Beef Eaters

Better late then never. I have dined a plenty of establishments since my last blog related to salads.

Where shall I begin... My sister, Joan's birthday dinner. When I heard we were dining at The Texas Roadhouse in Greensburg pa. texasroadhouse.com .  My picky self thought. Well-they do have great warm, soft dinner rolls with yummy cinnamon butter. Buckets of peanuts  & tall cold beer while you wait.  It would be the perfect atmosphere for our party of 10, one would think. Until you are surprised when the party arrives and the hostess (without explanation) proceeds with seating half of our party at one table and the other half at another. Of course the first half of our party was seated 8 minutes before the second half.  My thoughts were immediately walking out the door to a more accommodating place to dine.  I wouldn't have chosen this place in the first place. To be separated for the birthday celebration, was dumb and what was the point! Its not like the food is amazing. Despite our seating debacle.

  FYI : The first Texas roadhouse was founded in 1993 in Indiana by Wayne Kent Taylor. Formally co owner of Buckheads bar and grill in Atlanta GA.  Speaking of Buckshead, Fogo de chao Steakhouse is a winner. The eloquent salad bar is amazing. fogodechao.com

Lets talk steak. I ordered a 16 oz Rib Eye. That was my mom's steak of choice, which then became mine. When I order food anywhere, I take into consideration the day of week and time of day. Most establishments have their most reliable and seasoned cooks preparing popular meals for hungry customers on a Friday or Saturday night. Well at least that is how I would schedule my seasoned crew.
I picked my steak from the case at the front of the house. As if my finger pointing would somehow make the steak amazingly tasty. I asked the person behind the case, when were these steaks cut. He didn't know. I pointed out the steak I wanted and went back to my table.
Rib eye, medium with mushrooms. Loaded sweet potato and a salad ordered.
Trying to have dinner talk with the second half of your dinner party, behind us, was pretty difficult. The joint isn't exactly quiet dining.
Dinner arrives. The loaded sweet potato is a favorite of mine. I started on that. It was good, but was over baked and flat. I am guessing it was already baked then reheated. It was not as hearty as once upon a time.
The 16 oz $22 steak, was over seasoned and not as tender as I had hoped. I did not eat the steak. The waitress was kind enough to remove the charge from our bill.
The Roadhouse doesn't fall into the countries top 50 steakhouses. Number one Steakhouse is in Beverly Hills CA. Owned by Wolfgang.  On my next trip to the Big Apple, Id like to try Peter Lugers Steakhouse, located Brooklyn Williamsburg area.. Ranked number 5 in the country.
It has been reported that the roadhouse quality of steak is less than the Longhorn, steakhouse.
Next time we want to have a party of more than 5 & need the flavor of Steak. We will do our research on seating and quality.
The best steaks in PA: Morton's steakhouse in Pgh, Ruth Chris Steaks in Pgh, Hyde Park prime steakhouse in Pgh.