Champions Restaurant – Philadelphia

Champions Of Philadelphia

After running the Philadelphia Museum Of Art steps ala Rocky Balboa, "Rocky Steps" we were hungry and stopped at Champions Restaurant, inside the Marriott Hotel in downtown Philadelphia for dinner.

My order was very simple. A bowl of chicken noodle soup and an order of chicken strips.

Champions Chicken Noodle Soup

After an almost 30 minute wait, (And there was no excuse for the restaurant was not crowded at all) my chicken soup came. It looked delicious and it was good. I was concerned for the restaurant was not busy, and as most restaurants, the soup of the day is prepared early and readily available in a minutes notice. Yet, it took almost 30 minutes for it to arrive. I wonder how long i would I have to wait for the main entree.

Chicken Strips

Before the chicken strips arrived, the server brought out fried fish and macaroni and cheese. I told him that wasn't what I ordered and he actually argued with me. I asked to speak to my waitress. She came over and saw the mistake and said she would put a rush on my order. No apology, no batting of the eyes, nothing. I wasn't holding out much hope on the rush part.

My wife ordered a Philly steak and cheese. It came without cheese! WTF! It also went back.

Finally, after another 20 minutes, our correct dinners arrived. I will admit the chicken strips tasted great, but i just can't get past the rude and lousy service we received.

Taking into account the shoddy service, the arguing, and the incorrect meals, the Grassy Knoll Diner awards 1.75 shots out of 5 and does not recommend Champions Restaurant inside the Downtown Marriott Marquis Philadelphia hotel.

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Apple Barn Restaurant - Chicken Strip Dinner - Gatlinburg

Apple Barn Chicken Strip Dinner

Right to the main course this time. The Apple Barn restaurant was a favorite place of mine in Pigeon Forge. Imagine my delight when they opened one right on the strip in Gatlinburg. It looks exactly the same outside and inside of the original restaurant. And the food and service, yes, just the same. Excellent.

As you can see, I ordered the fried chicken planks with all the fixins. The chicken was golden brown and tasted excellent. An ample portion was served. You were not going away hungry from this restaurant.

Also with the main course was a baked potato with real butter, a bowl of macaroni and cheese, which was creamy and delicious, and a hot fresh roll with butter.

Apple Barn Menu

Of course, this is the menu, which was clean and easy to read. I hate receiving a menu that has dirt or crud on it. It makes me suspect the food they are preparing in the kitchen. If the menu is dirty, more than likely so is the food.

Apple Barn Apple Fritters

Brought out first were the apple fritters and juice along with several rolls with jelly and butter. Not wanting to fill up before the main course, I only had one.

Apple Barn Chicken Noodle Soup

Although the picture is a little out of focus, the chicken noodle soup was right on. It tasted like home made, with big noodles and chunks of chicken and carrots in a thick broth all steaming hot. A cold, crisp coke completed the meal.

Over all, the waitress was very friendly, helpful, and professional. We were seated quite quickly, and on a busy evening, that doesn't happen all the time. The cost was very reasonable, about 15 dollars before tip.

The Grassy Knoll Institute awards 4.5 out of 5 shots to the Apple Barn restaurant and recommends eating lunch and dinner there.

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Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup

Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup

Location: Grassy Knoll Institute Secret Corporate Offices.

The Order: Campbell’s “Classic” Homestyle chicken noodle soup. Oyster crackers of course.
The Service: Huge giant alien coffee cup was used to hold the soup. Plastic spoon completed the meal.
The Taste: The can said CLASSIC and HOMESTYLE but both were far from it. I figured the classic brand was the old style that I used to eat as a child and grew up with. Instead, the noodles were so skinny and small, I thought I was eating chicken with rice for a few seconds. The only saving grace was the oyster crackers. I had to load up big time on the oysters.

Presentation: Metal can with a new pull tab easy opening lid. (I thought they said it was classic)
The Value: Very cheap. I believe roughly it was 49 cents plus a bag of oyster crackers for good measure.
The Rating: 1.5 out of 5 shots.

For misleading information on the can, the Grassy Knoll Diner does not recommend Campbell’s Classic chicken noodle soup.

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