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Ate: January 27, 2006 Published: January 29, 2006 $$$ After recent weeks reviewing Italian, Japanese and seafood, we decided that it was time to check out a good old-fashioned steakhouse. We headed a short way south from downtown Myrtle Beach, heading for a place called the Texas Roadhouse Grill. We walked in and were greeted by one hundred percent pure Americana. The owners played the old west motif to the hilt. The walls were festooned with plenty of animal heads, interspersed with pictures of old west gunfighters. The current country hits coming over the speakers matched the decorations perfectly. This was our kind of place. We kicked back and relaxed, reading the menu while Montgomery Gentry's latest song played. Just about every steakhouse serves a big fried onion. The Texas Roadhouse Grill calls theirs the Cactus Flower. We were good and hungry, so we tore into ours as soon as the waitress delivered it. The cook had quick-fried the onion perfectly. The coating was golden brown and crisp while the onion inside was still juicy. The sweetness of the onion's caramelized sugars matched well with the savory seasonings in the batter. We weren't able to eat the whole thing, but we did put a very respectable dent in it. Our next course was a salad for my wife and a cup of soup for myself. Her salad was big, quite a bit bigger than your average dinner salad. Along with all of the things you usually expect on a salad, it also came with plenty of sliced boiled egg and, in her case, a good chunky bleu cheese dressing. It was big enough that she wasn't able to eat all of it, mindful that her main course was yet to come. When the waitress said "cup of soup," she wasn't kidding because my creamy potato soup was delivered in a coffee mug. If I were to nit-pick a little bit, I would have to say that the soup was a bit bland for my taste. It was rich and hearty, but my personal preference would have been for a little more "zing." Just like everything else we encountered at the Texas Roadhouse Grill, their main courses are huge. My bride's chopped beef steak was a full pound of meat and accompanied by an equally oversized potato. She took a deep breath and dug in. As I usually do, I helped myself to a couple of bites. The beef was cooked well done and had a good, tasty wood-fired char on the crust, but it hadn't been dried out. There was still plenty of juice inside the meat to go with the generous layers of gooey jack cheese and mushroom gravy. It all went together in one rich, almost decadent, combination. If you've read our other reviews, you know by now that I am a sucker for things with the word 'drunken' in their name. Tonight was no exception, and I went for their drunken sirloin. The thick cut of meat was served very rare, cooked to perfection. If you like your meat a little more done, you may disagree with my use of the word "cooked," but it came just like I ordered it. The taste of the bourbon in the marinade came through lightly, adding a fine accent to a nice cut of beef. For my own massive spud, I had requested the extra calorie bomb of sour cream, bacon and cheese that turns a potato into a loaded potato. And yet, those calories were worth it. This dinner wasn't a fancy affair like our last review, but we still had a wonderful time. Our whole experience was enjoyable, right down to a wonderful waitress who never lost her smile. Located right on Highway 17 business, the Texas Roadhouse Grill is obviously aimed mainly at the tourist traffic. But unlike most of their tourist-oriented brethren, this one impressed us. |
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