I ordered Chili's Triple Dipper, which is going viral on TikTok. It was the best $17 I've ever spent at a chain restaurant.
People ordering Chili's appetizer combo for their main meal are getting millions of views on TikTok.
The Triple Dipper comes with a choice of three appetizers and three sauces, usually for under $20.
I tried the viral meal and thought it was a lot of food for a relatively low price.
The Triple Dipper is the latest menu item winning Chili's customers over as chains battle over who offers the best value.
TikTok videos of people eating and reviewing their Triple Dipper orders have accumulated over 30 million views on the app, and the item has received high praise.
"If you're going to Chili's and you are not getting the Triple Dipper, especially the mozzarella sticks with the Triple Dipper, you are doing it so wrong," said the creator of one TikTok video that has been viewed over 5 million times.
However, while the Triple Dipper, which comes with a choice of three appetizers and three sauces, is having a moment, it isn't new — and longtime fans of the appetizer combo are bemoaning how popular it's become because of the online trend.
"I've been getting them for so long, so I'm kind of mad everyone else is onto it now," a user commented on one TikTok video.
"The Triple Dipper has always been a fan-favorite, so I love seeing it get a viral moment on TikTok," George Felix, Chili's chief marketing officer, told Business Insider in an email. "Part of our brand purpose is to create a fun atmosphere in our restaurants, and we're now seeing that spill over into social media with our guests showing off all of their epic cheese pulls and heavy-handed ranch dips."
To see if the viral menu item was truly worth the hype, I ordered it for myself at my local Chili's.
The Triple Dipper is one of Chili's most famous menu items and has been around for years.
The Triple Dipper comes with a choice of three appetizers and three sauces. The price of most Chili's menu items vary by restaurant, but the appetizer combo usually costs under or around $20. The combo cost $17.29, excluding tax and tip, at the Chili's location I visited.
Customers can choose from a variety of appetizer options to include in the combo, from boneless or bone-in wings to the chain's Southwestern egg rolls, Big Mouth Burger Bites, Chicken Crispers, and fried mozzarella.
There's no suggestion for how many people the Triple Dipper serves, but as an appetizer, I'd say it's ideal for two people based on the number of each item you get.
I ordered one of the most popular combinations I saw on TikTok.
After watching some of the most-viewed Triple Dipper videos on TikTok, I noticed that one of the most popular orders was a combo of the Big Mouth Burger Bites, which are the chain's sliders, fried mozzarella, and the honey-chipotle Chicken Crispers.
When the large basket of food arrived at the table, my mouth started watering.
I've ordered the Triple Dipper in the past to share with friends as an appetizer. Often, we had to fight over the last egg roll or cut the sliders in half so we could all get our fill. This time around, I couldn't wait to have the entire thing to myself.
The first item I tried was the fried mozzarella.
Rather than a standard mozzarella stick, Chili's fried mozzarella is larger, almost the size of a hash-brown patty. The platter came with two pieces.
It was warm and fried to a golden crisp, smelled of Italian seasoning, and was served with marinara sauce.
The fried mozzarella was stuffed with gooey, melted cheese.
When I bit into the fried mozzarella, the cheese pull was out of this world. The fried mozzarella paired well with the marinara sauce, which had a classic tomato and basil flavor.
The cheese itself was perfectly melted, but the outside was super crispy. I could immediately see why this menu item is such a fan-favorite.
The next item in the Triple Dipper was the Big Mouth Burger Bites.
The Big Mouth Burger Bites are Chili's version of sliders. They can be served as an entrée or as part of the Triple Dipper appetizer combo platter.
The sliders come with a beef patty, American cheese, bacon bits, and sautéed onions.
These sliders perfectly filled my burger cravings.
I thought the two burger bites were a satisfying portion size and very flavorful, especially when dipped in the chain's ranch. The bacon bits were crispy and salty, and the cheese was melted perfectly over the bite-sized burgers.
The burger patty itself was a little small, but that was to be expected considering they were sliders. They were also a tad overdone for me — I thought they could have been a little more rare, but that's just my preference.
My favorite of the three appetizers was the honey-chipotle Chicken Crispers.
The meal came with three honey-chipotle Chicken Crispers, Chili's version of chicken tenders. The tenders were drenched in the spicy-sweet sauce but still exceptionally crispy and crunchy.
The inside the chicken tender was juicy, and the sauce had a lot of flavor.
I really enjoyed the kick the sauce had, without being overly spicy. Dipped in the chain's ranch, these chicken tenders really blew me away. They were flavorful and I loved the sticky texture of the sauce, which coated every inch of the tenders.
I would definitely order the Triple Dipper instead of an entrée the next time I eat at Chili's.
After ordering the Triple Dipper as my meal, I could see why it's gone viral. Not only were all three dishes extremely tasty, but I thought this meal was a great value.
Given the rising costs of dining out, and even fast food, the Triple Dipper seemed like a great deal at $17.29, especially considering how much food I received. For reference, most Chili's entrées range from $14 to $30 at my local restaurant in Glendale, New York.
I arrived at Chili's very hungry, but I still couldn't finish the massive appetizer platter. Chili's motto is "If you leave hungry, that's on you" — and the chain's embracing of this trend proves it's committed to that message.
Read the original article on Business Insider