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MAGAZINE, July 2003
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Chili's
Grill & Bar
1/F, 120, HeNan Rd, Sec 3 (Tiger City)
(04) 2285-3708; Hours: 11 am-11 pm
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Great
American Cuisine keeps Chili's busy
By
Douglas Habecker
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During the latter part of 2002, Taichung's foreign residents
bombarded this writer with one endless question: "When
is Chili's coming to Taichung?" Fortunately, the
answer arrived over the winter, when this popular American
chain restaurant opened at Tiger City mall.
Chili's is a big name among US restaurants and for good
reason. The fun, lively setting and decor, friendly
service and, most of all, big portions of outstanding
food have made its reputation. General Manager Eric
Wang notes that another key factor is the company's
absolute commitment to quality food, down to the smallest
ingredients.
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Since
its opening, Chili's has worked to acquaint the locals with
its American style cuisine. "When many people see our
logo, they think it's Mexican but, basically, it's American-style
food," Wang notes. Helping make the food exceptionally
tasty is the cocktail of sauces and ingredients used in Chili's
dishes, like the bleu cheese, chipotle pepper sauce, BBQ sauce,
jalapeno Jack cheese, and "Awesome Blossom" onion
strings.
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Selections on the extensive menu mostly fall between
the NT$300 and NT$600 range and are big enough for some
couples to split in two, together with a salad, appetizer
or dessert. Menu categories include "Starters"
like the wonderfully tangy Wings Over Buffalo (NT$240)
with bleu cheese dressing; "Grill" with the
very popular Baby Back Ribs & Chicken (NT$690);
salads; pita dishes like the Chicken Caesar Pita (NT$330);
Chili's sizable "Big Mouth Burgers"; and various
sandwiches.
The latter two categories include two personal favorites--the
Cajun Chicken Sandwich (NT$320), which comes with jalapeno
Jack chesse and chipotle-ranch dressing among other
things, and the Chipotle Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger (NT$330),
which is as sinfully-good as it sounds. If there's room
afterwards, sweet-tooth ecstasy comes in the form of
Molten Chocolate Cake (NT$320), Margarita Pie (NT$210)
and other choices like an amazing new cheese cake that
has a wonderful, smooth pudding-like texture.
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With
all the food, it's easy to forget that Chili's also has a
great bar, serving all types of tipples, such as Boddington's
and Carlsberg beers on tap and Chili's famous Margaritas,
like the Margarita Presidente (NT$290), which is served in
a special shaker and equals about three drinks. (Read about
it in the August "Cocktail of the Month".) On weekdays,
from 4 to 8 p.m., there is also a buy-one-get-one- free deal
on a select beer.
There
are a variety of extra dining options, such as take-out service,
party platters for groups, new Business Specials (weekdays
before 4 p.m.) that include soup and "bottomless"
beverage, and NT$175 kids' meals. With its near-faultless
standards for food and service, there's little doubt that
Chili's will continue making American cuisine converts out
of central Taiwan residents.
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