Restaurant Review: Cheddar’s

I had been to the Cheddars in Clearwater, but never been to the one in Brandon (11135 Causeway Blvd,  Brandon, FL 33511, (813) 653-7770) until recently. The one in Clearwater was acceptable, but I’d never call it “good food”. The one in Brandon managed to change my mind about that.

Dustan and I decided to go because we were in the mood for something plainly American on a lazy Saturday afternoon. While hunting for a Wing House, we passed Cheddars and noticed they weren’t that busy. Thus, my second attempt at Cheddars began. When we came to the front door, we were immediately greeted by a friendly set of people who sat us immediately.

The restaurant was actually a lot busier than I had thought, but we were still seated right away. I noticed as I walked through the dining area that this neat fan was installed facing the skylight. This was a step up form what I expected in a place like this, and it added a touch of rustic charm.

Since Dustan and I were both hungry, we ordered an appetizer, the kind of Combo Plate that gives you a bit of everything. This cornucopia of bar food included some fried chicken tenders, potato skins and large single-slice nachos. It’s important to note that the platter these come on is quite large and this is probably enough to feed two people by itself, but we proceeded with this and entrees as well.

The appetizers were good enough. Potato skins were a little rubbery and greasy, but otherwise the tray had a nice balance of meaty and pronounced flavors without being too fatty or too dry. The nachos were actually quite dense and heavy, thanks to a hefty layer of cheese over a hefty layer of beef. The chicken tenders, thick with chunks of white meat, came with a honey mustard dipping sauce which pushed them over the top. Very good, especially considering how light the breading was. They were just done enough, not overly fried, not overly oily and still rich in taste.

For my lunch, I decided to go with something that usually terrifies me, the Monte Cristo. Anyone who has ever ordered a Monte Cristo knows that you’ll never get the same sandwich as you ordered last time. Some places deep fry them in pancake dough, others in a light flour. Some coat in powder sugar and serve with a jam or jelly. Others coat in syrup. Some fill with ham, cheese and turkey, some missing one or more of the components. It’s truly an interpretive dish and very few get it the way I like it. Cheddars surpassed my expectations.

Not only did they have all of the meats and cheeses covered, but they used fresh (not crappy processed deli) meats. The cheese were abundant, hot and flowing from the slices. Whatever they used to coat it before frying it made the sandwich light and fluffy and hot, but not crunchy on the outside. The light powder sugar and the raspberry jam on the side were exactly what I was looking for. This way, I can choose how sweet I want it. Despite being very fully less than half way through the sandwich, I was very pleased with it and took the rest home to eat later. The fries it came with were acceptable, but I simply didn’t have room for many of them considering the portion size and the appetizer.

Dustan ordered the country fried steak, something I’ve seen him order many places and complain about in a good portion of them. He says this was very good, including providing enough gravy to cover both the mashed potatoes and the steak itself. The texas toast slice was also good, he remarked.

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