Longhorn Steakhouse

Saturday evening we met Julie's parents, Grandma, plus Jennifer, Edward, and Jake at Longhorn Steakhouse in Springfield. I can sum up the meal in one word - overrated! Our goal was first to locate a restaurant that took reservations or at least had call ahead seating. The only two that came to mind were Red Lobster and Longhorn.

It was a good thing that Julie called ahead. Even with the call ahead seating, we stood for nearly 45 minutes waiting for a table. For those who have never been to Longhorn, its easy to get confused. There are many other similarly named and themed restaurants including Lone Star Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, and Logan's Roadhouse. We prefer Texas Roadhouse over others both for the price and atmosphere, but alas there was not Texas Roadhouse in Springfield, the optimal halfway point for all of us.

With 8 of us in the group, the orders ranged from the Rocky Top Chicken to Top Sirloin. As for Julie and I, Julie opted for the Cheeseburger and fries, adding a salad. I have a soft spot for Prime Rib, so I went with the longhorn sized Prime rib - 10 ounces, I think. The steak came with au jus for dipping, plus a horseradish sauce. I ordered my steak medium with a baked potato, butter and sour cream, and a salad with honey mustard dressing. The salad was fine, nothing to write home about, but good none the less. The prime rib was average. It had quite a bit more fat that I would have expected. The horseradish dip was a pleasant surprise and had an eye opening flavor. My biggest disappointment of the evening was the baked potato. It was rather blah. If you're gonna be known as a steakhouse and everyone who orders steaks usually asks for a potato, you'd think the would place some emphasis on good potatoes. The potato was flavorless as was the sour cream. At least at Red Lobster they have a bit of salt crusted on the skin. I found myself continually dousing the potato with salt and pepper, giving it what flavor I could. In the end, I did clean my plate, but I doubt I'll be returning for another round at Longhorn unless someone else is paying. I've had better prime rib at St. Croix Casino in Turtle Lake or Gil's Restaurant here in Minier.