Valentine’s Day at Marie Callendar’s

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Marie Callendar’s is debuting their Pair & Share menu. I decided to grab the crew (my four lovely children and my hubby) and go check out this too good to be true deal. First of all let me put out there that I used to eat at Marie’s often as a child, with my grandma or one of my great aunts, but have not eaten there in quite some time. Walking in the restaurant brought memories flooding back. The delicious pies displayed in the front, just waiting for someone to come by and eat them. The deor hasn’t changed much (if I remember correctly) but sometimes that can be a good thing, after all if it’s not broken why fix it. It was a rainy night here in SoCal so the warm and homey feel of the restaurant was very welcome.

Now to most important part, the FOOD! The first thing our server brought out was some of Marie Callendar’s famous corn bread. Yummy. It was so warm the butter just melted right on. While the server got our drinks we took a look at the menu, WOW I have seen these dinner for two type deals before, but never with this many great options. Since there were six of us we got three Pair & Share meals. My husband and daughter started their meal off with some Mozzarella Sticks. They were perfection ( I tried one, because well, why not?) the cheese was just melted enough that you didn’t feel like you were biting into a string cheese but still together enough that you weren’t left with a cheesy mess. Two of my boys opted for two House Salads. My youngest son is a boy after my own heart so we shared the Fresh Avocado and Shrimp Stack. This is one of the items that really blew me away. Not only was it delicious, but I was so pleasantly surprised to see the amount of shrimp and avocado they give you. I know with a name like Fresh Avocado and Shrimp Stack you are probably wondering what I was expecting haha. I have been duped before and gotten a slice of avocado on things that say avocado, also shrimp is usually used sparingly. I was in AVO heaven. I didn’t really get much shrimp because my son figured since I was enjoying the avocado so much he would go ahead and eat ALL of the shrimp.

Next up were our entrees. The hubs and two boys opted for the Traditional Frisco Burger, a cooked to order patty atop a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and Sweet Gherkin Thousand Island all between a grilled parmesan sourdough. My little princess ordered the Chicken Street Tacos, mind you my husband is full hispanic and I am half so we know tacos, and while I wouldn’t say these are traditional street tacos, I will say they were delicious!. I’m a sucker for cabbage and a good sauce so the shredded cabbage and Chipotle Ranch made these tacos a contender for my favorite. My meal partner got the Double Shrimp Pasta and as with the Shrimp appetizer, this did not disappoint . My son could not have been happier. In case you couldn’t tell he LOVES shrimp, not only does this pasta have sauteed shrimp in the pasta it is topped with Jumbo breaded shrimp as well. I went with a classic, the Roasted Turkey Dinner. I mean who can say no to a classic Thanksgiving meal, not this girl. The apple- sage stuffing and mashed potatoes were fluffy and a great complement to the thick and juicy slices of turkey piled on top of them. All of this goodness covered with gravy…oh man let me unbutton my pants now. After all of this I couldn’t possibly eat dessert….WRONG, there’s always room for dessert!

It is no surprise that Marie Callendar’s offers such a great selection of pies, after all that’s how Marie got her start. What was surprising was that almost all of the pies were an option with the Pair & Share deal. I expected maybe 5 choices but oh no Marie did not disappoint. The only thing off limits was their cheesecakes and seasonal fruit pies. So here’s how it went down. My daughter, being my daughter, wanted two pies. Her daddy was nice enough to let her have his, so my slender little eight year old had a slice of Banana Cream Pie and a slice of Coconut Cream Pie. One son got the Chocolate Cream Pie and the other went with a Classic Apple Pie. I was tempted into trying the Kahlua Cream Cheese Pie and my meal partner got what I think was the best pie….the Caramel Apple Cream Cheese Pie…Oh My Sweet Caramel. I am still thinking about it, as a matter of fact I may have to go back and get one. Now if you read this whole thing and aren’t grabbing your keys right now to head on over to Marie Callendar’s you may very possibly have a problem. No but seriously, head on over you will not regret it. Marie, after all these years you still know how to put a smile on this girls face!

Pair and Share:

2 for $25*

CHOOSE ONE APPETIZER:

Mozzarella Sticks
Cheesy Artichoke Dip
Crispy Green Beans
2 House Salads or 2 Cups of Soup

CHOOSE 2 ENTRÉES:

Callender’s Cheeseburger
Knife & Fork Chili Burger
Traditional Frisco Burger
Classic French Dip
Albacore Tuna Melt
Meatloaf on Parmesan Sourdough
Chicken Street Tacos

CHOOSE 2 SLICES OF PIE: enjoy more than 30 different varieties including: Apple, Pumpkin, Banana Cream, Coconut Cream, Lemon Meringue, and Coconut Cream and more!

2 for $35*

CHOOSE ONE APPETIZER:

Crispy Chicken Tenders
Mozzarella Sticks
Cheesy Artichoke Dip
Crispy Green Beans
Fresh Avocado and Shrimp Stack
2 House Salads or Cups of Soup

CHOOSE 2 ENTRÉES:

Braised and Slow-Roasted Pot Roast
Roasted Turkey Dinner
Chicken & Broccoli Fettuccine
Double Shrimp Pasta
Home-Style Meatloaf

CHOOSE 2 SLICES OF PIE: enjoy more than enjoy more than 30 different varieties including: Apple, Pumpkin, Banana Cream, Coconut Cream, Lemon Meringue, and Coconut Cream and more!

~ Patty

*Price and participation may vary per location. Excludes cheesecakes and seasonal fresh fruit pies. Not valid with Free Pie Monday and Burger Thursday Weekday Specials.