- Chili's "3 for Me" meal specials come with a beverage, starter, and entrée for $11, $15, or $17.
- I ordered a few and was pleased with all three appetizers, but the main courses were a mixed bag.
- The quesadillas let me down, but I'd get the burger and chicken sandwich again or try other dishes.
For me, eating at Chili's is much like watching a Tom Hanks movie from the 1990s: It's probably not going to be the most amazing thing ever, but it's a safe bet that you'll enjoy yourself.
That was much the experience I had when I recently visited one of the chain's locations in Long Island, New York, to try the chain's "3 for Me" meal specials.
The "3 for Me" deal comes in $11, $15, and $17 tiers.
The "3 for Me" deal means paying one price for a soft drink, a starter, and an entrée. It has three tiers, ranging from $11 to $17.
The $11 section includes the choice of one of two burgers or a chicken sandwich. The $15 tier includes a bacon burger, Chicken Crispers, or chicken bacon ranch quesadillas.
At $17, you can get a handful of more elevated-sounding entrées, like Cajun shrimp pasta or a 6-ounce sirloin steak.
The starters are either chips and salsa, a house side salad, or a cup of soup. As I ordered three meals, I got the whole flight.
For the entrées, I went with the Oldtimer with cheese burger, the crispy chicken sandwich, and the chicken bacon ranch quesadillas.
I enjoyed all of the starters.
I was quite pleased to find Chili's chips tasted fresh and crunchy.
The salsa seemed mild and was flavorful with a nice, even consistency.
The salad was well-balanced and tasty but unnecessarily difficult to eat.
My only real issue with the starters was the serving method of the salad: the bowl was deep and narrow. It was nearly impossible to get a bite of salad without spilling a portion of it out onto the table.
I had to chop the larger leaves of lettuce up to stop them from catapulting cheese and croutons every which way.
Once my ingredients were cut down to size some, I was pleased with the balance of greens, tomatoes, cheese, and croutons. The thousand-island dressing was tangy and tasty.
The potato soup was rich and flavorful.
I love a good potato soup, and Chili's version of the dish didn't disappoint.
The soup was hearty and generously loaded with bacon, green onions, and cheese, and I would've welcomed an even larger bowl of it.
Chili's serves a solid cheeseburger.
Chili's Oldtimer with cheese burger from the $11 tier was quite good.
It came with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickles, diced red onion, and mustard, and was served beside a pile of thick fries.
The bun was warm and soft, the burger was well-assembled, and the ingredients seemed well-balanced. Each played its part well: the lettuce added crunch, the pickles added tang and sour notes, the tomato added freshness and moisture, and so on.
The patty itself was broad and rather thin, it seemed like it was cooked smash-style. I'd 100% order this burger again and recommend it to others as well.
I also found the chicken sandwich to be a pretty great value.
Also from the $11 tier, Chili's crispy chicken sandwich comes with pickles and mayo on a brioche bun.
I'm not the biggest pickle fan and felt they tasted a bit overpowering here, but if you like them, you'll probably love this sandwich that I merely liked.
The piece of chicken was excellent — thick enough to feel satisfying but not so thick it was tough to bite. Again, I appreciated the notably large pile of fries served with the sandwich.
The priciest meal let me down the most.
At first, I was most excited about the chicken bacon ranch quesadillas from the $15 tier. Unfortunately, this was the most disappointing entrée I tried.
The plating of the quesadillas was solid: eight little wedges ringed a pile of shredded lettuce, a dollop of sour cream, a serving of pico de gallo, and a cup of ranch sauce.
However, I was worried as I grabbed the first piece of quesadilla. It felt limp, damp, and faintly rubbery to me. The flavor wasn't much better.
I didn't really taste the chicken or bacon and just felt like I was just eating a lot of cheese sandwiched between subpar tortillas.
Even when I tried a second wedge fully dressed up with all of the aforementioned fixings, I just didn't like the dish.
I definitely found value in Chili's "3 for Me" deals.
Overall, I'd say the chicken sandwich and burger meal deals both felt like a great value at the $11 price tier. The starters all impressed me and those entrées were both filling and came with plenty of fries.
The savings really speak for themselves, too. If I'd ordered the Oldtimer ($13) and cup of soup ($6) with a fountain drink ($3) separately, I'd have paid over $20.
I'd absolutely be open to trying other dishes on the "3 for Me" menu, though I can't see myself getting those quesadillas again.
