Place: Bennigan's
Items: The Big Irish, the Monte Cristo
Prices: $9.39, $7.59, respectively

“Can't remember the last time we've been to Bennigan's,” we Lunch Guys said upon entering the faux Irish bar and grill. “I hear that a lot,” the hostess lass replied.

In the lunch world, two explanations arise for that. One, a franchise can be a forgotten or emerging gem just waiting for a sparkling Lunch Guys review to bring it to the world's attention. Two, it can be withering on the vine, outdated with a green pall clinging to the booths, the menu, the food itself. As our “Time Crunch Lunch” timer ticked down (“15 minutes or it's free), we clutched our lucky charms hoping the end of this Bennigan's rainbow wasn't a pot of mold.

Chris: Before I came to hold the mantle of “Lunch Guy,” I was but a simple man who

past decade. The Big Irish and the Monte Cristo were the most promising items on a depressingly basic menu. Both did what a good lunch does -- fill me up in a way that my doctor says will shave a year off my life per bite. But an overpriced dry burger and lunch meat one step above bologna in a lifeless setting doesn't exactly inspire the “Hey, let's go to Bennigan's” cubicle rallying cry.

Chris: I didn't want to kick a leprechaun when he's down, but the Big Irish was just a big American Big Mac and the Monte Cristo is a French-inspired concoction. Bennigan's can't even get that right. Time to bulldoze the place and put up another Friday's in the name of progress.

Rating: 1 [?] spork out of five

E-mail The Lunch Guys:
tomandchris@thelunchguys.com

enjoyed the fare at Bennigan's. The Big Irish essentially stacks up two jumbo Whopper patties into a super burger. The Monte Cristo combines the best of dessert (if you like raspberry-filled doughnuts) with the best of sandwiches (if you like ham, turkey and Swiss). Ain't no problem there.

The problem is that I've evolved, but Bennigan's hasn't. As I gazed out between the dusty blinds and brown film on the windows, I yearned for the newly renovated Friday's across the street with itspizzazz-sprinkled menu. Bennigan's is like going to your 10-year high school reunion and seeing everyone wearing the same acid-washed jeans and Vuarnet T-shirts as if they'd never taken them off for a single day in the