storewanderer wrote: ↑November 24th, 2024, 12:51 am
Black Angus and Texas Roadhouse both sell raw steaks. Any thoughts on that program? I have never tried to purchase any.
They still sell them at some Texas Roadhouses. A location near Disney World was selling them in August. Kinda surprising since it’s all tourist traffic…
I’ve bought them from BA a few times. They’re reasonably priced - $60 for a six pack of 8 oz sirloin steaks back in August and they included 6 “steak house” potatoes (uncooked). I don’t like that o have to tip… they toss on a $2.99 service charge and CA doesn’t have a tipping wage. But I guess I’m suppose to shell out $10 to them since they put a prepackaged item in a bag…
You don't have to tip (ever), especially if those working are now getting a full wage and not a lower one due to tips as most places used to do.
The $2.99 charge, yes (that may simply be to cover costs of containers, bags etc. since all those things have gotten more costly, particularly when they are no longer allowed to use some types of each item).
storewanderer wrote: ↑November 24th, 2024, 12:51 am
Black Angus and Texas Roadhouse both sell raw steaks. Any thoughts on that program? I have never tried to purchase any.
They still sell them at some Texas Roadhouses. A location near Disney World was selling them in August. Kinda surprising since it’s all tourist traffic…
I’ve bought them from BA a few times. They’re reasonably priced - $60 for a six pack of 8 oz sirloin steaks back in August and they included 6 “steak house” potatoes (uncooked). I don’t like that o have to tip… they toss on a $2.99 service charge and CA doesn’t have a tipping wage. But I guess I’m suppose to shell out $10 to them since they put a prepackaged item in a bag…
You don't have to tip (ever), especially if those working are now getting a full wage and not a lower one due to tips as most places used to do.
The $2.99 charge, yes (that may simply be to cover costs of containers, bags etc. since all those things have gotten more costly, particularly when they are no longer allowed to use some types of each item).
Black Angus is surcharging all to-go orders for container costs. Supposedly they switched to more "eco friendly" containers and implemented that charge.
I absolutely would not tip on a "raw meat" order. They can't process a credit card without printing a "tip line" on the slip with their POS system.
ClownLoach wrote: ↑November 24th, 2024, 12:40 am
@Bagels Black Angus seems to be an inconsistent operator unfortunately. Last couple times I had it was Fountain Valley and it was pretty awful. Had it in Phoenix where they were obviously trying a very different asthetic for a while and it was better. Heard awful things about the one here in the staredown with the newish Longhorn.
I do remember for a while it felt more upscale than it does today and the menu was stronger. The tall dark booths were nice even if dated in appearance.
I never liked Outback. Got a gift card once that had an attached free appetizer sticker and tried it. They flat top grill their steaks but don't season them well.
Texas Roadhouse is the best value, but I've had problems each of the last three times I've been. They were supposed to have a brand new location in Temecula opened by now but it hasn't come to fruition. I think they have a ton of traffic, sell a ton of steaks, but don't make a lot of money.
I agree the Fountain Valley location is terrible. We usually go to Santa Ana. Coincidently, a few weeks ago I made my first visit to FV in years (long before COVID). I’ve always had problems with additional charges and this visit was no different. There were 7 of us, they gave us one bread and we asked for a second. We were charged $3.99 for it, plus $2.50 (!) for the butter. We got a couple “Wagon Wheel” starters and asked for plan chicken tenders with one BBQ and one ranch. They charged us $4 to “upgrade” each tender and $2.50for each sauce. Mind you, one the menu plain tenders are the same price and even the flavored tenders include a sauce. But my favorite… we asked for the salad dressing on the side and were charged $3.50 each, since appearently that’s extra. Waitress gave me an atitude, so I played naughty and didn’t tip. Only the second time in my life (and first in almost 20 years).
I like that most people at BA dress nicer (granted, they’re older) aand also like the look of BA, although in some remodels they ditched the tall booths, claiming they were dated. That’s the other thing that irritated about FV — at one point in time it got so much business that they shoved as many booths possible. So it’s a very beautiful restaurant but where do they seat everyone? Right next to the entrance, where a draft comes across every time the door opens.
Texas Roadhouse basically combined Outback’s menu with the ambiance of the so-called Texas style steakhouses. For years, their signature was peanuts… you’d toss the shells onto the floor. They stopped letting you litter awhile ago and got rid of the peanuts during Covid.
They make money because they run a high volume business. Sears crammed everywhere. A few years ago, they said the average dining experience was around 40 minutes. I think that’s one of the reasons they’re not in LA/ OC - a lot of ethic families will congregate for hours and that doesn’t work here. That’s the reason Marie Callendars and others got rid of their blue plate specials.
That was a shocking experience with all those extra charges.
Kudos to you for being so calm
At this point of my life, I don’t care - it just comes out of the tip. Saves me a few bucks, I guess.
