Chili’s Grill and Bar Review and $50 Chili’s Gift Card Giveaway

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I cannot begin to tell you how many times per week I say to myself, “I don’t want to cook tonight!!”  At the end of the day, I am just beat, and on some days, I just really do not feel like cooking.  Thank goodness we have a Chili’s Grill and Bar right down the street – score!  Chili’s Grill and Bar has some exciting news!  They have introduced a wonderful lineup of freshly prepared menu items to their already extensive menu.

I have always loved Chili’s – my family and I eat there quite often.  From their delicious food, fun atmosphere, to friendly servers (not to mention their catchy commercials “I want my baby back, baby back”), Chili’s is always one of our favorite places.  I was so happy when I was invited to review their new freshly prepared menu items, and to also offer a gift card giveaway for my readers to try Chili’s Grill and Bar.

We found the perfect night to go to Chili’s.  My brother-in-law is visiting from PA for a couple of weeks, and my son was home from college for his birthday weekend, so we loaded everyone up in the car and headed out.  The location we went to is in Concord, CA.  It was pretty crowded when we arrived, but this is to be expected on a Saturday night.  No problem, we studied the menu while we were waiting to be seated (this was also pure torture as we were starving and everything looked so good!).

Once seated, we were brought tortilla chips and salsa to snack on.  These are literally the best chips ever.  They are light and crisp and obviously made on site. We started with an appetizer combo (you choose 3 off the list). We chose Boneless Buffalo Wings, Crispy Onion Ring/Jalapeno Stack and Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip – yum!

For our main dishes, we all had something different. I flip-flopped on what I was going to order several times before the waitress arrived but I finally settled on the new Chili’s Chicken Caesar Salad. It comes with ciabatta croutons, shaved parmesan and caesar dressing.  This salad was very tasty, and quite filling. I love the option of ordering something healthy, but still have it fill me up.  My husband got the Fajita Trio (Steak, Chicken and spicy garlic shrimp).  Of course I had to sample his meal – I was supposed to be reviewing things right?? The steak was tender and the shrimp were full of flavor.  Hmmm, maybe I will get that next time! I almost got the new soft tacos – they were pretty tempting as well.

If you are not familiar with Chili’s new fresh-prepared menu items, you are in for a big surprise.  There are quite a few new menu items, and the fresh taste really shines through.  My brother-in-law ordered the new BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. This has caramelized onions, Gouda, and spicy cole slaw on a sesame seed or wheat bun (he chose sesame seed).  I had a little taste of his sandwich too, and it was quite tasty!  It is served with a side of Shiner Bock BBQ Sauce, which is to die for. It is sweet and tangy and oh so good!  Some of Chili’s other new freshly prepared sandwiches are: Santa Fe Chicken Wrap, Smoked Turkey and Shiner Bock BBQ Burger (my son had this – it was huge and full of flavor!).  A couple of the new salads include the Carribean and the Asian Salad. Mmmmm. New soups include Chicken and Green Chili, and Sweet Corn – perfect for a cold, rainy day!  The Fried Shrimp pictured above were awfully tempting…it was really hard to decide!

None of us had the ribs on this visit – but I have had them in the past and they are very good – I highly recommend them. They are tender and tasty and are basted with the Shiner Bock BBQ Sauce.

We were sufficiently stuffed by the time we finished our dinner, but we did want to indulge in dessert. We opted to get our dessert to go. I ordered a Red Velvet Cake Sweet Shot.  I love the idea of these little things – they are great if you just need a little “something sweet”.  They are available in several flavors and you can choose to order just one, or you can choose a sampler of three.  My kids finally decided on the ever-tempting Molten Chocolate Cake.  When we got home, we warmed it up so the chocolate inside was gooey, then they topped it with the ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauce that was provided.  They dove right in and demolished it with a quickness. Luckily I was able to snap a picture before the carnage.

Chili’s Grill and Bar received a huge thumbs up from each member of our party.  I have a feeling we will be going back before my brother-in-law heads home.  We liked it that much, and were so impressed with the new freshly prepared menu items.

I also wanted to give you a heads up about a contest that Chili’s will have running soon – “Shout Out to Eat Out“.  The site is now live! Tell Chili’s why you don’t want to cook tonight, and you could be entered to win a gift card to Chili’s everyday through August 30th. To enter the contest users will  upload a 10 second to 30 second video telling why they do not want to cook tonight. One winner each day will be selected at random. Sweet!

Don’t just take my word for it – head out to Chili’s to try them yourself.  You can also enter to win below!

THE GIVEAWAY is now closed: