Mark N.
Yelp
You know, when you grow up with a place like Bennigans (as I did in SoCal), you remember the great food (and I loved going to the old Bennigans in Westminster Mall back in the day). Then, they went bankrupt and pulled out of SoCal. After moving to Illinois, I found there was one (now part of a Holiday Inn, of all places) in Elgin, only a short distance from where we live. We HAD to go.
Oh my. Sometimes restaurant concepts deserve their fate. I didn't want that to be the case with Bennigans - not at all.
But let's do a quick review- the ambience was nice, pleasant, and we were quickly seated. The menu looked great. I had a black and blue beer (a mix of Guinness and Blue Moon) - it was great. I ordered the whiskey glazed chicken, and hub-hub ordered the chicken and shrimp pasta. Easily a winning combination. WRONG.
The chicken was so dry and lukewarm - it was so patently obvious it was yesterday's leftovers. Even my garlic mashed potatoes were lukewarm. Not good. The flavor would have been SO much better had it been fresh!
Hub-hubs chicken/shrimp pasta? Ok- the shrimp and pasta were great. But the chicken? Like my chicken, it was from the day prior, and drier than an English comedian.
So - I desperately wanted to enjoy Bennigans given that there are only a handful left in the country. But since they can't even be bothered to serve freshly cooked food? Nope. My illusions were shattered, and my desire to frequent them dissipated like hot steam in a Japanese Onsen.
Bennigans- if you cared, you'd be able to reclaim your place in the American pantheon of great chain restaurants. But your team in Elgin let you down, and given that the beer was the only truly great, inspired item? It's not, sadly, enough. It was my first Bennigan's visit since 2008, and sadly will be my last.