We had tried the Texas Roadhouse before. It was really loud and noisy, but I thought their food and prices were good. Nancy had a problem when our server didn’t clean off the table after we finished and we hadn’t been back.
Last week, in the mood for a steak but not a fancy restaurant, my bride of 51 years said, “Let’s try that loud place again.”
And so we did, and I will say right here, it was amazing. The food was outstanding, the service good and the prices were an incredible value.
We had eaten there before in the afternoon, and I suppose the noise sounded louder – they do a lot of whooping and Texas yells, but on this weekend night, the place was packed. It was noisy, but any restaurant with a full house is going to be noisy.
There was a line to get in and the hostess said it would be a 20 or 25 minute wait, but we saw a couple empty stools at the bar and perched on those.
There are two good reasons to eat at the bar whenever possible. First, you sit side by side and can actually hear each other in a conversation. Second, the service is always superior. Need a refill on water? Raise your hand and it’s done. Want a glass of wine with dinner? The server/bartender is right there. Restaurants usually put their best people at the bars so you can rely on experienced servers and excellent service.
The food, though, was the star of the show.
We passed on what looked like several delightful appetizers and I ordered a 10-ounce ribeye with grilled shrimp, a salad and fresh veggies.
Nancy went for a steak, baked potato and salad. She also had a couple home-made yeast rolls smothered in butter. And they were like cake. Really good.
The salads were unusually good – cold and crisp and a large helping of various lettuce and greens with crumbled hard-boiled eggs, carrots, cheese and other delightful tidbits in the mix. It was remarkably good.
My ribeye was cooked perfectly and was as good as you would get in the finest steak house. They offer a medium doneness which is nice and pink in the middle, but not red. That’s how I like it and that’s how it was served. I also had a skewer of five shrimp served over grilled, buttered yeast rolls. Wow! Top notch.
The drinks were $5.75, I believe, and they offered a Texas-size serving of wine for $8. Basically, they filled an entire wine glass. A real value. My steak and shrimp was about $21 and Nancy’s was $17 or so. The check before tax for food, wine and drinks was less than $70.
We were both pleased with the food and service and it appears this may take the place of the now-gone Travinia’s as one of our go-to restaurants.
The Texas Roadhouse (not to be confused with the Texas Steak House & Saloon) is located in Albemarle Square beside the site of the old Outback. If you don’t mind a little whooping and hollering, give it a try. I give it five stars.