Cheddar's Arrives in Northwest Missouri

While visiting my parents in St. Joseph, Missouri, we decided to try a new restaraunt that came into the area recently. Located about 40 miles North of Kansas City, you will find several restaraunts to choose from in St. Joseph. In the last year, they have constructed a new movie theatre, several new stores and even more restaraunts to choose from located in the north end of the city.

Cheddar's co-founders Aubrey Good and Doug Rogers came up with the concept long ago and the first restaurant opened in 1978 outside of Six Flags in Arlington, Texas. Since then, Cheddar's has evolved into the perfect American restaurant. You can go in expecting made-from-scratch food with a more upscale dining experience.

We went into Cheddar's expecting something similar to Applebee's. We were surpised at how nice it was once we were inside. The decorating was great and made for a wonderful atmosphere. We were promptly seated and the staff seemed extremely friendly. Our waiter came to our table as soon as we were all seated, ready to take our drink orders and offer appetizers.

It took some time to go over the menu, since there are so many options to choose from. From a cheeseburger to steak and shrimp, there is something on the menu for everyone. You can start with a number of appetizers, including their Homemade Onion Rings, Santa Fe Spinach Dip or Crazy Nachos. They also offer a kid's menu, with several choices, as well as a tasty dessert menu. Their legendy dessert, "The Cookie Monster Wow!" looked amazing. However, by the end of our meal, there was definitely no room for dessert.

While looking through the menu, we were quite surprised at the prices. We couldn't believe what a great value it seemed to be. After ordering and then receiving our meals, we realized just what a good bargain it was. The portion sizes were huge and very tasty. I ended up having to get a to-go box to take home my leftovers. I noticed I wasn't the only one needing a to-go box. Several other customers were leaving with their leftovers as well.

I ended up ordering the Cheddar's Club. It was roasted turkey breat and hickory smoked bacon piled with bacon, two cheese, lettuce, tomato and seasoned mayonnaise. It was wonderful. My husband ordered a bacon cheeseburger, and said it was one of the best he has ever had. My mother ordered the chicken finger basket, and my father ordered the chicken fried steak dinner. These all looked wonderful. With all of these options, it definitely made it hard to choose what to get!

We were very impressed with our experience at Cheddar's. We enjoyed great food while sitting in a wonderful atmosphere with great prices. We couldn't have been happier with our first experience. We will definitely be going back for another visit when we are in the area. Today there are over 60 Cheddar's restaurants nationwide. I would definitely recommend finding one to try in your area!