FRIENDLY'S,.........IS IT?
Written: Feb 05 '04 (Updated Nov 08 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Though not cheap, they are still a good value, with coupon's.
Cons: Inconsistent service over the years.
The Bottom Line: My last few years experience with Friendly's have been good. The menu is diverse, The food tasty, portions good, and staff have been "FRIENDLY".
|
|
|
| popsrocks's Full Review: Friendly's |
I have been going to Friendly's for many years. We have been in many in the north east and one in particular that is in Baldwin on Long Island that is "our Friendly's". We have been a "Friend to the END".
SOME HISTORY of FRIENDLY'NESS
Here's some quick facts.
Two brothers age 18 and 20 opened their first store in 1935.
After much expansion the franchise was purchased by the Hershey Chocolate Corporation in 1979.
In 1988 it was purchased by a gentleman by the name of Donald M Smith and he continued the growth of the company.
Friendly's added the (s) to the name Friendly in 1989. For all the years before that since it opened the restaurant was known as Friendly.
Our History with Friendly's
We started going to Friendly's about twenty five years ago. With young children Friendly's was a place where we could get a good value in a meal and dessert to finish it off. We also made it a "sweet" stop after special school events. We have a fifteen year spread in the ages of our five children so this tradition even continues today.
Our first experience ever was walking in, and not seeing anybody up front, we seated ourselves. WOW!! It seemed that if you are not seated by a staff member, you become invisible. "They would show us what will happen if we don't wait for them to seat us". We were ignored until we demanded someone take care of us. This was not a good start.
We did not let this first unfortunate incident steer us off course for many return trips. The problem, however, was not just the one time seating of ourselves that brought on poor service. We found that service was generally inconsistent and some employees were just nasty. For two years I asked myself over and over, "Why do we return here?" The answer was, "for my kids", but, my patience did wear out and for a bit of time we would drive to another Friendly's that was a bit further, yet, definitely friendlier.
Over the years we kept returning to our Friendly's and we found that it was the management that set the tone for the restaurant. When there were good managers who worked hard and hired good help, the attitude was indeed, friendly. With managers who stayed in the back areas and not involved, we found service quality dropped. So what I am saying here is that the service end of Friendly's is unpredictable. We have had wonderful service with a smile and too many times had service that was almost non existent. When we do visit a Friendly's, even to this day, I wonder what kind of service is in store for us. It's a flip of a coin. Thankfully "our Friendly's" in Baldwin does have a hands on manager and the staff work hard and with good attitude. It's been this way for a couple of years now.
DECOR
The atmosphere of the restaurant is bright with an early American type theme. They are not all the same. The counters and floors, especially after little ones eating, are kept tidy and clean.
The tables now have napkins on them, years ago you had to ask for them. Salt and pepper are also available. Ketchup is brought to tables on demand. Friendly's Specials are on display at the table. They are usually highlighting their latest additions to the menu.
Being a family eatery there are plenty of high chairs and booster seats available.
Seating in most Friendly's I've been in have booths. The booths in our local place are set up for two or four with a pull out divider that then accommodates six. There are a few tables and chairs in the back area.
It seems to me that, at least in "our Friendly's" during the summer, they have the A/C at an extremely cold setting. I thought it might feel cold from eating the ice cream , but this is before we even get to that part of the meal.
At the end of a meal you are given the check and you bring it up to the counter to pay for it. This is much like in a diner. Sometimes the line to get to pay is a bit too long. The same counter and area is also used for take out orders.
Be sure to tell them about any coupons you may have given them. Many times I hand them the coupon and they have forgotten to take off the proper amount.
I'll note here that the rest rooms are clean and well stocked.
BREAKFAST
Friendly's in our area open at 8:00AM. They serve good basic breakfast choices with some specials that make a good start to the day. Years ago the local Friendly's had counter service. I liked that when I was going in on my own. In ours it's now table service only. A few other local Friendly's went this same rout too.
Most Friendly's, I have noticed, have complimentary newspapers for reading in the restaurant. This was convenient for me when starting a day. Please return the newspaper to the rack when finished.
The breakfast menu stops at 11:30AM
LUNCH and DINNER
When we first started at Friendly's the menu was pretty simple with burgers and fries. Other items in the earlier years were BLT's, franks, and the Fishamajig. These basics were good and priced well.
Over the years they have played with their menu and always seem to be trying to bring new items to their customers. I feel they do a good job at this.
Now the menu is quite varied. Items like Chicken Quesadillas, Cheese Quesadillas, Fronion Dippers, and Mozzarella Cheese Sticks are served as appetizers. You can get a plate to share called the Munchie Mania. That includes three of the top items with some sour cream and marinara sauce. Crispy Chicken and Buffalo Chicken Strips are also available.
Friendly's serves some great plates of Shrimp Fajitas, Steak Fajitas, Chicken Fajitas and combos of the same. Here are some samples of the Combo Fajitas; Chicken & Shrimp, Steak & Shrimp, and Chicken & Steak.
One of my favorites and strongly recommend are the "Melts". My favorite is the Reuben SuperMelt. These sandwiches are sloppy, full, and tasty. It's a challenge to try to pick them up as a sandwich. Other Melts are the, Grilled Chicken SuperMelt, Chicken Parmesan SuperMelt, Turkey Club SuperMelt, and a Cheese turkey and Bacon Supermelt.
