I think the last time we ate at Logan's Roadhouse was at least two or three years ago. In fact, I could be more specific with the date if I knew exactly when Texas Roadhouse opened for business at Cinema Ridge near Ingram. Yes, I'm sorry to report that as a matter of convenience, we stopped going to a place we enjoyed routinely (The Logan's on I-10 near DeZavala) in favor of the TRH closer to home. The two places have pretty much the same basic formula and menu, though TRH added a little Willie Nelson twist to it.
But with the opening of Logan's in AR, not more than a few miles down the road from us, we were eager to give an old friend a new try. And, in spite of being opened a relatively short time, we had a great experience in both service and quality of food.
Inside, Logan's is much more wide open than TRH. I'm not sure it matters in the dining aspect, but I do question the openness and brightness of the bar. We only sit at the bar in places like Chile's or TRH when the wait for regular dining would be too long. Usually, if a seat is open, they'll let you jump right in. My concern is more for the folks who want to make their visit more of a sporting event or just hang out. The idea of the wide open brightly lighted bar just doesn't do it for me. If that sort of thing is important to you, then you'd be better off in TRH's bar area.
Of course, I'm still a fan of the standard signage everybody nails to the wall; old pictures, license plates, posters and beer signs. It makes you feel like your house is a lot better decorated.
Before I get to the food, there is one thing I must note: The water was horrendous! I don't know if somebody crossed the pipes or what, but I took one sip of water and instead opted for beer. Seriously, skip the water. But the peanuts are good. And just like TRH, you are free to toss them on the floor. I feel so naughty when I litter.
Just like TRH, Logan's server will bring you some hot fresh bread with a big scoop of butter. It is really good and hard to turn down the offer to bring more, but we did knowing that we'd make pigs of ourselves before the rest of dinner arrived.
My wife is a fan of the petite 8 oz steak at TRH and ordered a 6oz version from Logan's. For her two sides, she selected the loaded mashed potatoes and some form of onion peels. Instead of rings, they take hunks of onion and fry them, then cover them in salt. They were actually pretty good. She ordered her steak cooked medium but felt like it was done a little too much. Over all, she says the steak was good but compared with TRH, she would go with TRH. I had one bite of it and thought it was very good.
I immediately went with the southern fried catfish, the loaded baked potato and a house salad with Ranch. First, the salad was fine, served in a chilled bowl and very consistent with what you would get at TRH or Chili's. The one thing missing for sure was croutons. How do you serve a salad like this without croutons? For that injustice alone, the salad contest goes to TRH. The baked potato is served almost exactly like TRH including the huge chunks of salt glued to the skin. If you set them side by side or did a taste test, it would be a toss up. The fish on the other hand goes clearly to Logan's. I have always enjoyed the catfish at TRH (and will continue to do so when I visit) but the portion and the flavor of Logan's was easily superior in my mind.
My wife was intrigued by the little dessert special they have. A play on the bucket of peanuts they leave at your table, they offer you a small cup of ice cream or something, served in a little bucket you keep and topped with a Nutter Butter cookie.
A quick note about the service. For a fairly new place, we had excellent service. Of special note was when my wife got her plate, she had forgotten to ask for honey mustard for her onion things. When I was looking around for our server, an alert waitress sensed my search mode and immediately came up and asked we needed anything. Later, even though our waiter was nearby (taking another order), this same waitress noticed me holding the little folder with the bill and came up to take our check to speed up our departure.
Great food, great service, and the price is comparable to TRH. If you haven't been to the Logan's Roadhouse in Alamo Ranch, give 'em a whirl for a Tasty Treat.
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.
One cannot live on Texas Road House alone, therefore we have to switch things up a bit from time to time just make sure we aren't missing out on something as good or possibly better. This is the same reason why, even though we already know where to find the best burger in San Antonio, we don't mind trying other places to give them a shot at the coveted Tasty Treat seal of approval.
So with an idea for eating something different than TRH, we decided to hit the Texas Land & Cattle on I-10 between Wurzbach and Huebner. I knew ahead of time that I wasn't going for the steak. Instead, I had my mind fixated on a huge hunk of chicken and a baked potato. I figured my wife would get some steak and I could try some of hers just for tasting purposes.
