Applebee's (LaVale, MD), mid-January, 2026. My husband and I were traveling on I-68 near…read moreCumberland, MD, and needed a lunch stop that would be restful (from driving) but also relatively fast as we still had a few hours of driving ahead of us.
We were seated quickly at the Applebee's, and decided to order from their 2 for $25 menu; as usual, we would split the food. This is A LOT of food for $25 -- a full-sized appetizer to share, plus two full-sized entrees. We ordered the Spinach and Artichoke Dip as our appetizer (usually $12.99), which is topped with Parmesan cheese and served with white corn tortillas and chipotle lime salsa. I ordered the new O-M-Cheeseburger (normally $11.99), that featured a juicy, all-beef burger, topped with American cheese, Applewood-smoked bacon, and spicy honey mustard, served in a sizzling skillet of molten queso and a blend of cheddar cheese. I selected the garlic mashed potatoes as my side. My husband ordered a Grilled Oriental Chicken Salad (usually $16.99), which features grilled chicken on a bed of Asian greens, crunchy noodles, and almonds tossed in an Oriental vinaigrette. It's served with a breadstick that has been brushed with buttery garlic and parsley.
Food. (Rating: 4/5). Our appetizer (5/5) arrived within five minutes of our order, and it was very tasty. The entrees were delivered before we had finished the appetizer. Since we would be splitting our entrees, we were pleased to see that the burger was already cut in half with both pieces served in the molten cheese. While the O-M-Cheeseburger (4/5) was tasty, we'll probably go back to a traditional cheeseburger for future orders as our entree was somewhat messy and had too much cheese for our tastes. The garlic mashed potatoes were AMAZING, and were also good dipped in the molten cheese. We were so full after eating the appetizer and the burger entree that we opted to take the second entree, the salad, as take-out. We ate the salad (3/5) the next day. While we both tend to like sweet things, the dressing was far too sweet for both of our tastes. Quantities and value were excellent, but most food at Applebee's is a nutritional bomb. Even the GRILLED oriental chicken salad has 1440 calories, while the O-M-Cheeseburger came in at 1680 calories.
Our waitress was excellent, and we had finished our relaxing lunch within 45 minutes (within our goal).
We would eat here again.