Chef Tyler went overboard with the seasoning, but the menu doesn't mention it

I visited the same restaurant tonight, and had a longer and more open
discussion with another manager. This manager seemed to be more "on
the ball" than the first.

T*** said right off the bat "We have asked Applebees to change the
description of that item to indicate it is spicy. It should indicate
that, and no, we don't expect our servers to point that out to
everyone who orders it. The description should be accurate so the
customer knows what he/she is ordering." Now this squares with common
sense very well.

I also pointed out that a few of these Chef Tyler entrees are funky as
prepared (including this salad, which is excellent with unseasoned
shrimp), and he agreed with me and came up with his own, different
example. My advice would be to skip the Chef Tyler signature entrees;
I think he was asked to come up with some entrees nobody ever heard of
and the results are more than a little sketchy. Funny - a server at
another restaurant said to me months ago "Ooh, Applebee's has those
Chef Tyler entrees!" Now I can go back and say "Yeah, and they suck."
Sorry Chef, I guess my palate isn't refined enough.

I agree with you completely. Except for it being spicy it sounds
good.

I'd like to try it but even mildly spicy food gives me heartburn.

You wrote a very good letter. Maybe they'll listen to your advice. You
can't be the only one who feels the way you do.

I like this letter. I'm glad you were on the server's side. I can't
believe the manager went and blamed his server. That's poor management
there and I wouldn't want to work in a place like that.

I've been to restaurants that put little "spicy/hot" meters next to
the titles of the food...can't remember where and it might have been a
local place. Maybe Applebee's could do something like that?

I like spicy food sometimes, but I like to know ahead of time what I'm
getting, especially if the description makes no mention of it being
spicy.

I'm really surprised Applebees didn't have a better description.
Usually they're pretty good about that. They even describe dishes as
spicy that aren't even remotely close. (Well, to my standards
anyways.)

And I agree the server shouldn't have to spoon-feed (pun intended)
every menu item to a customer. Spice is relative. What is spicy to you
would probably taste like water to me. That's why the menu exists - to
inform customers of the choices so the server doesn't have to spend
twenty minutes at each table doing it.

The manager in this case doesn't sound like much of one. But I'm glad
you got your dish replaced to your liking.

Speaking of Tabasco, I'm going to try this the next time I'm at
Applebees.

I agree that there should be some warning on the menu. My husband
would order that, and if it came out saturated in Tabasco sauce, it
would give him horrible heartburn, since spicy food does this. I'm the
one who adores spicy food (super spicy in fact!)

I also agree that the manager should not have blamed it on the server,
even if it was a training issue. I would suggest calling and asking
for the restaurant manager and inform them of the situation. If they
offer compensation, it would be up to you to accept it, but the
manager needs to know how this was handled.

I've had that salad and where I'm from it is considered 'mild' However
if it is comprised of elements such as Tabasco it should be noted on
the menu for those that cannot handle such things.

Having said that I have to say that I've always found the food at
Applebees to be crappy, bland and boring. Not my favorite place to eat
lunch but better than a sandwich from a gas station.

Actually if it was on listed on the menu as "spicy" I'd be more
inclined to order it. However, you're right. "Spicy" should be put
on the menu to better describe the plate. For the manager to blame
the server is a bit on the ridiculous side.

I love spicy food. I would think something named "California" would
not be. Something named Cajun..yes but not California.

Apologies to all the Californians on here. I wouldn't expect a NY
salad (my state) to be spicy either.

Tabasco sauce? I can't eat anything with that. I'm a total wuss.
Something like that definitely should be mentioned in the menu.
Applebee's may even be one of those restaurants that puts a cute
little pepper next to spicy dishes.

I went to Applebees today for lunch...and you're right about the
desciption and, judging by the picture, it shouldn't have been spicy
either.

I didn't order it, fyi.

Good letter.

Fair complaint and hopefully they'll take your suggestion to heart.

Just so that you know, "Cajun" refers to country Louisiana cooking.
It is not "South of the Border" unless you consider the border to be
at Arkansas.

Further, many people confuse "Cajun" (country) with "Creole" (city)
cooking. Often, outside of Louisiana (and parts of Canada), these two
cuisines are combined into "Cajun-Creole."

"South of the Border" usually refers to Mexico. Oddly, most "Mexican"
food we eat is NOT Mexican, but "Tex-Mex" (i.e., a corruption of
Mexican cooking).

I mention all of this, Don, because you made a point of providing an
explanation (which I agree with) of California cuisine.

a dish is, and the manager's explanation was silly.
I agree with you.

I hate ordering something only to have it turn out to be spicy. I do
not like spicy food and I will ask if it even remotely sounds spicy.
I would not have questioned this dish either. They should note on the
menu with letters big enough to see that this is spicy.

I was surprised not long ago when I took my daughter to Ruby Tuesdays
for lunch and she ordered popcorn shrimp off of the kids menu, she
took a few bites and kept saying it was hot, well I thought she meant
temperature, so I told her to let it cool. She did let it cool and
tried to eat it again and said the same thing, so I took a bite and it
WAS spicy....this was on the kids menu, you would not think that they
would serve spicy popcorn shrimp on the kids menu without even a
mention of the spicy nature of the food.