All the dressings were rang up as large extra dressing and came in huge cups…. We asked for them on the side to minimize the amount we were consuming (the fork trick). Me thinks the server was trying to inflate their tip…
I agree the Fountain Valley location is terrible. We usually go to Santa Ana. Coincidently, a few weeks ago I made my first visit to FV in years (long before COVID). I’ve always had problems with additional charges and this visit was no different. There were 7 of us, they gave us one bread and we asked for a second. We were charged $3.99 for it, plus $2.50 (!) for the butter. We got a couple “Wagon Wheel” starters and asked for plan chicken tenders with one BBQ and one ranch. They charged us $4 to “upgrade” each tender and $2.50for each sauce. Mind you, one the menu plain tenders are the same price and even the flavored tenders include a sauce. But my favorite… we asked for the salad dressing on the side and were charged $3.50 each, since appearently that’s extra. Waitress gave me an atitude, so I played naughty and didn’t tip. Only the second time in my life (and first in almost 20 years).
I like that most people at BA dress nicer (granted, they’re older) aand also like the look of BA, although in some remodels they ditched the tall booths, claiming they were dated. That’s the other thing that irritated about FV — at one point in time it got so much business that they shoved as many booths possible. So it’s a very beautiful restaurant but where do they seat everyone? Right next to the entrance, where a draft comes across every time the door opens.
Texas Roadhouse basically combined Outback’s menu with the ambiance of the so-called Texas style steakhouses. For years, their signature was peanuts… you’d toss the shells onto the floor. They stopped letting you litter awhile ago and got rid of the peanuts during Covid.
They make money because they run a high volume business. Sears crammed everywhere. A few years ago, they said the average dining experience was around 40 minutes. I think that’s one of the reasons they’re not in LA/ OC - a lot of ethic families will congregate for hours and that doesn’t work here. That’s the reason Marie Callendars and others got rid of their blue plate specials.
That was a shocking experience with all those extra charges.
Kudos to you for being so calm
At this point of my life, I don’t care - it just comes out of the tip. Saves me a few bucks, I guess.
All the dressings were rang up as large extra dressing and came in huge cups…. We asked for them on the side to minimize the amount we were consuming (the fork trick). Me thinks the server was trying to inflate their tip…
I'd have asked for management at BA or kept the receipt after and contacted the corporate office. They are all corporate operated aren't they? That server was going in and charging you extra for so many things that do not constitute an extra charge...
Even if I had left no tip (which in your case I agree was more than justified), I would still speak to management.
Texas Roadhouse after you wait an hour+ to get in, I guess 40 minutes is enough time to stay at the table. Too popular for its own good. It is funny how quick food comes out there.
Yup, it’s designed for speed. They sit you down with a basket of rolls, the menus are already at the table and they’ll take your drink & food order within a few minutes. Last time we went, they brought out our steaks within 5 minutes… then the sodas… then the salads… then the appetizer.
Never thought I’d say this, but I’m old fashioned. If I’m paying for service and ambiance, I want to enjoy / pace my meal while dining with friends/ family. That’s why I like places like Black Angus. Finding casual, moderately priced restaurants in SoCal is becoming increasingly difficult.
Bagels wrote: ↑November 29th, 2024, 11:55 pm
Yup, it’s designed for speed. They sit you down with a basket of rolls, the menus are already at the table and they’ll take your drink & food order within a few minutes. Last time we went, they brought out our steaks within 5 minutes… then the sodas… then the salads… then the appetizer.
Never thought I’d say this, but I’m old fashioned. If I’m paying for service and ambiance, I want to enjoy / pace my meal while dining with friends/ family. That’s why I like places like Black Angus. Finding casual, moderately priced restaurants in SoCal is becoming increasingly difficult.
Black Angus is comfortable. You can stay there for a couple hours very comfortably.
Texas Roadhouse I do not find particularly comfortable and I am ready to go when I am done. I appreciate efficiency and think they run a very tight ship at the local unit, and I also respect the dozens of other waiting customers time by not wasting any time there after finishing eating. The early bird is an absolute steal of a deal. But I question this- how in the heck does a steak come out in 5 minutes (always cooked perfectly and seems hot off the grill to me)? At what point is it like I am getting fast food in a sit down environment? I have noticed however if there are drinks being served to your table, then if you buy dessert, the pace of the meal seems to slow considerably and I have actually been there for close to 2 hours before (I actually wanted out of there long before that).
