Texas Roadhouse
13 January 2012
Recently, my brother was in town for a visit. On the Friday evening before he left, I decided to take he and my mother out for dinner. Both of us had never been to Texas Roadhouse but had heard good things about it. So we planned to meet after I was done at work.
I called after they opened for lunch to inquire about a reservation. No, they didn’t take reservations but did offer call ahead seating. Which basically puts your name on the guest list as though you’d walked in and asked for a table for 3. OK, I can work with that. I called as soon as I got out of work, we arrived, waited approximately 10 minutes, and were seated. During that 10 minutes, we munch and crunched on peanuts. Not quite sure what the allure of being allowed to toss one’s empty peanut shells on the floor is, but whatever.
We were seated, menus and more peanuts were waiting for us. The hostess that walked us to our table brought a basket with some of Texas Roadhouse’s hot fresh rolls. With cinnamon butter. All I can say is they were really good, there is nothing better than a freshly baked yeast roll. And TR knows how to pull these off.
Our server took our drink order. The 3 of us all ordered iced tea. Our server saw to it that we never drank to the bottom of a glass before another full glass was in place.
We perused the menu. I was definitely getting a steak, the only question was which one. By the time our drinks arrived, we were ready to place our order. We started with a Baby Blossom. This is a batter-dipped fried onion with it’s layers cut and spread like petals of a flower. It was served with a tasty Cajun horseradish sauce for dipping. I ordered the 20 oz. rib eye cooked medium rare, as did my brother. I chose a baked potato and steamed broccoli for my sides. My brother chose the steak fries and steamed broccoli for his. My mom got the Roadkill, a 10 oz. chopped steak with sautéed onions, sautéed mushrooms, and jack cheese. For her sides, she chose applesauce and steamed broccoli.
The Baby Blossom arrived quickly, and hot. We pulled pieces of it off and dipped it into the horseradish sauce. it’s amazing just how good a fried onion tastes. Never underestimate the flavor of a good fried onion.
As we peeled the petals of the blossom off and whisked them into our mouths, our entrees soon arrived.
My eyes were met with what I believe is the largest steak I have ever been served. And it looked great! We each took a knife and fork and cut into our respective steaks. The rib eye nearly melted in my mouth. Yes, I have a bevy of adjectives to describe it: tender, juicy, hot, flavorful, beefy, you understand? I savored each bite, wanting to enjoy it fully. The steak was cooked as I requested, medium rare. Beautifully seared on the outside and still pink on the inside. TR uses some sort of peppercorn sauce on the rib eye. Not sure what was in that but the steak’s flavor and seasoning were great.
Mom’s Roadkill was server with onions and mushrooms with melted cheese over the top. It looked and smelled very delicious.
The potato I was served looked great, a generous amount of butter in a salt-coated tuber. Just the way I like it. But I came to TR to eat steak. And I didn’t even take a bit of the potato. And I only tasted the broccoli to see how hot it was. Happy to say it was still very warm even 10 minutes into my meal. And from the one floret I ate, seemed to be steamed perfected.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. However, Texas Roadhouse was a real treat. We didn’t feel rushed, our food was cooked as we ordered it, yes!