Comfort food, burgers, and our love of Red Robin

by | Oct 5, 2015 | faith, family, restaurant, review, San Diego | 128 comments

Family Friendly Red Robin and the tips and tricks to eating there bottomless fries at red robinIt was about 5 years ago that we moved to California. We moved to the central coast, in a small town called Santa Maria. Most don’t even know where it is. We were isolated, I was pregnant, and he was working 15-16 hour days. It was a low point for us. Chris laments that he missed the first year of his son’s life because he had to come home after little man went down and left for work often before he woke up. Coming from Arizona, we were literally eating into our savings to pay rent and praying for relief. It didn’t help that there wasn’t much to do or places to eat there. Let me say first that we LOVED our time there. The people we met and became friends with will be lifelong friends, but that town lacked in the food department. What it DID have, was a Red Robin.

 

 

date night invite red robinOne weekend after a super stressful week for both of us, when we were feeling disconnected, tired, homesick, and poor, my cute husband sent me this evite to take me on a date for some relief. He came home that night and acted like my blind date at the door and it was too fun. Red Robin had become a place we went because it was familiar, and it was comfort food for us. Just plain good food, and not at all pretentious. It’s family friendly, so we could take the baby, and we often needed endless fries and an amazing burger to feel like us again. It worked every time. Just after we moved here to San Diego, we had another time I wrote about the healing powers of burgers and prayer, because few things can’t be fixed by both. My husband now works right near a Red Robin, and we’ve done the same thing here in San Diego. We have taken friends there, met up for lunch, and on long weeks when neither of us got a sitter, we take our 2 rugrat kids there for date night because they love it, and we all leave happy. And there are few places that a family of 4 can eat so affordable. {e.g. the Red’s Tavern Double Burger and Bottomless Steak Fries is 6.99.}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few tips for when you go:

 

 

red robin dinner with kids

    • When you go there with a group, with kids or not, be sure to ask for your bottomless fries first, like when you order your drinks. They are always happy to do that, and go with ranch and campfire sauce. Trust me on this.

 

    • If you order a certain kind of fries, THOSE become bottomless. So when we went with friends this last time, we made sure we got regular, garlic fries, and sweet potato fries {with our orders} so we could refill all of them and try them all.

 

    • My husband often orders a burger with a picture {something new and unique}, and his are always incredible. {This last time with friends, our friend got the Southern Charm and I had to swap half of mine for his cause it sounded ridiculously yummy. It was.}

 

    • I often build my own burger, picking and choosing what sounds good from all of the other burgers. I often add avocado or guac, grilled onion and bacon to whatever I get, and I often get it lettuce wrapped so I feel better about all the fries I ate…

 

    • If you get a wrap, ask for the grilled ensenada chicken in it. Usually the wraps are pre-grilled and chilled, which is still good, but this way, they’ll grill up and season it like the ensenada and it’s way good.

 

    • red robin with family

 

    • With kids, we often get fruit before the meal as well. They’ll bring out mandarin oranges to snack on and the kids love it. We also have them split something from the kids’ menu, because after the fries and oranges, 1/2 is about the perfect amount.

 

    • They have lots of healthy options too. When I was watching calories and carbs, I always got the ensanada chicken or the tortilla soup and loved those too. And if you go with lettuce wrapped or open-faced burger, you can also get bottomless broccoli or salad too.

 

    • Sign up for the rewards and they’ll send you a free burger for your birthday! They’ll send other deals and coupons too, but I always make it in during my birthday month.

 

    • Try the Mountain High Mudd Pie sometime. Whoa. You’re welcome.

 

   red robin with family Check out Red Robin here: Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram

So, what’s your favorite burger at Red Robin?

Tell me below for a chance to win a $100 Red Robin gift card!

Entry Instructions:  No duplicate comments.   You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

  1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
  2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
  3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
  4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

  This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.  The Official Rules are available here.  This sweepstakes runs from 10/05/15 – 10/31/15.  Be sure to visit the Red Robin brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts! red robin with family

128 Comments

  1. Amy
    Amy on October 5, 2015 at 10:04 am

    LOVE the banzai burger! Such fun ideas you listed. And I love that you can order the burgers smaller, too.

