Spicing things up at Chili's Grill and Bar

In hindsight it perhaps wasn't the best of days to set forth on a mission to consume copious amounts of food, particularly when the menu is laden with sour cream, cheese and avocado, those universally accepted symbols of fat.

A new ID photo that very morning had revealed a marked resemblance to Alvin the Chipmunk or, minus the sideburns, Elvis during the Vegas years.

Unsettled by the growing girth, and the accompanying realization that those 30 extra pounds didn't exactly arrive on overnight delivery, it was with heavy heart that I squeezed into a booth at Chili's Grill and Bar on the second floor of the Sarinah building on Jl. Thamrin.

Yet there is something so very cozy and inviting about Chili's decor which seems targeted to bring diners out of the dumps. It is best to term it a hodgepodge, aspects of Southwestern Americana (brass lamps, terra-cotta potted plants in animal shapes, quirky memorabilia) coupled with homey touches of photographs of restaurant get-togethers and thank you letters from various powers that be. It may be all over the place artistically but not in a cloying, cluttered way (we looked hard but came up empty on miniature Dutch porcelain shoes).

Comfortable booths and tables with a view over Jl. Wahid Hasyim below give the restaurant an open, airy feel. The space between the booths and tables is small, but enough so that diners can have a close conversation without being disturbed by the chatter of others. They are not too many off-putting noises emanating from the bar, which is discreetly separated by a partition, and the easy-listening music is pleasant without being intrusive.

That nagging, cynical little voice inside of me screamed "group hug everybody" as the waiter squatted down on his haunches to better hear our order. Affected, touchy-feely service must be contagious, I surmised, remembering that Joe Cool waiters with American drawls and a pronounced aversion to speaking Indonesian even to Indonesians are to be found just a stone's throw away.

Well, how wrong I was. The waiters are a young, friendly, attractive crew, and, most importantly, they know what they are doing. Like the best of their group, they listen, find out what you want and then offer suggestions. It was refreshing indeed to see people who really seemed to enjoy their work. No throwing of attitude, no sullen stares revealing they'd much rather be somewhere else, and no need to take out a restraining order to keep them from hovering.

For appetizers, we plumped for buffalo wings and chicken nachos among a list which also included smoked turkey quesadillas, nachos and tostada chips. The wings were actually drumsticks and wings daubed in a spicy (Tabasco?) sauce and accompanied by Ranch dressing. The latter seemed to be gilding the lily somewhat as the wings were deliciously piquant by themselves.

A regular order of scrumptious chicken nachos was plenty for two people. The nachos were topped with sliced chicken breast, cheese, beans, jalapeno pepper, pico de gallo sauce and sour cream. We also chose guacamole for an extra Rp 1,000.

The menu features salads (Caribbean, grilled tuna, Caesar, Chicken Frisco) and entrees from the Southwest Grill (fajitas, ribs, chicken dishes, etc); open range (country fried steaks, tacos, pasta) and burgers and sandwiches.

For those battling the bulge, or simply trying to eat healthier, Chili's has what it calls its Guiltless Grill. Save for veggie pasta, it is chicken everything -- salad, sandwich, platter, fajitas -- all with fat grams hovering between three (the salad) and 17 (fajitas). There are also steamed vegetables, a plate of which can fill you up for just Rp 2,000.

Already on the way to being sated from the starters, we ordered the chicken tacos, soft tacos with chili filling and the guiltless chicken sandwich to munch on for our main course.

First to the sandwich. Charbroiled chicken lashed with a non- fat honey mustard dressing and all the salad trimmings on a brown bread bun would no doubt have filled up a disciplined diner studiously counting calories. The bun was somewhat dry and doughy, however, and the sandwich was generally considered the only bland spot on an otherwise excellent meal. To spice things up could you could add more of the dressing (or pile on mustard by itself, which has virtually no calories), or ask to switch the bun with another bread selection.

We had chosen the soft tacos for a taste of the restaurant's namesake dish, which is bundled up in flour tortillas with cheese and lettuce. Once again, the food hit the mark, with chunks of spicy chili in a juicy tomato-based sauce.

The same glowing marks were given to the chicken tacos. Crammed with lettuce, tomatoes and slivers of chicken, the three tortillas were very good even though they were more than we could finish.

Full as we were, we tried to cram in a little dessert. On offer were piled high yogurt pie, brownie sundae, cheesecake, chocolate shake, apple pie, carrot cake and, in another nod to dieters, non-fat frozen yogurt.

The latter would have been the most appropriate choice at this point in our culinary indulgence but, never shackled by convention, we ordered the carrot cake. Hey, no shame, no gain (or something like that). We made the right choice -- a hunk of moist cake with heapings of walnuts, slices of carrot and topped by a thin layer of white frosting.

The damage? For all this food, more than enough for two, plus bottomless iced and hot teas, the cost was just over Rp 77,000. As I inched my way gingerly out of the booth, I concluded thankfully that this enjoyable, satisfying dining experience had been sufficient reason to put off the diet dilemma for one more day.

-- Epicurus