Biridiana Lua

Okay, we can’t eat all of the dinner rolls before our meal, I know they’re good but they also fill us up. Not surprisingly, we were deep in our third basket 10 minutes after we were sat down. I went to the Texas Roadhouse in Hanover, popular for their juicy steaks and delicious dinner roll and cinnamon butter combination.

Every time I walk into the restaurant, the ambiance is so exciting. We walked in at 5:00 on a Monday night and were seated with our drinks at 5:11. It was no comparison to a Saturday night when a reservation is highly recommended. The lights were dim and the bar was bright. There were peanut shells on the ground and in a corner someone sat on a wooden bull being sung happy birthday by the whole restaurant. Yeehaw!

The employees are always great and obviously happy to be serving people. Our waiter was nice. He repeated the whole welcome mantra you receive at any friendly business but said everything as if he was in a rush and it definitely wasn’t busy. I am the kind of person who has to match my drink with my entree and sides so I need time. He was attentive with refills for drinks and the dinner roll basket.

The menu was a decent size. Filled with various combinations of steak, shrimp, and sides it was hard to decide on one platter. Luckily, they provide many combinations of steak, chicken, and seafood. I was disappointed however, with the fact that they did not have mac & cheese listed as a side. When I think of a large Texas original meal I always imagine a steaming bowl full of rich mac & cheese. It was 5 hours until closing time and the waiter said they were all out of hamburgers because of the special they were offering.

I went with the usual: 8 oz. sirloin, well done, with grilled shrimp. For my two sides, I got buttered corn and steak fries. The place wasn’t very busy and our food came out before we were tempted to order another basket of dinner rolls.

The presentation was spectacular. It looked exactly like the image you see on commercials that make your mouth start watering. Unfortunately, the taste did not match the picture. The steak had traces of pink before I even got to the middle. However, the sides were juicy and cooked to perfection. Next time I will go with a medium well and explore outside of my comfort zone for a little more juice. The shrimp, however, was a different story. They were seasoned just enough and they definitely hit the spot. All of the fries tasted as if somebody accidentally spilled the salt bag into it. The corn smelled like butter but felt a little too soggy for my preference.

Although $17 for a seafood and steak combo is a really good price, the highlight of my night is the dinner rolls I ask for a to-go box to take home. Texas Roadhouse is definitely a family friendly restaurant to visit when it’s too cold to have a cook-out in the yard.