Texas Roadhouse in Kirkwood, Texas - a Review

One night while on the search for a last minute, great place to grab a juicy steak, a few good friends and I drove around for what seemed like forever, and caught a glimpse of a catchy sign. We pulled in for a closer look, and found that the sign read, "Texas Roadhouse". Hey, we were starving, and we all knew that everything in Texas was bigger and better, so we parked at decided to give it a shot. It was fairly new at the time, and although we weren't in one of our normal, more comfortable establishments, we didn't care. I swear I would have eaten the rear of a turkey at that point in time.

The Food: Walking in, we Immediately smelled the sizzle of steak. Big steaks. As our hungry eyes glazed over from the smell of baked potatoes, fresh hot bread, and juicy hunks of prime beef, we noticed something slightly odd that we weren't real familiar with. Peanuts! There were peanut shells literally covering the floor, and after a closer look, people were eating these peanuts at their tables and throwing the shells all over the place. What a mad house! We loved it! After we got over the whole peanut thing, we were seated and given menus. Now came the hard part - what to order?

Texas Roadhouse specializes in steaks, and as a matter of fact, when you walk in, there is a section where you see a butcher area. They have what they call "meat heroes", who's main jobs are to cut the best, fresh cut steaks day in and day out. How cool is that? We all knew we wanted meat, and lots of it. I splurged and went with the 16 ounce "Ft. Worth Ribeye". To this day, I still have dreams about it. They really know how to cut and cook up one mean steak. I now eat there regularly and have tried nearly every cut of meat they offer, but I always go back to the Ft. Worth Ribeye. Try it for yourself, and you'll have a new meat mistress.

The Price: As far as pricing, I think it's 100% fair and probably cheaper than what it should be. Take for example my favorite dish, the Ft. Worth Ribeye in the 16 ounce version. Can you believe this juicy hot chunk of hand cut ribeye is only $17.99? I think that is a very, very fair price for such a monster of a steak. Add in a round of Rattlesnake bites (which is basically little chunks of lightly battered and fried jalapeno and jack cheese) and you've got an awesome meal for around $25. You certainly don't need to be wealthy to eat at the Texas Roadhouse, but bring your wallet, as you'll be enticed to try out their extremely ice cold beers, which can really rack up the bill, as it would anywhere else. This can all be offset of course because you have the option of eating buckets of peanuts and spitting them all over the floor, a fair trade off if you ask me!

Even though I could write an entire book about it, you must, MUST try their hot, fresh rolls with the secret cinnamon butter. These are so delicious that you may lose consciousness after only one bite. I warned you. Careful though, these little temptations can fill you up faster than you can say, "more bread, please"!

The Service: I couldn't be more happy with the service at the Texas Roadhouse. They have plenty of staff, who are very quick on their feet, especially because they have to walk on discarded peanut shells all night long. Refills were always coming, and the general pleasantry was very nice and comforting. One thing they need to lose is the ever so common "birthday chants". Unfortunately we've had to listen to a few of these, and all it made me want to do is drink more. Evil marketing strategy, eh? Seriously though, we've never had a complaint about service, you simply couldn't ask for better.

Other Items of Note: Word to the wise, arrive early, and don't arrive starving hungry, because the lines can be very long if you show up right at dinner time. This place is hoppin' popular, and it would be in your best interest to call ahead of time to reserve seating. The last thing you want to do is show up with eight people and wait two hours for a table. Hey, I warned you!

So if you're looking for a great place to chow down on a nice sizzling steak, great bread, and ice cold beer, I highly suggest stopping by the Texas Roadhouse. I assure you that you won't be disappointed. I recommend throwing peanut shells at the table across from you, it makes for a fun night!