My husband and I wanted a great restaurant to share our Valentine’s Day meal, so we went with one of our favorites, O’Charley’s on Frederica, here in Owensboro. Most restaurants (given the fact that they’re operated by humans) will have “off nights.”  Maybe they’ll overcook the fries or leave the plate under the hot lights so long your rice nearly returns to its pre-cooked form. We recently had both of these scenarios at a couple of different restaurants in Owensboro.   Funny, you can go to a restaurant a gazillion times but the one you remember is your last visit.

Restaurant managers would do well to keep this in mind.  Don’t drop the ball! You might not get another shot.

O’Charley’s, thankfully, almost always gets it right.   I, personally, have never eaten anything at O’Charley’s that wasn’t excellent.

The bread is always fresh, soft, and delicious (and served with real butter, always a hit with me).  O’Charley’s rolls are, actually, some of the best you can get out. They sort of just melt in your mouth. Do I even have to tell you how wild I am about that???  Their salads are also fantastic.  I’m pretty picky when it comes to tossed salads and even picker about dressings.  O’Charley’s hits the ball out of the park with their salads and the French dressing is fantastic.   It costs a tiny bit extra, buy you’ll want to order bacon on your salad.  When the bacon hits their great French dressing, magic ensues.

Their steaks are always perfectly delicious and deliciously perfect and their Bruschetta Chicken is the stuff dreams are made of.  Each bite makes your eyes roll into the back of your head.  THAT good.

Their Teriyaki Sesame Tilapia and Cowboy Sirloin are also as good as it gets.

Michael, who is nuttier than a giant Payday candy bar,  had been talking for weeks about a new dish on the O’Charley’s menu: New York Pizza Pasta.  The boy talked about it with such love in his eyes and hunger in his voice that I knew for certain what he’d order.

Then he didn’t.

We both saw another new dish on the menu at the same time: Chicken Italia (Grilled chicken breast topped with mozzarella, tomatoes, asparagus, and lemon butter served on top of linguini with Parmesan Cheese and garlic butter ).  It had me hook, line, and sinker when I saw the words butter, garlic, linguini, and grilled chicken strung together.  When I read the description, I knew that my husband would have a dilemma on his hand.  Sure, he’d been craving the New York Pizza Pasta  for weeks – but Chicken Italia had a secret weapon: Asparagus.  He is almost as obsessed with asparagus as I am catfish.  If it’s ever on a menu, it’ll find it’s way to his plate.  Every time.

I gave the very friendly server (who’s face strongly resembled Taylor Swift’s beautiful face) my order:

• Salad with French Dressing, with bacon
• Chicken Italia
• Ooey Goey Caramel Dessert

When our server turned to my husband, he said, “The exact same thing she ordered.”  Dilemma solved.  Advantage asparagus.

When she asked if we wanted mushrooms added, we of course said we did.  I’m never one to turn down mushrooms.  Like bacon on salads, there’s an extra fee for mushrooms, so if you have mushrooms added to your meal, know that there’s a price on those ‘shrooms.

After we enjoyed the heck out of our bread, iced tea, and salads, our server brought the main dishes.  Everything at O’Charley’s is plated so beautifully that it’s fun to feast with your eyes before the mouth gets involved.  I’m happy to say that it was even more delicious than it was beautiful.  The grilled chicken, all by itself, would have been a colossal experience.  It was simply outstanding.   The pasta, mushrooms, and asparagus were also Heavenly.

Every delectable bite had so much wonderful flavor that I never wanted our meal to end.  However, there was a sweet little reward when it did end.  We each ordered a little Ooey Goey Caramel Pie for dessert and, take it from me, this is one of the best desserts in town.  It defied description. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Michael even told the friendly manager that it’s his favorite thing he’s ever had at O’Charley’s. I have to tell you, this manager was so friendly. He even took my husband’s empty (very, very empty) plate and fork for him.  Very cool. Very friendly.

As we were leaving, a hostess held the door open for us and told us to have a great night. That’s the kind of friendly atmosphere I LOVE in a restaurant. Applebee’s used to do the same thing.  The past few times, they haven’t, so I was really glad to see O’Charley’s keeping with the warm and friendly tradition.

Whether it’s lunch or dinner, you can’t possibly go wrong with O’Charley’s in Owensboro.  Along with Owensboro’s Olive Garden, O’Charley’s is the very definition of consistently fantastic.