McAlister's Deli

Service not so great tonight. Wouldn't substitute for a gluten free option on a salad. Mac and cheese my husband ordered was only half full.

My friend told me about this place since his work has McAlister's cater a potato bar with toppings. I thought this was a great idea since it was different than the typical food work brings in. I told my wife about this place since they mark gluten free items on their menu. We both tried a baked potato. They were quite large. We could have split one. My potato was hot in the middle, but cool around the edges. I got the Spud Max, which had bacon, ham and turkey for meat. A personal preference would be for ham and turkey chunks rather than chopped up deli slices. I would also prefer a sea salt encrusted potato skin. Would I get the potato again? Maybe. I'm interested in maybe trying a sandwich. I also tried a cup of their chilli which I quite enjoyed. I can easily see myself going back for this but now know to ask for more crackers. The drinks are huge although they fill them to the top with ice before filling. We could have split a drink. It took some time to order our food (there was two cashier's helping people and we were third in line to be helped next). I couldn't help think that a selfserve drink dispenser like most other restaurants use would help move the line along. The interruptions of customers wanting a refill would have been better served if they could do it themselves. Our biggest disappointment was when we turned to the dining room to find most of the tables with dirty dishes on them. I made a comment to my wife that a table runner just dropped off food yet didn't use the large empty tray to bus any tables on her way back to the kitchen. An employee overheard me and quickly cleared off a table for us. Shortly after two other employees came out to assist. I hope this improves. On a follow up visit, I'm changing my stars on this review to 3 (it's okay). I had the chilli again, but this time it was just okay. I also tried the nachos, which had flavor like the kind you get at an arena: horribly fake. I didn't care for the chips, and adding Rotel to the cheese tasted like the only cooking involved in this dish. Not sure why the jalapenos were served in so much juice. I remembered to ask for more crackers with my chilli, but didn't get a spoon when it was brought out, so there was a trip to the counter. My wife got the very large baked potato, which came with one very small pad of butter. It just seems dumb to include such a small amount of butter for such a large potato. If worried about waste, ask if we want butter and then be realistic. Although it was at the end of a lunch rush, the dining area was trashed. Might I suggest letting us bus our own tables or consider having an employee that just works the dining area.