Red Robin is one of my favorite chain restaurants ever. Hamburgers are one of my favorite foods and Red Robin does them deliciously. I was hungry so I grabbed my new GoPro camera and headed down to my local RR to grab a burger, try a new appetizer and spend my Year of Yummm gift cards.
I could talk for hours about the burgers (especially the Tavern Burgers), the milkshakes, the seasoning and the unlimited french fries, but the new appetizer I tried on this visit was the Garlic Parmesan Pretzel Bites.
Bear claw pretzel bites tossed in a garlic-Parmesan sauce and topped with grated Parmesan cheese. Served with roasted garlic aioli.
I was a huge fan, and they were only $5. There are typically pretzel bites on the menu but these new pretzels had a garlic cheese mix on them that make them taste much better. The sauce was ok, but a little too mayo-ey. I would have liked to dip them in the Fat Tire beer cheese they normally serve the pretzels with but I wanted to try the item the way it was on the menu.
The reason I was at Red Robin on this particular day was because I was finishing out my Year of Yummm.
A Year of YUMMM was a promotion that I purchased at the beginning of the year. For $100 up front, I received a $15 Red Robin gift card on the first of the month for 12 straight months (which is a total of $180). The idea was that it would bring people into the restaurant 12 times and since the meal seemed “free” to the consumers since they already paid they would spend above the $15 and possibly show up with friends and family.
It isn’t a bad idea, but I think it was mostly discovered by “bargain-hunters” like me. Each month I spent about $12 for my burger & unlimited fries with a soda and then tipped the remainder of the gift card (you are allowed to do that). The gift cards didn’t expire and could be combined, so if I missed a month, the next month I’d bring my girlfriend and our entire meal would be covered.
In the end, I spent zero additional dollars due to this promotion and used all of my gift cards, not wasting anything, and getting my $80 worth of free burgers. I was sad to see that Red Robin did not repeat this promotion for 2019.
I really enjoyed my Year of Yummm and I’m glad I had a chance to try the new appetizer before they took it off the menu. However, your chance to do the same for both is no longer available.