2004-10-17 Texas Roadhouse

I was impressed from the minute we entered the building.

At the reception desk, they had a huge wine barrel filled to the brim with peanuts. Peanut shells littered the floor...and it was that way throughout the restaurant. I can't even explain the novelty of intentionally throwing food on the floor without getting in trouble...or having the responsibility of cleaning up the mess. It was actually fun. Imagine bringing the kids with you�how exciting it must be for a small child to be able to throw food on the floor without the fear of Mom or Dad getting mad.

The waiting area they had was huge...although they offer call ahead seating so if you do that, you may have no wait at all. We called on our way, and were told the wait for two was 50-60 minutes. It takes us about 1/2 hour to get there so we figured we would have a 1/2 hour wait by the time we arrived. We were actually seated within five minutes of getting there.

We were seated in a nice cozy booth and the waitress came immediately over. She asked us if we had ever been and we told her this was our first time. She explained that all of their meat is fresh and cut on site, that all sides are homemade, and that their "famous" margaritas were to die for. I ordered my first alcoholic beverage since finding out I was pregnant...a Kahlua Sombrero. Unlike most restaurants, the glass it arrived in was actually good sized. It was mixed perfectly and tasted great. Ryun ordered a diet Coke�which tasted, well like a diet Coke. Heh.

She brought our drinks over with warm bread and butter...and OH MY GOD. The butter...it was homemade and so good. It had a taste of honey in it. I am not going to lie...I took a fingerful right from the tub after we had buttered our bread. It was that good.

Ryun ordered a sirloin and ribs combo plate which, typical Ryun style he said was "alright." He says that about everything...no matter what it is. Seriously, he loved it and I knew that just based on the fact that he cleaned his plate.

I got the Sirloin beef tips with mashed potato and steamed veggies. The steak was cooked to perfection, the mashed potatoes were homemade and the veggies were just the right amount of softness...not too crunchy and not too mushy.

I was pretty full after that, but everything else was so good that I just had to try one of the deserts. I ended up choosing the warm apple pie. It wasn't at all surprising that it was just delicious.

As I was finishing up, one of the managers came over and asked us about our experience, which of course we told her, was fabulous. She thanked us for coming, told us to make sure we come back, and rushed off to join the other waitresses/waiters as they country lined danced around the bar to "Cotton Eyed Joe." It was very entertaining...I was ready to go join them!

A fact that I found rather interesting. The first Texas Roadhouse was founded in Indiana, not Texas. Weird huh?

I honestly can't think of one bad thing to say. Everything from the service to the food to the entertainment was the best I have seen in a long time. We will definitely be recommending it to our friends and family (and our readers!). I have no doubt that we will be back there...and soon.