{"id":2341,"date":"2026-02-17T22:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2026-02-17T22:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:48:15","slug":"applebees-tgi-fridays-dropped-over-the-top-cheesy-menu-items","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=2341","title":{"rendered":"Applebee&#8217;s &#038; TGI Fridays Dropped Over-The-Top Cheesy Menu Items"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-journey-body=\"standard-article\">\n<ul data-node-id=\"0\" class=\"css-kw9lqy emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"0.0\">In early January, Applebee\u2019s introduced the O-M Cheeseburger to its menu: a burger served in a sizzling queso skillet.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.1\">This week, TGI Fridays appears to have launched a similar offering, although customers can add the cheese skillet to five different menu items. <\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.2\">TGI Fridays Fondue It lineup is just a $3 surcharge that adds the cheesy skillet to some of the chain\u2019s classic dishes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18pb4rg emevuu60\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"2\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Chain restaurants are upping the gimmicks in a bid to attract new customers. From Chili\u2019s margarita of the month club to Pizza Hut\u2019s Backstreet Boys pizza to McDonald\u2019s limited-time caviar drop, the once-overlooked fast food chains are here to make a statement. Apparently, two popular chains have the same thought in mind: Nothing can get customers in the door quite like ooey gooey cheese. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">At the top of January, Applebee\u2019s introduced the O-M-Cheeseburger\u2014a bacon cheeseburger with spicy honey mustard served on a sizzling skillet of molten queso and cheddar. While \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.applebees.com\/en\/specials\/o-m-cheeseburger\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.applebees.com\/en\/specials\/o-m-cheeseburger\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"cheese on cheese and dipped in cheese on cheese\" data-node-id=\"3.3\" class=\"body-link css-8bav6j emevuu60\">cheese on cheese and dipped in cheese on cheese<\/a>\u201d might not sound appealing to everyone, the rollout appears to have worked. After announcing the new menu item, people on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTI63DPAfYF\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DTI63DPAfYF\/?hl=en\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"social media\" data-node-id=\"3.5\" class=\"body-link css-8bav6j emevuu60\">social media<\/a> were quick to express their intrigue in the cheesy new item. \u201cI don\u2019t even eat here anymore\u2026 but I\u2019ll be there tomorrow to try,\u201d commented one fan. Another person wrote, \u201cWow! Didn\u2019t consider Applebees as having that good a burger &#8211; thanks for sharing!\u201d <\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"instagram\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-16\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Apparently taking inspiration from Applebee\u2019s success, TGI Fridays is now getting in on the extra cheese action by debuting its new Fondue It lineup. This $3 upgrade allows customers to add a warm, bubbly cheese pour to five select menu items, served tableside. Guests can choose from either Loaded Potato Skins, the Crispy Chicken Sandwich, Bacon Cheeseburger, or Big Queso Energy Burger with Poblano Queso Fondue, or the Truffle Mushroom Burger with Alfredo Fondue. The upgrade looks surprisingly similar to Applebee\u2019s iteration, although TGI Fridays has more menu items to dunk in the hot, gooey cheese skillet. <\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"watch-next\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-17\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"7\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">If there\u2019s anything that can get me back to a chain that I haven\u2019t eaten at since college, it\u2019s definitely a mountain of cheese. <\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"editorial-link\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-18\" data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"embed\">\n<aside class=\"css-fcvumo e94w1mj1\"\/><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In early January, Applebee\u2019s introduced the O-M Cheeseburger to its menu: a burger served in a sizzling queso skillet. This week, TGI Fridays appears to have launched a similar offering, although customers can add the cheese skillet to five different menu items. TGI Fridays Fondue It lineup is just a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}