Review of Texas Steakhouse in Wake Forest, North Carolina

Living in a small town, "fine dining" is often subject to the whims of clients who have never ventured into a five star restaurant. Or a four star , for that matter.

When I had family members visiting from out of state recently, I decided to take them to the nicest place around that might be within my budget. So, Texas Steakhouse in Wake Forest, North Carolina it was. In my experience, if a restaurant is consistently busy, its a good sign.
We went on a Saturday night, and had about an hours wait before being seated. That was OK, it was time to enjoy the visit and think about the mouth watering morsels that surely awaited us. Once inside, it looked like one might expect a steakhouse to look like. Lots of western decor, lassos, horses, framed posters of vintage vehicles and Indians on the walls. Dark Wood tables and benches complete the western theme.

The theme, for what it is worth was the best thing going for it. The floors didn't look as though they had been mopped in days, if not weeks. On the ledges, dust was visible, as well as on top of the light fixtures and poster frames. When we were seated, the table was sticky from the previous customers and trash remained on the table. It wasn't until we asked our server to remove it that it was cleaned up. And then it seemed as though it was an inconvenience to her.

OK, so we're not off to a great start, but the best is yet to come, right?

For an appetizer we had the Blossom Petals ($5.99) and Kicki'n Crab Dip ($7.49). The petals more closely resembled the remnants of what remained in the fryer after a few days time. The dip was a little spicy for my taste, but tasted fine to those among us who like spicy food. The crab dip looked and tasted as though it came from the local grocery store. Not what I expect from a nicer restaurant.

For our entree's, we ordered two Porterhouse steaks ($22.99 each), a Steak Fajita Salad ($9.49), and The Texas Chicken Tenders ($9.99). One steak was ordered rare, the other medium rare; and both came well done and tough as my grandfathers leather shoes. The chicken fared no better- it was dry and tasteless and seemed more batter than chicken. The fajita Salad was quite good however, though i felt bad for my guests who were not enjoying their meal.
The rolls and butter preceding the meal were remarkable however.

Never one to pass up desert - we decided to attempt the Texas Hershey's Brownie ($4.29 each). Now we're talking. The brownie tried to make up for the rest of the meal. It really did. It was warm and moist and gooey and chocolaty and absolutely delectable.

If the rest of our meal could have been as delicious as desert, I would have been pleased. For that matter, if it had been HALF as good as desert, I wouldn't have minded.

Now on to the server. The mark of a truly skilled and talented server is not being seen, but always being present and attentive. Our server met half the criteria. We never saw her. Another server from a different section refilled our drinks twice for us. Never once were we asked how our meal was ( else we would have sent the steaks and chicken back). I never noticed her glancing in our direction to see if we needed anything. I did notice how she was constantly flirting with another server, who for his part, seemed to be able to flirt and do his job at the same time.

I was disappointed in our evening out. I felt personally bad, not because I had eaten at a poor establishment, but rather because I had taken my guests there expecting an above average meal. For the same amount of money, I could have driven into Raleigh and eaten at another establishment and truly enjoyed the food and my company.

Was my experience a unique one? I'll probably never know, but I certainly won't pay to find out. After spending over a hundred dollars of my starving writers income, I left empty and disappointed. The lines are still Long at Texas Steakhouse, however my feet choose other lines to stand in.