I decided to give the Insider Bar & Grill inside the Holiday Inn a try mainly out of convenience…read moresince I was staying at the hotel. The restaurant was pretty empty, which I honestly didn't mind or find too surprising. I will say that the server was very friendly, helpful, and attentive, so my experience had nothing to do with the service. Unfortunately, the food itself was a different story.
I ordered the potato skins as an appetizer, followed by the 8 oz. sirloin steak with seasoned vegetables and mac and cheese.
The steak was easily the best part of the meal. I ordered it rare, and they actually cooked it correctly. I'm not normally a huge fan of sirloin, but with some chimichurri on the side for extra flavor, it was decent and probably the one part of the meal I didn't have much to complain about.
The seasoned vegetables, however, were disappointing. There seemed to be some kind of herb or seasoning blend with seeds mixed throughout them, but somehow the vegetables were still very bland. I actually had to add salt just to give them some flavor. Honestly, I would have preferred plain steamed vegetables. I didn't even finish them, which says a lot because I'm normally someone who finishes what's on my plate.
The mac and cheese wasn't much better. It tasted more like something prepared from a box than something I would expect to be served at a restaurant. It seemed like the pasta was boiled, mixed with a basic cheese sauce, and then topped with shredded cheese to dress it up. Mac and cheese is usually a pretty safe side dish, so I was surprised by how underwhelming it was.
But the biggest disappointment was easily the potato skins. Since they were my appetizer, they unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the meal. Bacon and cheese are hard to mess up, but what makes potato skins good is the potato itself--crispy, salty, and flavorful. These had none of that. The skins were soft, bland, and lacked any crispiness whatsoever. They honestly tasted like frozen potato skins that had been reheated in a microwave rather than freshly prepared.
For a hotel restaurant, I wasn't expecting a five-star dining experience, but I did expect the basics to be done well, especially considering what you're paying. The friendly service was appreciated, and the steak was cooked properly, but the rest of the meal left a lot to be desired.
Would I come back? Probably not. Even with the convenience of having the restaurant right downstairs, I'd rather spend the extra money and gas to drive somewhere else and get a better meal.
