After last week’s offbeat coffee chronicles, it was back to normalcy. What’s more “normal” than a typical dinner at O’Charley’s to step back into the reality of the many chain restaurants we are fortunate to have here in Bowling Green.

O’Charley’s offers a local touch as well, with a huge mural of Bowling Green and Kentucky favorites, like a red Corvette and the Corvette Museum served on a platter, as well as a beautiful woman with a derby hat at least 100 times actual size.

Another pleasing part of the chain restaurant scene is that they are always offering something new and exciting. Today, my dining companion and I tried everything new, starting with drinks, but not ending with dessert because a stomach is a limited container for newness.

By the end of the meal, my dining companion described our wait staff as delightful, which she was, but at the beginning of the meal we had to wait so long, the management comped our appetizer. I will say O’Charley’s restaurant staff was attentive and seemed to be aware of our every move!

In the spirit of newness (and because the menu noted I’d never tasted anything like it) I ordered the pretzel crunch chicken tenders with Dijon dipping sauce. They were right. The pretzel breading offered a unique taste and a light, extra crispy texture. It was like dipping a pretzel into mustard, with the added bonus of tender chicken breast in between.

Our drinks arrived after the appetizer, which never sits well with me. I’m a stickler for the “dining experience” which to me means, drinks right away, appetizers or bread to quickly follow (because liquor does have a more intense effect on an empty stomach), then salads just after the appetizer has been mostly eaten, and finally entrees just about five minutes after my salad has had time to settle.

The tangerine pineapple margarita I had was delicious. What a perfect balance between the too-sweet-for-me strawberry margaritas and the tartness of a regular margarita. My dining companion was not so lucky with his mojito because O’Charley’s was out of fresh mint. He sent the drink back. This is not exclusive to O’Charley’s, but I’d like to suggest to restaurants that if you’re out of a main ingredient, please let us patrons know ahead of time. We really can think for ourselves and will probably opt to order something else, instead of feeling like you are trying to put one over on us.

For dinner, I had the Key West mahi. This was a flavorful fish served with a tropical salsa on top with rice on the side. The taste overall was acceptable, but the fruit was hard to bite into. My dining companion (who normally doesn’t like fish) actually enjoyed the fruit that seemed to lift the fish taste.

My dining companion ordered the pecan chicken tender salad, which is not as new as the other items we ordered, but it was new to us. This was a delicious blend of honey-roasted Georgia pecans, chicken tenders, bleu cheese, mandarin oranges and cranberries on romaine lettuce served with a balsamic vinaigrette.

My sense was right and O’Charley’s was the perfect step back into the customary world of dining that I realized is anything but ordinary. Looking at the staff, from the hostess to the wait staff to the manager, there’s a lot of time, energy, sweat and maybe even some tears that go into creating meals for hundreds of people each day. How fortunate we are to live in a country like this. Happy Fourth!

— Our anonymous food reviewer gives new restaurants a six-week grace period before reviewing. To comment, contact managing editor Mike Alexieff at 783-3235 or via e-mail to malexieff@bgdailynews.com.

O’CHARLEY’S RESTAURANT

2717 Scottsville Road

• 781-0806

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and

Saturday; Sunday brunch at 10:15 a.m., open until 10 p.m.

Cuisine: American

Price range: $7.79 to $17.49

Libation situation: Full bar

Smoking: Yes