SIZZLER - 2 meals in 1

I know... not the finest in dining establishments, but I have a soft spot for cafeteria style food, and Sizzler's salad bar definitely falls in that category. I think it must remind me of school food...that awesome greasy square cut pizza we used to get in the plastic molded tray. Anyhoo, I went there recently with my friend Sharon to get our usual salad bar (goddamn those chicken wings at the hot bar are SOOOO good), and the lovely cashier woman pointed out to us that for the $9.99 we were going to spend on the salad bar, we could order one of 3 items on their menu which INCLUDES the salad bar (fried shrimp, hamburger, malibu chicken).

Sharon got the hamburger, I got the malibu chicken. This is far too much food, even for someone who loves food as much as I do. I went for my usual round of salad, and then 4 chicken wings. Sharon managed 6! She's a rockstar. She said the burger was actually really good. I saw that it was slightly pink on the inside and pretty darn juicy, so I was convinced. Plus, the girl used to be the photo editor at Bon Appetit so if she says it's good, I totally believe her.


The malibu chicken frankly didn't look appetizing to me, so I decided to take it home for another meal. It's made of a chicken patty (it's obviously processed into a shape), ham, melted cheese and a dijon sauce that conveniently comes in a little plastic container that you can just drop into your styrofoam to go box. I got the baked potato with it which also comes with a side of sour cream & chopped green onions and butter. I loaded all of that stuff up, minus the butter (I prefer to use my own Earth Balance at home... the buttery goodness without the gamey animal taste of butter and no trans fats - Hurrah!). The dish also comes with CHEESE TOAST!


Cheese toast makes me happy. It brings me back to good ol' Stockton when there used to be a joint called Happy Steak (pre-Sizzler). It was awesome... I'm guessing it might have been a branch of Lawry's since they always had the Lawry's seasoned salt on the tables. The H in Happy actually had a smiley face on it. They ALWAYS had the cheese toast and that's where I got addicted to putting Lawry's seasoned salt on my baked potato. I can't have it any other way anymore.
So of course I packed my 2 slices of cheese toast into my styrofoam and hit the dessert bar. Where else in Los Angeles can you find Ambrosia salad (a white mess of marshmallows, sour cream, shredded coconut and canned tropical fruit)? I actually dig their little soft serve ice cream machine...the combo swirl of vanilla & chocolate in one of those plain cones with some chopped peanuts.

CUT TO: NEXT DAY LUNCH... I decided to go for the malibu chicken plate. The patty fits perfectly between the 2 slices of cheese toast and I spread some of the dijon sauce on the bread before heating it all back up in the oven. I have my baked potato, my earth balance, the sour cream & green onions from Sizzler, and my own personal shaker of Lawry's seasoned salt.
This was actually really shockingly delicious.