Chili's Capitola Mall

If you have read some of my other reviews on this blog, you know there's high-end places like West End and Laili's and there's not so high end. This is one of the latter.

Chili's

Chili's is at the Capitola Mall and it's near the main entrance. There's a nice sports bar on one side and a sit-down restaurant on the other. My daughter loves to go there - maybe because it will usually include mall shopping too. She's a sneaky one!

One thing I love is value. And the Chili's endless chips and salsa is all about value. For $3.29, you get a never-ending supply of this appetizer. The chips are warm, thin and crispy. The salsa is smooth and not too spicy in a ranchera style. You finish one tray and they bring you another. You want some to take home and they give you a bagful. It's pretty fantastic!

Kelly's favorite dish bar none is the Chicken Crispers ($10.19) which includes fries, corn on the cob and dipping sauce. She said the corn wasn't soggy (like other places - KFC) and tasted fresh. The chicken was crunchy and meaty - what more could you want? She devoured it in record time. You'd think the chips would have slowed her down.

I got a bowl of chili ($5.29 - hey, it's named after that!), but was saddened by the shallow bowl. The flavor was okay, but not very spicy. I had trouble identifying the chunks of meat vs. peppers vs. beans since they were all just brown and mushy. The cheese did not add much taste either. This is school cafeteria food. Sad panda.

I had a coupon for a free dessert with any entree and Kelly's chicken qualified. Get on their email list to get these sweet deals, people! The Chocolate Molten Cake (normally $6.79) had vanilla ice cream on top and fudge and caramel sauce all over it. Inside was a fudgy sauce that oozed out when broken into - OMG. I'm at the age when I try to justify eating this, calculating the amount of sit-ups and how long to hit the treadmill. My daughter laughed and dug right in. Oh, to be a teenager again!

Have you seen these? There was a small touchscreen computer at each table and you could order more drinks and food from them. Also, games like Bejeweled and Zuma's Revenge to while you wait for your order. At the end of our meal, the waiter said we could slide a credit card on it and pay. It also will calculate the tip and print a receipt or email it to you. Modern tech! Is this the future of dining??

I view Chili's as a place to grab a quick bite before a mall trip, not a dining destination. Their menu is geared more towards kids and sports bar fare, instead of Mexican food. The chili was very underwhelming, but the chips and salsa were great. Without kids, I'd only come back here to watch a Niner game.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 5
Service: 7
Atmosphere: 6
Value for price: 6 (just chips = 10)
Overall: 6