I’m on the road for a client meeting tomorrow. My dinner choices are limited. The menu looks like Outback with a fake Texas vibe instead of a fake Australian one. It’s either that or another, more local chain, which I tried last time and was underwhelming.
And don't they have a f'ing mechanical bull in every restaurant?
Is it comparable to a Morton's or Ruth's Chris? Absolutely not. Not a place for a high quality steak or to impress clients. Noticeable fall off from the higher end chains.
But I would tell you people are weird when it comes to steak. Some people will crap on it just because it is a chain, when in fact the steak that comes off their grill is probably no worse, or maybe even better, than what many folks here are pulling off their own grill.
good luck.
And don't they have a f'ing mechanical bull in every restaurant?
But you're leaving out a bunch of information - what kind of clients are these? Do they require a high-end restaurant or are they just happy to get a free meal on your dime?
And where are you located? Surely, there has to be at least one local spot that is solid and not a chain.
Unless you're in Mississippi or somewhere similar where your choices are limited to Subway or gas station BBQ (which, btw can be delicious). I've traveled all 50 states for business and have rarely had an issue finding an appropriate restaurant for a customer who warranted taking to dinner.
My 2 cents
Agreed. Some privately owned restaurants I've been to have been laughably poor in quality and there have been many chains I've left satisfied.
Just because it's expensive and "authentic" doesnt mean its automatically good to me.
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Honestly too much hate for chains here. Olive garden I understand though. Longhorn is better than outback, but a notch below Texas roadhouse. I believe everything at texas roadhouse is made from scratch. The cinnamon butter should be illegal. First couple times there I filled up on it and just took the dinner to go.
Agreed. Some privately owned restaurants I've been to have been laughably poor in quality and there have been many chains I've left satisfied.
Just because it's expensive and "authentic" doesnt mean its automatically good to me.
Doesn't mean it's good but should have a lease some personality and authenticity to it. After that you can decide if you like it or not.
Absolutely nothing at the chains we're talking about is made from scratch. The whole point of a chain is to do things in as big a quantity as possible for as cheap as possible and send it to the individual restaurants. That's why Olive Garden (who own Longhorn) tastes the same in NYC as they do in Tulsa and Portland. They are all about consistency and cost.
Not there there's anything wrong with that business model but the quality suffers, period. And FWIW I've been in the wine and restaurant business for close to 30 years.
Perfectly cooked, very tender, delicious steak, and more than the 20 oz advertised. Sides were meh, so what? For $30, that's an excellent slab of beef.
As long as they cook it the way you want it, it's fine.
Dont you mean Texas "salt" House. That place had more salt on everything the I ever thought possible.
Agree with this.
I've been to Longhorn twice and neither time did I have a steak that was better than Outback's ribeye.
Why was it sad?
I had some kind of steak salad and it's kind of hard to do that wrong, not a bad lunch.
Not sure I'd take customers or prospects there, but you know the customers.
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Longhorn wasn’t bad at all but was sad. 110 Grill was packed. I didn’t eat there but the scene was fun.
Why was it sad?
Dark, depressing. Not many people in there. Servers seemed to hate their jobs. But the food wasn’t terrible.
I had some kind of steak salad and it's kind of hard to do that wrong, not a bad lunch.
Not sure I'd take customers or prospects there, but you know the customers.
Well then it's a good thing he's not taking any customers/prospects there.
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it's like almost every other chain. You go for the convenience, price, speed, and consistency (for the decent chains) but normally the quality is less than that of a traditional private restaurant (or the traditional private restaurant would be out of business or won't last long).
I had some kind of steak salad and it's kind of hard to do that wrong, not a bad lunch.
Not sure I'd take customers or prospects there, but you know the customers.
Well then it's a good thing he's not taking any customers/prospects there.
Super
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In comment 14206401 pjcas18 said:
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it's like almost every other chain. You go for the convenience, price, speed, and consistency (for the decent chains) but normally the quality is less than that of a traditional private restaurant (or the traditional private restaurant would be out of business or won't last long).
I had some kind of steak salad and it's kind of hard to do that wrong, not a bad lunch.
Not sure I'd take customers or prospects there, but you know the customers.
Well then it's a good thing he's not taking any customers/prospects there.
Super
Exactly the response I'd expect from someone who can't even be bothered to name his FF team! :)
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In comment 14206629 YAJ2112 said:
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In comment 14206401 pjcas18 said:
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it's like almost every other chain. You go for the convenience, price, speed, and consistency (for the decent chains) but normally the quality is less than that of a traditional private restaurant (or the traditional private restaurant would be out of business or won't last long).
I had some kind of steak salad and it's kind of hard to do that wrong, not a bad lunch.
Not sure I'd take customers or prospects there, but you know the customers.
Well then it's a good thing he's not taking any customers/prospects there.
Super
Exactly the response I'd expect from someone who can't even be bothered to name his FF team! :)
Yahoo named my team for me, why mess with it.