Applebees - The Great Purgatory of Food

As a nice celebration for the end of the semester, our class went to Applebees for appetizers and drinks. It was an incredibly fun time to hang out with everyone in class, including our professor; one in which is especially exciting because we rarely get to hang out as a large group outside of the classroom. The night was fun, but I came to two incredible realizations (at least in my mind) about Applebees.

The first is that Applebees has no discernable image. They've done a lot to shift their image away from the down home, come-on-down-to-the-neighborhood-grill, support-the-local-team atmosphere, but it really lacks an overall image now. It's sort of reminiscent of K-Mart trying to get away from the sell-a-bunch-of-crap-on-bluelight-special image -- successful in getting away from an image, but incredibly unsuccessful in finding a new one. Applebees and K-Mart are in a brand identity crisis of sorts, I think. One needn't look any further than the three pictures located adjacent to the restroom at our local Applebees to see what I mean. Hanging side-by-side are pictures of Enrique Iglesias, a picture of the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers, and a construction sign.

Second, Applebees is what I like to call the great purgatory of food. Not good, not bad. Not spicy, not bland. Not quick, not slow. Not friendly, not rude. It just sort of "is." I've never had a bad meal from there, but I've never had a particularly good meal from there either. Even the people they hire there, they aren't bland, nor eccentric. It's quite a revelation, I think.

What's your local Applebees like? The same?