It isn’t often that you will find a big chain restaurant written up in Mountain Valley Living. Nor is it often that you find a chain that makes you feel like you’re getting a mountain-made meal. In Reno, I would have to recommend Texas Roadhouse. It is a lively, fun, family experience and the food is really good. The place is known for hand cut steaks, fall-off-the-bone ribs, sides made from scratch and fresh baked bread that is out of this world. Potato bread I guessed. But nobody was giving up any secrets around there. When you walk in, you can’t miss the aroma of those hand-made, fresh-baked rolls which are served warm in baskets plentiful with their signature honey-cinnamon butter. I ordered regular butter too. There is nothing like fresh hot baked bread and real butter to start off a meal.
By the time we reached our table, one of our servers had scooped up a hefty portion of peanuts for our table. Our kids knew exactly what to do, dance to the music, throw down some peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. About every 30 minutes the staff does their own line dance to the music. Birthdays are also a big deal at Texas Roadhouse.
Dressings and sauces are homemade and they go out of their way to please. On my first visit there, I ordered a skewer of grilled prawns. When I asked for cocktail sauce, I was more than surprised when they made it up fresh for me from scratch. For kids, the plentiful choices included homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, applesauce and more fresh vegetables in addition to the mashed potatoes, beans and fries. All are side choices with the kids’ meals ($2.99 – $4.99) and the ranger meals ($5.99 – $7.99). Several “Starters” are offered and many a bloomin’ onion passed us by. When the food came, the kids turned to food and enjoyed it all right down to the tasty green beans.
Who could resist the hand-cut steaks? Not me. Ft. Worth Ribeye was my choice among the USDA Choice Sirloin, Texas T-Bone, New york Strip and Dallas Filet. Mine was cooked perfectly and smothered with a side of sauteed mushrooms. I had the 10 oz. Ribeye at $13.99 which was plenty with two sides from their dozen homemade choices.
The menu included plenty of selections, from salads and steaks to ribs and chicken. Country dinners included Pulled Pork and Country Fried Sirloin. Each were under $10.
In Reno, The Texas Roadhouse is located at 150 Damonte Ranch Pkwy, west of Highway 395. Monday through Thursday they are open for dinner from 4 – 10 pm. Friday, Saturday and Sunday they serve lunch also and open at 11 am.
Save room for dessert. Choose from Granny’s Apple Classic, Strawberry Cheesecake and their Big Ol’ Brownie!
