It’s a Friday night and you and your friends are looking for a quick bite to eat. One of your friends wants Mexican food, but the others want something completely different. Where are you going to find a restaurant that fits everyone’s desires? After throwing around a few ideas, the Ninety-Nine restaurant seemed like the perfect choice.

I’ve heard the slogan “great meal, great deal” all the time on the chain restaurant’s commercials, but I was curious to test the marketing saying. I decided to head on down to the Ninety-Nine in Centerville to see what all the fuss was about.

Because it is a chain restaurant, I had my doubts on the quality of the restaurant’s food. After walking into the bright restaurant, my friends and I were greeted by the friendly staff who politely held open the door for us. We were quickly lead to one of the high tables seated near the bar. Once seated, I noticed the restaurants organized set-up with three different areas– two regular sitting areas on the sides of the restaurant and one larger area in the middle designated to the bar area.

The restaurant’s dimmed rooms are filled with pictures from Barnstable High School’s sports teams. Also throughout the restaurant, 99 numbered signs are placed around the dining area explaining 99 reasons why the restaurant is “amazing.” Kind of cliche, if you ask me, but still a good idea.

The Ninety-Nine has the typical fountain drinks, Sprite, Coke, root beer, etc. The drink menu, however, also came along with specialty drinks. The bubble green tea caught my eye after seeing the yellow colored drink plastered on the menu. Now this wasn’t just your average green tea drink, inside the beverage were little bubbles that popped in your mouth when you chewed on them, giving you an extra flavor. It was pretty good.

After the drinks were placed on our table, it was time to order. I choose to go with the 6 ounce  steak with a side of coleslaw and corn. However, after mentioning to  my friends that I wanted to get a salad, the waitress offered the menu upgrade. Instead of getting just a single dinner dish, you could get a side dish, like a salad, and also dessert. Sounds expensive, right? Upgrading to the three course meal only added an extra $4 to the bill. Sounds like a deal to me.

Although the restaurant was very busy because it was a weekend night, we waited almost no time before we got our food. To my surprise, our meals were generously portioned with our chosen sides positioned around the surrounding edges of the dish– quite the packaged meal.

 Despite the traditional steak, my order was seasoned with a slightly spicy sauce that gave the steak originality. I was given a thick piece of steak which was cooked just as I had asked, medium well. As much as I enjoyed my perfectly cooked steak, I couldn’t help but wish to try my friend’s pasta that smelled delicious.

Next was dessert. A New England dish with cinnamon spiced apples and scoop of vanilla bean ice cream did the trick for me. The sweet ice cream was perfect after a slightly spicy steak, definitely something to have on a hot day.

After finishing the meal, I believe that the Ninety-Nine is a good restaurant. Their typical menu is transformed with different flavors and specialties, making their food worth coming back to. All in all, my friends and I each paid only $14, plus a good tip for our waitress.