  2. Mami2jcn
    Mami2jcn on October 5, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    The Royal Red Robin Burger is my favorite. I love the fried egg!

  3. Mami2jcn
    Mami2jcn on October 5, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/651139266068647940

  4. Julie Wood
    Julie Wood on October 5, 2015 at 2:08 pm

    My favorite Red Robin burger is the Sauteed Shroom! It is so good!
    jewelwood55(at)gmail(dot)com

  5. Julie Wood
    Julie Wood on October 5, 2015 at 2:08 pm

    tweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/651141959034105856

  6. Stephanie
    Stephanie on October 5, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    i love Royal Red Robin Burger

  7. Meg Bowman
    Meg Bowman on October 5, 2015 at 2:50 pm

    My absolute favorite burger is the bacon cheeseburger, medium rare with provolone cheese. And steak fries. Red Robin is seriously one of the best places ever for our entire family. We often choose Red Robin for celebrations. My kids used to call it the “Red Bird Place” when they were little.

  8. Jason Bowman
    Jason Bowman on October 5, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    Whiskey River BBQ is the best

  9. Lindsee McKinnon
    Lindsee McKinnon on October 5, 2015 at 2:55 pm

    Anything with cheese. Cheeseburgers have my heart.

  10. Darby
    Darby on October 5, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    We always do red robin when we eat out with the kids!

  11. Sarah Rogan
    Sarah Rogan on October 5, 2015 at 3:09 pm

    Ahhh!!! “The Red Store” as my kids call it! It has been a safe haven for our growing family over the years as well and was a staple when we were watching our carbs. Gotta love a lettuce wrapped burger! I love so many of them, but the turkey burger is divine. Yummmm. I think I know what’s for dinner tonight! P.s. campfire sauce, right? Amazing! http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Medicinals-Organic-Mothers-16-Count/dp/B0009F3POY

  12. Amanda
    Amanda on October 5, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    Pretty sure they are all my favorite!!! Who can choose?

  13. Erin Ellis
    Erin Ellis on October 5, 2015 at 3:13 pm

    I agree! The Whiskey River BBQ is the BEST! I also love their chicken wraps! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
    Erin
    ErinLoves2Run at gmail dot com

  15. Jessica
    Jessica on October 5, 2015 at 3:24 pm

    Whiskey River Burger for sure is my favorite…and we cannot forget the freckle lemonade. YUM! 🙂

  16. Sarah Larson
    Sarah Larson on October 5, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    Red Robin?!?! Yum!!!! Bacon cheeseburger mmmmmmm

  17. Lisa
    Lisa on October 5, 2015 at 3:26 pm

    My two favorites are the Royal Red Robin (because fried egg) and the Whiskey River BBQ burger (because onion strings). My kids love Red Robin (aka “Red Robin Hood”) so we go often on family date nights!

  18. Kelly D
    Kelly D on October 5, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    I like their Guacamole Bacon Burger.

  20. Elena
    Elena on October 5, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    I like the Chili Chili Cheeseburger

  22. Natalie
    Natalie on October 5, 2015 at 4:12 pm

    My favorite burger to order at Red Robin is the Red Robin Gourmet cheeseburger because it has so many yummy ingredients! I also recently tried the Garden burger and fell in love with the burger and sauce!!

  24. Laura davis
    Laura davis on October 5, 2015 at 5:12 pm

    I honestly don’t know. I think I have only been there like twice and I can’t even remember what I got. Therefore I should probably win this giveaway so that I have a reason to go there. Hehehe

  25. Allison Swain
    Allison Swain on October 5, 2015 at 5:49 pm

    I like their Garden Burger.

    Thanks for the giveaway

  27. Jessie
    Jessie on October 5, 2015 at 5:52 pm

    Guacamole bacon burger! We love taking our kids there too- fries and balloons make everyone happy!

  28. Janice Cooper
    Janice Cooper on October 5, 2015 at 6:37 pm

    My favorite is their turkey burger or the Whiskey river bbq chicken sandwich

  30. Emily
    Emily on October 5, 2015 at 6:42 pm

    Yum! My first date was at Red Robin. I love anything with cheese! Yum o yum!

  31. Malisa Whiting
    Malisa Whiting on October 5, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    I am a succor for the simple bacon cheddar burger! It is always delicious and wonderful!

