Restaurant review: Bennigan's Grill and Tavern
During my tenure in Maryland while on assignment, I've been given the opportunity to try the cuisine of not a few restaurants in the general area (I don't have much of a choice, having neither microwave nor refrigerator in my hotel room), much to the chagrin of my wasteline. At any rate, some days my colleagues and I are in the mood for something near the top of the ladder in terms of quality, and sometimes we're after something more down-home and tasty... proximity to our hotels is also a nice thing.
On Tuesday evening we found ourselves at Bennigan's Grill and Tavern (6002 Greenbelt Road;
Greenbelt, MD 20770; phone 301-982-9780) for happy hour. It was a hop, a skip, and a jump away from the hotel so after we got together at another of the hotels and figured out the driving arrangements the trip was rapid, even at rush hour. It's conveniently located in our local run-down strip mall next door to the Chipotle Burrito franchise. Service at Bennigan's wasn't bad - our waiter was attentive and moved fast to keep our party of six thirsty techies (somehow, calling guys who've been working with computers longer than I've been alive geeks doesn't seem right) happy. Or tried to.
For the love of all hardware that doesn't run Windows NT, how the hell do you screw up iced tea?!
No, seriously - the two guys who ordered iced tea received tall glasses of something that almost but wasn't quite entirely unlike iced tea. It was sour and undrinkable... even the waiter, after trying it, looked as if he was about to spit it back. Maybe they forgot to clean the teapot in the kitchen, none of us knew. All I do know is that the next round was much better than the first. The food wasn't bad there, I have to be honest - the buffalo chicken tenders (hey, stop laughing!) were tasty and not overdone; everyone else reported similarly that their meals were good, and more than made up for the botched tea earlier.
Oh, do try Abbey's Apple Sizzler for dessert, I'm told.
Final rating: Two flareguns out of four. If you're in Maryland, give 'em a shot for dinner.