Monday, December 30, 2013

REVIEW: Red Robin Red's Chili Chili

Red Robin has plenty of  delicious burger options on their menus (And sadly, the only one I've gotten a chance to review would be their 5 Alarm Burger), but what about when you're craving something other than ground beef on a bun? I was in a chili mood while eating out at Red Robin recently, so their new Red's Chili Chili sounded pretty appealing to me. Instead of ordering a typical burger dinner, I decided to go with a bowl of this comeback chili instead. One bowl-sized portion costs around $5.49.


One bowl of chili contains 492 calories, 185 of them being from fat, 21g of total fat, 8g of saturated fat, 1g of trans fat, 93mg of cholesterol, 1743mg of sodium, 39g of total carbohydrates, 7g of dietary fiber, 6g of sugar, and 37g of protein.
So, if you were reading the nutrition facts, you might have noticed this product contains a whole gram of TRANS FAT. Dun dun dunnnn... What is it with chili and trans fat anyway? I make chili all the time with my dad and we never have to go out to some food laboratory to pick up a canister or whatever of hydrogenated oils. Hopefully the new FDA regulations will be kicking trans fat outta chili before we know it. But till' then, guess we'll have to suck it up and take our trans fatty chili the way it is. Or order something else. Your choice, really. But anywayyyy...
Red's Chili Chili is a mixture of beans, ground beef, peppers, and spices, all topped off with mild shredded cheddar cheese, crispy tortilla strips, and diced red (but I see them as purple) onions. Really, for all the calories (well, it's not that many calories, but for the amount OF THEM) I thought there'd be more chili to a bowl, but the serving was actually pretty small.

I stirred my chili up to get the tortilla strips and cheese and onions all dispersed thoroughly throughout the bowl. I decided to eat my chili with very small spoonfuls at a time, since someone could easily put a bowl away with a few good-sized gulps. Despite taking mere baby bites, I was blown away by the full flavor of the chili. First thing I noticed was how cheesy it tasted, even after stirring the cheese around as best I could. The shredded cheddar was totally yummy and there was plenty of it. The tortilla strips added an accent of southwestern flavor to the mix with their salty and tangy chili-lime seasoning. And although the tortilla strips had become nearly completely flimsy by the end of my bowl, they always retained at least a small amount of crunch and always held up their salty, addictive flavor. The ground beef came in little segments and was chewy and soft, the beans were in a good abundance, the red onions were crunchy and strong, and the peppers added a nice, mild, different type of texture and taste to the mix.
Even though the serving was fairly small, I didn't mind because the chili was thick and just bursting with flavor. It was really quite delicious. Salty to a T and quite addictiveRed's Chili Chili also had a good amount of heat- just enough to add a little kick. You readers out there who think they can't handle spicy shouldn't worry about the spice in here- it's really a negligible amount.




If I hadn't made it obvious enough already, I totally dug Red Robin's Chili Chili and wouldn't hesitate to order it again. It was insanely tasty and flavorful and I'd recommend it to anyone thinking of going to Red Robin. Unless you want to stay away from trans fat and too much salt. And even though I found it to thick and satisfying, the serving to a bowl of Red's Chili Chili might seem a bit too small for some, so maybe order this one on the side and NOT as a full meal. But overall, this chili was tastefully done and left me wanting more- and that IS a good thing. (P.S... Try this chili with a dash of Red Robin's Seasoning. Yum, yum, yum!)
I'd give Red Robin's Red's Chili Chili a 9/10.

What did YOU think of Red Robin's Red's Chili Chili? Tell everyone your thoughts down in the comments below!

Till' then, this has been RiRi ri-porting!

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