Tumble Not Really Worth A Weed

I just posted this same review on our local yahoo yellowpages. I'd like to pat myself on the back, too, for having the most thorough review on yahoo. :) (I changed this one just a smidge, to make it a little more personal.) Anyway, this is my take on our local Tumbleweed Southwest Grill. We'd never been there, and they always looked so good on TV, but then again, almost everything looks good on TV! Hell, I bet even I would look smokin' HOT on TV!! LOL

I couldn't make up my mind on whether or not I really wanted to hit Tumbleweed. The menu looked so good online, very tempting. We had made mention of it in passing several times. I was finally talked into it by the dear husband who had a craving for something BBQ. (And might I add here, dear and devoted readers, that he also put the Olive Garden on the possible-list for today, then erased it when I wasn't looking - actually, while I was looking at the menu for Tumbleweed, the sneaky dog.)

Anyway. *Tumbleweed Southwest Grill review starts here*

The place was very clean, and the booths could seat 6, or possibly 8 if you were really skinny, they were that wide. Overall there was ample seating, and we did not have to wait for a table when we arrived.

The menu is just as described on their website.

The hostess was friendly. Our server, Chastity, was top notch. She made several passes by our table without disturbing our conversation or meal to drop off a fresh Coke. She was very observant and great at anticipating our needs without being intrusive. She made one pass just to apologize to my son, who she noticed was struggling to get the Hunts ketchup out of the bottle, because the safety seal was still firmly sealed under the ketchup lid, which made us all laugh. She made just enough stops to make sure that our first experience at Tumbleweed Southwest Grill was going smoothly. I give HER 5 stars! Excellent service, and for that, we thank you!

The food, honestly, was just "okay". We have just returned from living in New Mexico, so we expected a little more flavor. One of us, not mentioning any names, but he had said he wanted BBQ something-or-other, had hot boneless chicken fingers included with his dinner, and the only comment was, "They were hot, but had no flavor."

The $10.99 order of ribs was considerably smaller than we'd anticipated. Two sons were very disappointed with this, but had no complaints about the flavor or texture. The fries were very good, and even though they said "seasoned" (which automatically makes me shudder and think of orange Rally's fries), they weren't really seasoned and were very good.

I had the Chicken Chop Salad with crispy chicken. I did enjoy this, and the chipotle ranch was good. There was very, very finely shredded cheese on top, quite a bit of corn scattered about, and a few black beans tossed in for good measure. The lettuce was shredded, making it an easy salad to eat. But, I had to pick through a pretty thick layer of their fresh corn strips to actually see the salad... there was a little too much of them on there for me. Overall, I can't think of anything spectacular about the Chicken Chop Salad that makes it worth the $8.99 menu price. I also ordered a $2.99 side of mac and cheese. When it arrived, I wanted to send it back. The bowl was small and the amount of food in it ever smaller, I could have almost fit every noodle in the palm of one cupped hand (and I have pretty little hands, for a girl who stands all of 5' 2"). The sauce was thin and not very flavorful.

While all of the food came to our table fresh and hot, and in a reasonable amount of time for being just after noon on a Friday. I feel the prices here are a bit on the steep side for a more casual joint (unless we were all waaaay underdressed), which will make me think a great deal before venturing to another Tumbleweed Restaurant.

The total for our visit was $63 plus change (excluding tip) for four (lunch menu) meals and four drinks, an (ittsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie) side of mac and cheese, and one dessert (the partaker of this ice cream & strawberry dessert just raved about how good it was.)

Honestly, I think we should have made the almost 40 minute drive to Chili's. The food is much better and you get a little more... for about the same prices. (I highly recommend Chili's Honey-Chipotle Chicken Fingers, with the corn on the cob and fries! Oh, it's all heavenly!!) (I am a shameless plugger, huh? Tisk! Tisk!)

To sum it up, if the food were as great as the service, this place would be worth every penny!

*Tumbleweed review officially ends here*

Oh, and let me just add, hubby ended up not even ordering anything BBQ. The sons did. He ended up with some dish with three samplers... mini chimi's, a chicken quesadilla (which had some good flavored shredded chicken inside - at least I hope it was chicken), and the hot wing thingies, which were an orangy-red color and hot, but lacked flavor. OH, oh, oh, oh! One more thing... two of the guys had side orders of baked beans... they tasted almost like Bush's Original Baked Beans... out of a can. We LOVE Bush's Baked Bean, so that was ALL good!

Anyone else have any experience with Tumbleweed? Good, bad or otherwise?