Dinner Report: Cheddar's Part Two...

I pulled a fast one on my wife this evening. When I walked in the door from work, she immediately announced that it was ham sandwiches or I could take her out for steak. I knew she had Texas Road House on her mind and I was quick to respond with, "Let's go."

So as we drove down Culebra towards Loop 410, I quickly jumped into the right lane instead of the left prompting her to remind me that TRH is located near Ingram, not Military. And that was when I suggested she try the steak at Cheddar's.You may recall that we had a good experience at Cheddar's on our first visit but since then, have not been willing to endure a 45 minute wait to be seated. My thought was that if we got there early enough (it was before 5PM), we could beat the rush, and if not, TRH was just up the road.This time around, the parking lot was as empty as I have seen it since before the place opened, and we were going to be in luck. One of my brothers in FLA swears by Cheddar's Cajun seasoned catfish, and just last week, our neighbor Gus added his complete endorsement of said entree. So I knew what I was going to have. I thought it would be easy for my wife to just order a steak since that was what she wanted, but she instead studied numerous options on the menu (and they do have a lot to choose from) before settling on the 8oz steak.

On the first report, I could not say enough about the good service we experienced while several of you readers left less than glowing comments about your own experiences. I guess today was our day for seeing the difference.

Nothing happened to make me not want to return, but suffice it to say that things seemed to be in slow motion. I have never waited 15 minutes for a beer in a restaurant, especially after the waiter brought my wife raspberry lemonade instead of the raspberry tea she ordered. After a while, he came out and told me they were changing the keg and it would just be a few more minutes. It was a few more minutes several times before I did receive the Luke warm beer. Thankfully, I've lived in England and can easily revert to old times. Plus, it would have been rude to ask for some ice cubes. The waiter was certainly polite and apologetic, but still...

Anyway, that is minor, minor stuff. It happens at the best of places and I simply can't let stuff like that get me upset, especially when I can come here and whine about it.Onto the vittles. My wife got the steak, a baked potato without sour cream, and some baby carrots. In spite of pointing to the white stuff on the potato, the waiter assured her there was no sour cream on it. Once she picked off the sour cream, she said her baked potato wasn't that great. I had a bite and thought it was fine, but compared to TRH, I'd have to go with the baked potato at TRH every time. The baby carrots were very good - she liked them and so did I!The steak was simply not as good as TRH. I had a small bite and thought it was good, per se, but unfortunately, my wife had TRH on her mind and even if I would have done my own happy dance upon tasting it, I don't think I would have swayed her opinion.The Cajun grilled catfish that I ordered was brilliant. It comes served on a bed of some sort of rice (that was a tad bit undercooked - in fact a little hard), and it came with two sides. I selected the green beans and the mashed Idaho potatoes.

My green beans were simply wonderful. I usually am not a fan of the flat style, but they were cooked - in fact, they may have been simmering on the stove for a week for all I know, but they were delicious, and I will definitely order them again. The mashed potatoes with gravy were simply excellent. Again, compared to the semi-warm baked potato my wife got, my mashed potatoes were outstanding.I am usually a fried catfish type of guy, and fried catfish nuggets are even better. Our first time to Cheddar's, I didn't order the cat because of the fact it wasn't fried. But thankfully, I was told how good it was and now I am telling you: Order the Cajun seasoned grilled catfish and you will not regret it. It was melt in your mouth good, the seasoning was not overdone in any way and combined with the sides, it was well worth the less than stellar service. Next time, I hope to say good things about the bed of rice it comes sitting on.

Have you tried the Cajun grilled cat at Cheddar's? Do you like the steak there? How was your service now that they have been in operation for a few months? Tell me about it or leave a comment here.