  32. Tami
    Tami on October 5, 2015 at 7:21 pm

    Great tips about Red Robin! Last time I went there I had the one with a runny egg, tasty and messy!

  33. Shelby
    Shelby on October 5, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    Whiskey river BBQ Mmmmm those fried onion stacks:)

  34. Meghan
    Meghan on October 6, 2015 at 12:34 am

    I love their premium burgers….favorite is the Smoke and Pepper – yuuuuuuuuum!

  35. Heather
    Heather on October 6, 2015 at 7:50 am

    I love the Royal Red Robin! The fried egg on there is soooo good!

  36. Ryan
    Ryan on October 6, 2015 at 7:59 am

    Holy moley I need a burger now. And make it the banzai burger please!

  37. Macey
    Macey on October 6, 2015 at 1:41 pm

    Red Robin is a fun restaurant for my family, it allows for big groups! The endless fries rock and I love avocado burgers 🙂

  38. William
    William on October 6, 2015 at 1:58 pm

    I’ve loved the Royal Red Robin burger ever since college.

  39. shopfreak
    shopfreak on October 6, 2015 at 5:20 pm

    I love a fried egg so my fave is the royal..

  41. Jessie C.
    Jessie C. on October 6, 2015 at 7:28 pm

    Red Robin THE GARDEN BURGER is my favorite.
    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

  42. Jessie C.
    Jessie C. on October 6, 2015 at 7:29 pm

    tweet-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/651584740496052225

  43. Danielle Mathews
    Danielle Mathews on October 6, 2015 at 8:19 pm

    The turkey burger! Red robin will forever remind me of you! So many crazy date nights. If I win you have to personally deliver it so we can eat together!

  44. Steven weber
    Steven weber on October 6, 2015 at 8:24 pm

    My favorite is the build my own gourmet burger and endless fries

    groogruxking40 @ gmail dot com

  46. Will G
    Will G on October 6, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    My favorite burger is the bacon cheeseburger.

  48. Rachel
    Rachel on October 6, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    My favorite is the All-American patty melt.

  50. Kimmy Ripley
    Kimmy Ripley on October 8, 2015 at 10:27 am

    The Banzai Burger is my fave! I love teriyaki!!

  51. Susan Christy
    Susan Christy on October 12, 2015 at 8:12 am

    Nothing better than a Red Robin Patty Melt!

  52. shelly peterson
    shelly peterson on October 14, 2015 at 2:14 am

    My favorite burger is the Banzai burger.
    cshell090869 at aol dot com

  54. Holly
    Holly on October 14, 2015 at 11:56 am

    Ok, I know it’s not a hamburger, but last time we went, I got the Cobb salad and it was HUGE and delicious! (You could easily split it – love that)

  55. Amy Tong
    Amy Tong on October 15, 2015 at 1:17 pm

    My favorite is the Guacamole Bacon burger! so good!

    amy [at] utry [dot] it

  57. Carolsue
    Carolsue on October 16, 2015 at 12:02 am

    My favorite burger is the Prime Chophouse

  58. Stephanie Phelps
    Stephanie Phelps on October 16, 2015 at 11:00 am

    My favorite Red Robin burger is the BANZAI!

  60. rachel
    rachel on October 16, 2015 at 11:18 am

    I like their sauteed shroom burger — yum!

  61. Henria O.
    Henria O. on October 16, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    My favorite is the Bacon Cheesburger.
    sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com

  64. OFG
    OFG on October 16, 2015 at 1:02 pm

    Banzai Burger!

  65. Rebecca Graham
    Rebecca Graham on October 16, 2015 at 11:49 pm

    I always order the Burnin Love burger.

  66. Kevin E
    Kevin E on October 17, 2015 at 12:44 pm

    My favorite burger at Red Robin is the Bleu Ribbon Burger

  68. Jennifer Marie
    Jennifer Marie on October 18, 2015 at 10:59 am

    My favorite is the petite bacon cheeseburger.

  70. Laura ari
    Laura ari on October 18, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    I like the whiskey river BBQ burger

  71. Gina M
    Gina M on October 18, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    I love the bacon cheeseburger!!

    Thanks for the chance to win!

    wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com

  72. Gina M
    Gina M on October 18, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/655864137965281280

  73. Madeline
    Madeline on October 18, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    I love their Sautéed ‘Shroom burger! So yummy!

