We had lunch today at the Outback in Waco. It was vary expensive and very disappointing. Won’t go there again. Which ones, or one, do you guys like? I know you’d rather cook it yourself, but that isn’t what I need.

Texas Roadhouse or Salt grass for me

Usually Saltgrass a couple times a year. Was thinking about revisiting our local Outback.

Longhorn

Ruth Chris or Bob's.

Capital Grille seems to be the most consistent around the country.

Texas roadhouse has a decent salad.

Salt Grass for their prime rib special….

Otherwise we try to avoid chains of any kind

Longhorn & Texas Roadhouse are the only ones close by. Of the Outback's I've visited, they are very inconsistent between them, some decent, some below par.

The Outback in Waco has always been good, till today. Waitress took our order, and later came back with my salad. Well, the wife ordered a salad, but didn’t get it, but there wasn’t anyone in the area to ask, so I went and stood by the door to the kitchen. A bit later our waitress came out and was surprised to see me. I asked where the wife’s salad was, and she looked as if I was speaking Greek. I repeated the question firmly, which I think shocked her tender sensibilities. Later, the salad showed up and the food was delivered. The wife had ordered Chicken on the Barbie, and it looked awful. A big plate with a small chunk of chicken sitting in the middle, with dab of BBQ sauce sitting next to it. And nothing else. Sad looking. I gave her some of my food. A bit later our waitress showed up and I asked for the ticket and gave her my card. Off she went, came back with the ticket, and asked if I was paying cash or card. I said I’d pay with the card, if I had it, but you have it. She did a pat down of her upper body and found the card.

Just was not the pleasant dining experience I had expected. And, a glass of tea was $4. I think the wife’s hockey puck chunk of chicken was around $12.

That’s why I asked where you guys like to eat. There’s a Saltgrass and a Longhorn Steakhouse as options. And some non-chain places like Heitmiller’s and George’s, which are pretty good.

George's, every time, for the win.

'Sounds like drugs were flowing freely through that place.

Medium priced….I’m going to Sweetie Pies (a chain of 2, but…) Hoffbrau was my favorite.

Upper end…Capital Grille or Trulucks.

Depends , any given weekend - Texas Roadhouse or Saltgrass . Anniversary , Three Forks, Ruth’s Chris , Capital Grille

I was in Waco, with somewhat limited options. In Houston there are scads of good steakhouses to choose from. I ate at all of them, on expense account. It was great.

I think the Waco Saltgrass is next up…

Saltgrass ribeye is a joke. Get a sirloin and range rattlers. To be fair, I don't go out for steak. No one is better than mine. I go out for things I cant/won't make at home.

Waco is 40 miles from us. We go there for whatever we need that can’t be had around here, and we time it to have lunch. Kind of a treat for making the drive. We rotate among the various restaurants, and I usually let the wife pick where to eat. She picked wrong today.

She can cook an outstanding steak here at the house, so it’s rare to get a store bought steak better than hers.

George’s is sounding good, cause I can get fried jalapeño slices there. I need that.

Saltgrass for a chain but honestly you can go to Del Frisco’s or Trulucks for just a little more money. If I’m driving anywhere I’m going to one of these two places,

Easily.

Does La Hacienda count as a chain? 2 locations, not close to Waco. I'm sure that's not help to you, but, if you find yourself up this way, I suggest the ribeye mexican style. One of the few places I'll order a steak outside of my own.

Eddie V's seafood has excellent steak too if you want to drop some coin....again...probably not in Waco.

Believe it or not. Carrabbas has a good streak.

I don't usually eat steak in restaurants preferring to make it cheaper (and usually pretty tasty) at home. Texas Roadhouse is consistently good in my experience. My wife likes Longhorn -but we've only eaten there a couple times.

I miss Texas Land & Cattle's sourdough bread.

Sweetie Pies is owned by the same guy as Bubbas near SMU and the Babes Chicken restaurants. So, we'll call it a chain.

I rarely eat steak out, so I can't say.

Got a $100 gift card to Perry's I'll use for my birthday dinner. But, I always get the pork chop

Their smoked sirloin was tolerable.

Is The Keg still around? It was pretty good.

135 Prime in Waco (actually in Hewitt) is probably the best steaks, but I don't think they're open for lunch. And get ready to pay for it. Two people you'll be lucky to get out under $150. My favorite there is the Steak Gorgonzola. The GF likes the New Zealand Lamb or the Medallions. They also have a huge wine selection if you're into that.