Yesterday I tried a new to me restaurant. It was the Texas
Roadhouse in Joplin. Let me start by saying that I’m not a huge fan of national
chain restaurants. There are a few around that I enjoy what they have to offer,
but for the most part, I like Mom & Pop places or regional restaurants with
a handful of locations. Texas Roadhouse is nationwide but I wasn’t going to
hold that against them if I haven’t been to eat there. I’ll try anything at
least once. Plus, my mom and dad like it and wanted to eat there. We were
seated and I began perusing the menu. As I was headed to our booth, I espied
the beer taps and saw that they had Shiner Bock so I ordered one when Alyssa
came to take our order. A side note here: I lived in South Texas for a long
time. I had a lot of friends that were Mexicans and some of them had thick
accents. They pronounce Shiner as ‘Chiner’. That will forever be stuck in my
head so I had to be careful when I ordered by pint of Shiner with an S-H. Back
to the menu. They had meat and lots of what you might expect and a steak joint.
I settled on the sirloin cooked medium of course and grilled spicy shrimp. Our
waitress and all the wait staff around us were really professional. They were
courteous, knowledgeable about their menu, prompt, accurate, and appeared to be
glad to be there. I’ve been in retail and worked in restaurants for almost
three decades. I know sometimes work sucks. I don’t let it deter me from giving
the best customer service I possibly can. These men and women all seemed to be
at that high standard level that I hold myself to when I deal with the public.
I knew if the food was good, I would be a devout customer. We all got our
plates and, as I quickly discovered, the food was very good. The steak was
perfectly cooked. The skewered shrimp were spicy and delicious. The Caesar’s
salad was good. The bread and butter were super tasty. The beer was cold. The
Cubs were playing on a television by the bar. I couldn’t find a single thing to
complain about. In a world full of mediocre restaurants, Texas Roadhouse will
surpass your expectations. Although I didn’t see to many things that
vegetarians would eat, you can be sure that if you’re a carnivore, you’ll find
something good. Come to think of it, why would a vegetarian go into a steak
house in the first place? Go to M&M Bistro downtown! It’s delicious too. I
can honestly say that the Texas Roadhouse will be at the top of my list of
national chains I won’t mind going to visit when the hunger pangs strike.
Thanks to Alyssa and the crew in the kitchen. Go see if there’s one near you at
their website www.texasroadhouse.com.
See what else I'm up to at www.talkingsimian.com
