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Marie Callender's Bakery & Restaurant
By: Ed Wright
Marie Callender’s
(909) 793-0988
1625 Industrial Park Ave.
Redlands, Ca.
Perhaps one of Redlands most overlooked (and unknown) dining values is Marie Callender’s incredible Sunday Brunch Buffet… this buffet has been open for over a year now and becoming very popular, and for good reason. Quality, Quantity and a Great Value at only $14.99. Try the “Bananas Foster,” prepared as you watch… very flashy presentation for a budget conscious restaurant (and tasty also).
Presently not all of the Marie Callender’s Restaurants offer the Sunday Buffet, but fortunately for the Inland Empire the Redlands franchise does. In researching this review I was told that about half of Marie Callender’s Restaurants (mostly the larger, newer ones) are providing the Sunday buffet. We stopped in early on Easter Sunday morning and found the typical breakfast extravaganza being provided… already crowded, and serving up lots of breakfast and brunch specialties. Marie Callender’s is noted for quality, plus their service was excellent and as anyone can see from the pictures very well presented.
Important to note, despite the crowd the lines were kept moving even though they were cooking omelets to order ect… Please note that we did not perform a review of the food during this visit, but had done so several weeks earlier without a camera… so this time we took the time to talk with the manager, camera in hand, who happily gave us a full tour of the facilities. We were shown the pie station, ovens and walk in storage areas… all very clean in spite of being exceptionally busy because they were serving a full house their Sunday Buffet at the time.
When we checked back on Monday, they had set a new serving record for their brunch; so clearly the word about it is getting out. What I find most impressive with Marie Callender’s is their consistency; as a mortgage banker/broker (I do home loans for a living) we are constantly going to lunch and dinner with clients… and the Marie Callender’s has long been a popular destination for both business and pleasure dining and conversation. The bar area is perfect for sharing a coke and writing up a loan application during the day.
As for recommendations, still one of my (The Wright Gourmet) personal favorites is Marie Callender’s own award winning “Artichoke Chicken” and of course their original Cheese Burgers and/or Soup & Salad Bar. In case anyone has forgotten, Marie Callender’s was one of the original restaurants to provide a “Soup and Salad” Bar featuring a vast selection of absolutely fresh salad making and Marie Callender’s famous salad dressings (sold in many local grocery stores)… not to mention very good soups.
My only gripe with this is that officially the salad bar is a single trip only, and not an “All-You-Can-Eat,” but then my guess is that they have seen my waist line and assumed correctly that one trip through is all that I should eat! Unfortunately “The Wright Gourmet” needs to lose some weight. I hate it when that happens!
Of interest during my tour thru the kitchen area was just the astounding number of pies the Redlands Marie Callender’s makes literally right in their own kitchen… and if you notice the popular fresh strawberry pies are all being filled by hand with very strict quality control. Also of interest was the ovens where Marie Callender’s was preparing their meats. Attention to detail was everywhere, which is evident in the quality of their menu, items and meal presentations. If somehow you have been under the misconception that Marie Callender’s is only a “Pie Shop,” you will be pleasantly surprised by their selection of fresh seafood and other typical Bakery & Bistro style menu items… all making for the perfect business lunch destination; complete with a full bar for the adults.
Minor Gripe: Although it is evident that Marie Callender’s is very careful to assure their restaurants are impeccably clean (A rated by the Health Department), the facilities are becoming dated and somewhat out of style… looking like a 1970’s dinner house and somewhat worn, dark and dated.
The Plus: My trivial gripe aside, Marie Callender’s still provides a very family friendly priced menu with something everyone is bound to enjoy… not to mention they consistently make some of the best fresh fruit pies (plus other varieties also) in the industry. Several of our favorite pies you may want to try if you see them available are the Cream Cheese Cherry, Sour Cream Apple and Key Lime pies… but our all time personal favorite has always been Marie Calleder’s Fresh Peach (very seasonal).
Note: Other than the “Pie Tin” fee, we would enjoy hearing other’s reviews of Marie Callender’s and look forward to hearing from our reviewing friends about what we over looked, that they enjoy, in this review… but somehow we fail to understand why other reviewers do not rate this restaurant at the top of their dining short lists; Marie Callender’s is one of Redlands best bets for a great lunch or since late 2005, their fabulous Sunday Brunch. Friendly staff, great pricing and generous serving sizes (All-You-Can-Eat); Try it once and you will be back.
This article was posted by: Ed Wright and Central City Mortgage’s “Wright Team,” specializing in Residential and Commercial Mortgage Lending… Purchase and Refinance. Serving all of California from offices in the Inland Empire. For all your mortgage lending questions please call Ed Wright “Your Personal Mortgage Consultant For Life” at (909) 938-3777 or E-Mail “The Wright Team:” Ed@ForHomeLoan.info For other Questions and Answers about this Restaurant Review Magazine, Reviews and/or to Submit Reviews; Click Here
To post comments about this review in “Real Time” using “The Wright Gourmet” Suggestions and Comments area (you can use the “QuickSearch” to find the review in question) Click Here:http://www.TheWrightGourmet.com
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What Others Have To Say:
2 other reviews...
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Marie Callender’s
(909) 793-0988
1625 Industrial Park Ave.
Redlands, Ca.
Review submitted by: George G.
& Shelly M.
Hello Ed. So “The Wright Gourmet” thinks that Marie Calender’s is more than just a Pie Shop. I am not sure why I find that so funny other than the fact we ran into you eating there also, and found the discussion about your restaurant magazines going back online interesting. The restaurant review thing is kind of fun, and does make you consider what your meal was all about, and just what it was we liked most and disliked.
What is most eye opening is just how much fast food we eat and just how much we are really paying for something I’m not sure we enjoy all that much when we could have had a better sit-down meal for about the same. Your review rating system has us rethinking where we go to eat a little more carefully.
We have been coming to Marie Callender’s for about as long as I can remember, and probably would not have pies on Thanks Giving at our family dinner if it was not for ordering them from Marie’s. Marie Callender pies have become a family tradition that no other pie can replace. Costco may make a bigger pie for less, but Marie Callender's makes the best pumpkin pies period. As for the Pie Tin Fee we were laughing about, my parents have so many stored in their cupboard that if we returned them all at one time we could all eat for free on the refund! The pie tin fee is a bit of a rip off because we never seem to return them, but that is Marie's little game to charge a little more for each pie.
Before you mentioned it Ed, we had not considered Marie Callender’s as much of a “dining spot,” even though we do go to their Sunday buffet a bunch, probably because all of our friends kind of consider it an “older persons” restaurant, and it is where my parents go like to go. When puched by your score card however we scored the food is very good, and the prices OK (maybe a bit high). In calculating out a rating based on your review guidelines we totaled up a score of 89.
It is funny how high the score is until you realize that it is a total of each area we scored. I guess we liked it more than we would have if you just asked us to score it without your breakdown. Both my girlfriend and myself go to “TGI Fridays” a lot more often than Marie’s, but have to admit we rated TGI’s lower than Marie’s using your breakdown. Go figure!
Marie Callender’s Sunday buffet rates a complete 100 however, and is one of the best values for the money in the area. Very good food. We always eat way too much. | | Other Reviews
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