Texas Roadhouse does have a few secrets for speed of the kitchen. Their kitchens are open to the grill in some stores but not all. It's a very high heat gas flame grill that is sharply angled. Probably close to 800° at all times plus thick heavy grates that retain heat. Your home barbecue is maybe going to hit 600° with the lid shut for a while and lose a couple hundred degrees the second you open it then the grill cools as soon as a cold steak hits it. The big fire and thick grill at Roadhouse solves for these problems. So they can throw down say a ribeye intended to be medium rare, medium, and medium well all at once and cook them all in about the same time. The medium rare is furthest from the fire at the top of the angled grill. The medium well is at the bottom closest to the fire. Well done sits an extra two minutes, rare comes off early after the flip. Very hot plates stored under a heat lamp. So they can throw down an entire ticket of steaks and cook them to different temperatures grilling only about 2 minutes per side. They'll finish cooking a bit more on the very hot plate. The thicker steaks are more difficult and that is where I've had the most trouble at Texas Roadhouse. Unfortunately those are the largest and most expensive ones, and I've had both overdone and underdone recently. The underdone was most unacceptable because it was also pretty much burned to a crisp outside but rare inside.
ClownLoach wrote: ↑November 30th, 2024, 6:55 pm
Texas Roadhouse does have a few secrets for speed of the kitchen. Their kitchens are open to the grill in some stores but not all. It's a very high heat gas flame grill that is sharply angled. Probably close to 800° at all times plus thick heavy grates that retain heat. Your home barbecue is maybe going to hit 600° with the lid shut for a while and lose a couple hundred degrees the second you open it then the grill cools as soon as a cold steak hits it. The big fire and thick grill at Roadhouse solves for these problems. So they can throw down say a ribeye intended to be medium rare, medium, and medium well all at once and cook them all in about the same time. The medium rare is furthest from the fire at the top of the angled grill. The medium well is at the bottom closest to the fire. Well done sits an extra two minutes, rare comes off early after the flip. Very hot plates stored under a heat lamp. So they can throw down an entire ticket of steaks and cook them to different temperatures grilling only about 2 minutes per side. They'll finish cooking a bit more on the very hot plate. The thicker steaks are more difficult and that is where I've had the most trouble at Texas Roadhouse. Unfortunately those are the largest and most expensive ones, and I've had both overdone and underdone recently. The underdone was most unacceptable because it was also pretty much burned to a crisp outside but rare inside.
Interesting. Arranging the grill like that also seems to not require as skilled of a cook if the areas are segregated by cooking preference. That seems fairly fool proof (wonder if they even have timers). Their method is highly effective for the lower cost/"average" thickness cuts. I am surprised the steaks remain tender being cooked at such high temp.
ClownLoach wrote: ↑November 30th, 2024, 6:55 pm
Texas Roadhouse does have a few secrets for speed of the kitchen. Their kitchens are open to the grill in some stores but not all. It's a very high heat gas flame grill that is sharply angled. Probably close to 800° at all times plus thick heavy grates that retain heat. Your home barbecue is maybe going to hit 600° with the lid shut for a while and lose a couple hundred degrees the second you open it then the grill cools as soon as a cold steak hits it. The big fire and thick grill at Roadhouse solves for these problems. So they can throw down say a ribeye intended to be medium rare, medium, and medium well all at once and cook them all in about the same time. The medium rare is furthest from the fire at the top of the angled grill. The medium well is at the bottom closest to the fire. Well done sits an extra two minutes, rare comes off early after the flip. Very hot plates stored under a heat lamp. So they can throw down an entire ticket of steaks and cook them to different temperatures grilling only about 2 minutes per side. They'll finish cooking a bit more on the very hot plate. The thicker steaks are more difficult and that is where I've had the most trouble at Texas Roadhouse. Unfortunately those are the largest and most expensive ones, and I've had both overdone and underdone recently. The underdone was most unacceptable because it was also pretty much burned to a crisp outside but rare inside.
Interesting. Arranging the grill like that also seems to not require as skilled of a cook if the areas are segregated by cooking preference. That seems fairly fool proof (wonder if they even have timers). Their method is highly effective for the lower cost/"average" thickness cuts. I am surprised the steaks remain tender being cooked at such high temp.
The temps could be much lower than my perception too. Just looks like a lot of fire. More fire than I'd prefer on my home grill. But they've also got industrial strength exhaust pulling that hot air up, so maybe it isn't as hot as I thought plus the convection effect cooks the steak faster, because you're right that the steak would not be tender. I think the angle of the grill is the main secret because it allows multiple of the same steak cut to go down at once and cook to different temps in same time. They do have timers. That grill isn't always visible from the front waiting area, but I think it was the Menifee location that has the main grill directly behind the meat display case and I saw the distinct upward angle and steaks going down in a row like burgers. Most locations have the bread making area directly behind that case for convenient hand off for the hot rolls to the host as they walk you to your table.
I wonder if Texas Roadhouse will ever enter LA/OC?
Outback has been closing locations but is still the 800 lb gorilla. If we order Outback, it’s always to go. For $12, you can get a 5 oz steak + soup or salad + side + a beverage…. It’s a kid’s meal so they won’t serve you inside. The same meal, with an extra once of meat but no drink, is $20 for adults…
