was not impressed with the food.  Although the chicken fried steak special was only $8.59, I did not feel like it was a very good value due to the poor quality of the chicken fried steak.  The salad was delicious, but my meal went downhill quickly after finishing off my salad.


Allen Cafe
Livin the Good Life Rating=1
Allen Cafe on Urbanspoon

No comments:

Post a Comment