The salads at Friendly's are very good too! These have gotten better over the years and are served as lunch or dinner. They certainly are large enough. My wifes favorite of these is the Oriental Chicken Salad
Grilled with ginger glazed chicken breast, mandarin oranges, roasted almonds and lettuce, topped with scallions and tortilla strips. I have had this too. The different flavors, temperatures and consistencies make this a delight to eat. This has a sweet and sour sauce. My wife always asks for the almonds on the side. The dressing is served that way.
My favorite is the Kickin' Buffalo Chicken Salad
This is crispy chicken strips in a hot sauce with some cheeses, red onion, crispy tortilla strips on a bed of lettuce and served with blue cheese dressing. Chicken Caesar Salad and Crispy Chicken salad are also available.
Simple garden salads and soups are on the menu too.
The burgers have been upgraded over the years. The Colossal's are the burger item now. Plates with fries include the Colossal Western BBQ, Colossal Bacon Cheese, Colossal Patty Melt, Colossal Grilled Cheese Bacon and Colossal Mushroom, Swiss & Bacon.
I should mention here that not all Friendly's seem to have the same menus, there are some light differences from area to area.
Friendly's Big Beef Burgers are also available. These are the "original square 5 ounce burgers"
A Gardenburger, this one is meatless, is available too.
Friendly's can easily accommodate those who do not eat meats with their varied menu.
PRICES
Prices at Friendly's differ from area to area. Long Island prices seem to be higher than other areas. I find them in line with most diner prices. They are lower than prices at an Outback or Boulder Creek that I consider family restaurants.
We always look for coupons and specials. You can save a good amount of dollars this way.
I almost forgot the "Kids Meals". These are special offerings for younger children. Sorry, it's been a while that I have ordered them. I don't recall the age limit and all the details but they are a good deal with Grilled Cheese, franks, chicken strips, a soda or milk and an ice cream cone desert. Gosh I forgot the name of the cone. Was it a "Happy Face" or something like that? Anyways, look for it. It helps your dollars stretch.
DESSERTS
This is the reason we go to Friendly's. There are other family restaurants but none that offer an ice cream dessert selection like Friendly's.
I have read that they offer 56 flavors. I haven't seen nor tasted them all, however, our Friendly's has more than needed in stock. They serve frozen yogurts and sherbets too. They even serve soft ice creams in vanilla, chocolate, or twists. Yes, sprinkle can be added.
The "Happy Ending" Sundae is probably the most savored dessert we have. It's the simplest of them all and it comes with many of the meal combos.
Other Sundaes include the Classic where you chose your flavors and have a topping with Whipped cream and a cherry.
The Double Deluxe Sundaes already have their own flavors you can get some ideas as to what is in them from some of the Sundae names like Beyond Chocolate, Caramel Fudge Blast, Swiss Chocolate Almond Sundae,and the Cappuccino Dream.
I am partial to the original Jim Dandy's. This is served in a huge rounded stemmed glass bowl. Pick any five flavors and with some strawberry, marshmallow, and chocolate sauce toppings with whipped cream and some bananas inside is heaven for me.
The classic Royal Banana Split is also good. I happen to like the bananas in my Jim Dandy better.
Also served in these huge glass bowls are the Candie Sundaes. These were added when Friendly's was owned by Hershey. They put their products name on the Sundaes that included particular candy lines. Here are some of them.
Heath Bar Toffee Crunch Sundae
Marvelous and Magnificent Sundae with M&Ms
Reese's Pieces Sundae and Satisfaction Sundae with Snickers candy in it.
I could go on and on about the desserts. They have shakes, floats and what they call their Slammers. These are made with sherbet. These are smooth, and extremely refreshing on a hot summers day.
Simple cones are also available. With so many flavors to choose from even ordering one of these can take some time.
SERVICE
I opened with some talk about our experience. In recent times I feel Friendly's has gotten a bit better in the overall service. It is different from time to time and store to store. The time we have to wait for meals to come out has been reasonable. The plates come out in good time. I still find that there is sometimes a bit too much delay between a meal and ordering and getting dessert to the table.
Any time my wife suggests Friendly's I still cringe. Those early days of terrible service still come to mind. I'm still never sure what kind of service I will get. The food is good and I feel a good value. Those few times where the service is still not right I still say "Never again". For some reason we do return. Must be the ice cream.
More chain eateries by popsrocks
Romano's MACARONI GRILL / KFC / OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE / Wendy's / Cozymel's / Cheesecake Factory / McDonald's / Checkers Burgers / Red Lobster
The White Castle / TGI Friday's / Charlie Browns / Burger King / Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips / Friendly's / Cold Stone Creamery / Dunkin' Donuts / Krispy Kreme / Jillian's / Katz's Deli A NYC landmark / Ruth's Chris Steak House /Don Juan's / Cracker Barrel / IHOP, International House Of Pancakes / Quizno's / Baskin Robbins / Ruby Tuesday / Auntie Anne's Pretzels
Perkin's Family Restaurant
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.