  75. Jeffrey
    Jeffrey on October 18, 2015 at 5:43 pm

    The Burnin’ Love Red Robin burger is always good when I’m looking for a bit of extra heat. I like it with a side of onion rings.

  77. Jennai
    Jennai on October 18, 2015 at 11:05 pm

    My favorite is the Prime Chophouse Burger

  78. Kristen
    Kristen on October 19, 2015 at 11:15 am

    My favorite is the Whiskey River BBQ Burger (the WR BBQ Chicken Sandwich is also really good!).

  80. heather
    heather on October 19, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    My favorite Red Robin burger is the Guacamole Bacon burger it is amazing.

  81. Pamela
    Pamela on October 19, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    My favorite burger at Red Robin is the A1 Peppercorn Burger.

  83. Betty C
    Betty C on October 20, 2015 at 10:29 am

    I haven’t eaten at Red Robin yet because there isn’t a store nearby, but since the Guacamole Bacon Burger sounds so good I may just have to make a special trip to try it out.

  85. Susan Smith
    Susan Smith on October 20, 2015 at 3:00 pm

    I like the Whiskey River BBQ burger at Red Robin.

  87. Kerry
    Kerry on October 23, 2015 at 1:57 pm

    I love the bleu ribbon burger!

  89. Erica Best
    Erica Best on October 24, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    I LOVE THE MUSHROOM BURGER

  91. Tina m
    Tina m on October 24, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    i like the BLEU RIBBON.

  93. Deb Ford
    Deb Ford on October 25, 2015 at 10:47 am

    I love the Whiskey River BBQ Burger the best of the all.

  95. Linda C.
    Linda C. on October 25, 2015 at 12:18 pm

    The Prime Chophouse burger!

  99. WHITNEY
    WHITNEY on October 26, 2015 at 5:03 pm

    My favorite burger at Red Robin is the Bleu Ribbon.

  101. Debbie B
    Debbie B on October 26, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    i like the ‘royal red robin burger

  104. Angel Jacklyn
    Angel Jacklyn on October 27, 2015 at 12:09 am

    The A.1. peppercorn looks delish!

  105. Thomas Murphy
    Thomas Murphy on October 27, 2015 at 2:27 pm

    I like the Bleu Ribbon burger.

  108. Kathryn C
    Kathryn C on October 27, 2015 at 4:23 pm

    #SweepstakesEntry

    For me, it would be the *Keep It Simple* Burger

    KC

  109. Stacey
    Stacey on October 27, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    I’d have to say my favorite is the Burnin Love burger! So good and unique flavor.

  111. amanda sakovitz
    amanda sakovitz on October 28, 2015 at 11:00 am

    I like the Royal Red Robin burger!

  113. ELIZABETH P
    ELIZABETH P on October 28, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    I like the patty melt best.

  115. Ellie Wright
    Ellie Wright on October 29, 2015 at 12:33 pm

    My favorite at Red Robin is the Bansai burger. And you can’t beat the endless fries.

  117. Tabathia B
    Tabathia B on October 30, 2015 at 10:31 am

    I want to try the chili chili cheeseburger

    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

  119. angie
    angie on October 30, 2015 at 11:18 am

    Well, I have never been there. SO…I don’t have a fav! hahaha! I would love to try their veggie burgers though!

  121. Denise L
    Denise L on October 30, 2015 at 11:56 am

    I haven’t been there yet so no favorite here, but I think the Banzai burger sounds amazing.

  123. Andy
    Andy on October 30, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    I love the Bonzai Burger as well! It is so messy, but it is delicious! With Campfire sauce of course!

  124. Dyan
    Dyan on October 30, 2015 at 2:53 pm

    I like to keep it basic. Bacon Cheeseburger

  125. LAMusing
    LAMusing on October 30, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    I like the Whiskey River BBQ burger!

  126. Norma
    Norma on October 30, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    I haven’t been in years, but the Bleu Ribbon burger sounds great.

  127. Jerry Marquardt
    Jerry Marquardt on October 31, 2015 at 3:41 pm

    The best and favorite burger of mine at the Red Robin is the Guacamole Bacon Burger. M-n-n, Good!