Is What You See, What You Get? Chili's Grill.

Have you ever gone into one of those family style or chain restaurants where the menu is loaded with pictures of the food? You know the menus with pictures of giant burgers or steaks dripping with melting compound butter.

How about prepared food packages with the beautifully styled food on the box. Have you ever been disappointed or maybe surprised by the quality of the contents?

In this new section of The Last Bite we'll look at the art of food marketing. You will see the difference between what you were promised and what you actually receive.

Today we visited Chili's Grill & Bar, an international restaurant chain. Chili's loves to fill their menu with seductive shots of sexy food to entice you.

We ordered the JALAPEÑO SMOKEHOUSE BACON BIG MOUTH BURGER described in the menu as:

Extra thick-cut applewood smoked bacon topped with smoked cheddar cheese, crispy tortilla strips, jalapeños, mayo, shredded lettuce, tomato and onion. Served with jalapeño-ranch dressing.

And here is the accompanying photo:

How could you not want to get this beauty? Look at that thick sliced bacon, crispy tortilla strips, melty cheese, and perfect patty nestled atop perfect layers of produce and sliced pickled jalapenos. Notice how the seeded bun is perched perfectly to show off those lean strips of perfectly crisped bacon. This is truly a masterpiece of a burger. I'm sure glad I ordered it! But is this what I got?.....

OK so admittedly this burger is not as pretty as the photo in the menu, but no one expected it to be, did they? It is however pretty darned close. All the elements of the picture are represented in the real deal and with a bit more care I bet Chili's could actually get a few out a day that almost hit the mark. It be nice if the bacon wasn't trying to escape off the side of the burger. It would also be nice if the bacon was even half a crisp as the bacon in the picture appeared to be. You don't see any translucent fatty bacon on the top picture do you? Even though you don't see tomato in the real deal it was there, and the tortilla strips tasted like they had been in the kitchen for a month but in all fairness this is an likeness comparison and the strips in the menu picture could be made of Kevlar and fiberglass for all I know.

All in all I'm gonna have to give Chili's Grill a WYSIWYG Grade C. When it comes to the JALAPEÑO SMOKEHOUSE BACON BIG MOUTH BURGER What you see is almost what you get. And what you will get when you order this in undoubtedly full!

Do you have a WYSIWYG? Send us the information and we'll follow up, or send us your photos and we'll post them for other to see If What You See Is What You Get!