Restaurant Review: Sagebrush Steakhouse in Brevard, North Carolina

Sagebrush Steakhouse in Brevard, North Carolina is a lot like the steakhouse chain Roadhouse Grill. It has a similar menu and the same peanuts in small metal buckets on the table. But while Roadhouse is simply irritating in its attempts to emulate down home country charm, Sagebrush conveys the feeling that they aren't trying to emulate anything - down home country is just what they are.

The quality of restaurants in towns that have a large tourist trade is usually a toss up, so when we pulled into the parking lot I was pleased to see that most of the license plates were local. In my experience, this usually speaks well for the food. Inside, the hostess seated us with menus and peanuts, and the waitress was there in under a minute to give us bread and menus. We sent back both the bread and the peanuts simply because we didn't want to stuff ourselves, but they both looked good. The lunch menu was extensive, but pretty standard as far as steakhouses go: burgers, steaks, a few other grilled items and a couple of entrée salads. We ordered the Rodeo Chicken with a sweet potato and an 8 ounce ribeye steak with a salad. We wanted a Caesar salad but they were out of the dressing, so we settled on a garden salad with ranch dressing instead.

While we waited for the food, we had a look around. Most of the patrons were very casually dressed. The walls were covered with random items like those at Cracker Barrel, but with less of the genteel country feel. In the main, the décor was old license plates and NASCAR signs. The music was a couple of decades old - I specifically remember Caught Up in You by .38 Special - but it fit the feel of the restaurant. The most interesting feature was a train running on tracks suspended from the ceiling.

The food arrived very quickly, but given how few patrons were there at the time, I expected no less. The ribeye was straightforward: cooked correctly and tasty enough, but nothing special. The Rodeo Chicken, on the other hand, was remarkably good. It was smother in sautéed mushrooms, bacon and cheddar cheese, and the chicken itself was moist. I could almost, but not quite, cut it with my fork. The sweet potato was large, cooked perfectly and accompanied by about twice as much butter and cinnamon sugar as you normally get in restaurants like this. Altogether the meal was a pleasure.

Given my choice, I'd eat at Sagebrush over Roadhouse any day. The food was better and the atmosphere was more charming. Unfortunately, you'll only find Sagebrush in North Carolina, plus a few in couple of nearby states, so if you're ever in Brevard or any of the other locations, I suggest you give it a try.

Details: 985 West Asheville Hwy., Brevard, NC 28712. P: 828-966-4767, F: 828-966-4808. http://sagebrushsteakhouse.com/