Does Marie Callender's Stand the Test of Time? - CLOSED

Marie Callender's

31791 Del Obispo St

 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Katie got two Christmas gift cards from her boss for Marie Callender's. Growing up, we often frequented the one in Placentia and Anaheim Hills. Living in Mission Viejo, there is not one close to me, so it has been a long while since I have been there. In my younger days, what I remember most about Marie's was the small side of spiced apples you got with your plate and the cornbread. Both were real treats when I was a kid. Let's see if time has worn on old Mrs. Callender.

We arrived at Marie Callender's at about five on a Sunday night. After waiting for about five minutes for a hostess to show up and greet us, we were immediately seated. I'm not sure what was going on with the hostess situation, but one thing is for sure: old people love Marie Callender's. Katie and I walked into the place, and we were pretty close to the youngest ones in the joint.

We both started with the all-you-can-eat salad bar. This was $2.99 with our entrees, such a deal. I remember the salad bar seeming huge when I was a kid, but now it does not seem that big. I liked that they had nice chilled plates for the salad. The lettuce seemed fresh, and there were plenty of items to add to the salad. The soup seemed really good. The potato cheese soup was very creamy and had big chunks of potato.

First up is Katie's sandwich. She got a Tuna Sandwich on a croissant with avocado added. This was not on the menu, but the waiter was very accommodating. The tuna was decent, and she really enjoyed the sandwich. I really saw nothing too special with this sandwich.

Here is what I got, the Works Frisco Burger. Bacon, lettuce, onion ring, Thousand Island dressing, and American cheese on parmesan sourdough. The bread was perfect, and the hamburger was very juicy. I am not usually a big fan of American cheese, but here it worked. I thought $11.99 for this sandwich was way too high, but I decided to splurge since Katie's boss was paying. The fries were okay, but they came out a little cold. One other note here that was strange. When I ordered this, I asked the waiter for a side of Ranch dressing. He said, "You can pick some of that up at the salad bar." I thought that was weird, and they only had soup bowls up there, so I wasted a lot of Ranch dressing, but at least I saved the guy a trip.

You can not leave Marie Callender's without a piece of pie, and here is their French Apple Pie with a scoop of ice cream. The pie was great and had lots of cinnamon and crumb topping. It was a perfect end to the meal.

So, no spiced apples with our sandwiches, and no cornbread either. The food was good, but the service needed to be improved in many areas. I would not make a special trip to Marie Callender's. It was overpriced for what you get. But if Katie's boss wants to get her a gift card again, I would not be against the idea of returning for another Frisco Burger.

Out of five pie plates, five being the best and zero being the worst, Marie Callender's gets 2.5 pie plates.

To find the nearest location or info on Marie Callender's, click here: http://www.mariecallenders.com/