We went around 3PM and for a Saturday, that is usually early enough to still get in to places without any sort of wait. Sure enough, the hostess met us at the outer door and seated us without delay. The place was fairly empty which really surprised me considering times that I have driven by there, the place was pretty full.
Once seated, our waitress was quick with menus, drink orders, and some bread to munch on. Aside from one minor slip-up, the service was excellent. There seemed to be more than enough staff for the people dining because I seriously think there was a different waiter for each table. I'm sure they will be busier later tonight. 
Inside, the place looks like a restaurant that would be named Texas Land & Cattle. Standard longhorn steer mounted on the wall, wagon wheel lighting, saddles, chaps, boots and rodeo pictures to let you know you are in fact, in Texas. Unless of course you are at one of their locations in another state.
I ordered the Wood-Roasted Chicken which really sounds good. It is marinated, then smoked, then finished on the grill. Now there is no way to marinate, smoke then grill chicken to order, so as you might expect, I get the feeling that my chicken may have been prepared sometime yesterday. I'm sure the people who order Wood-Roasted Chicken later this evening will get the more recently cooked version that won't be nearly as dry or overdone. The taste of the chicken was flavorful and I suspect that a few hours earlier, it would have been really juicy.
As a side, I got the baked potato, loaded. I could be wrong, but I think it might have been from way earlier in the day too. I'm a huge fan of how TRH presents their baked potatoes, so it is easy for me to be disappointed. If you notice in the picture the two lines of stuff dripping off to the side, they look like maybe hot butter or even sour cream, right? Well, they were actually hard as if they had dried in place. Look, you can go into Wendy's and get a well cooked, well presented baked potato, so why not at a place like TXLC?
Oh, and don't even suggest that I even think of sending something back to the kitchen. I don't care if you are dining at some high class place like Luby's; if you send something back to the kitchen, it is coming back with spit, boogers and potentially fecal matter on it, so that just isn't an option.
And of course when my wife decided to give up chocolate for Lent, she also gave up potatoes. This was very specifically why when she ordered the Country Fried Chicken, she asked for the House Salad as a side.
And this is her Country Fried Chicken and mashed potatoes. The waitress was immediately sorry for the error and even offered to let us keep the mashed potatoes and she wouldn't charge us for them. How generous is that? At least it made me laugh.
But she did bring my wife a salad right away and the salad was very good. I had some of the croutons and they were as good or possibly better than TRH.
The Country Fried Chicken was easily the highlight of our experience at TXLC. Unlike my Wood Roasted chicken which arrived approximately Luke warm, my wife's CFC was piping hot and it was juicy and really tasty.
Oh, this seemed a little strange to me. Since I only ate a small part of the chicken and about a third of the potato (I figured I could bring it home, slather on some Stubbs on the chicken and a bucket of sour cream, a pound of cheese and a few dollops of butter on the potato and reheat it), I asked for a to-go box. Instead of giving me the box, the waitress came out with a full tray and then asked me which items on my plate I was going to take. WTF? She then took my plate from me and placed the declared items into the box then gave it to me. I find this utterly disturbing, though it probably is the sign of some place ritzy.
TXLC and specifically this location has a good track record with most of the people I know. I can only guess that either we hit it at a crappy time or maybe I have become so spoiled by consistently good vittles at TRH that any variation from that at a competitor is a let down. We had great service, but for the price, I would have been happy with a visit to the HEB where they sell those rotisserie roasted chickens for $4.99. Maybe we should have ordered steak considering they are primarily a steak house, but honestly, don't put chicken on your menu if you can't pull it off each and every time.
Have you had a better experience at Texas Land & Cattle? Tell me about it or leave a comment.
Outback Steakhouse was a favorite for us in the early 1990's I think, but following a series of unacceptable service and quality related experiences at both the Loop 410 at Evers location and the I-10 at DeZavala store, we dropped them completely from our rotation. Oh sure, if I had this blog going 10 years ago, I could have recorded the series of missteps that caused us to ban Outback from our menu, but to be honest, over dinner this evening, my wife and I couldn't really pinpoint the specific events. And, to be honest, had it not been for a gift card received at Christmas, it is probably safe to assume that we would have never returned.
Well, our decade long temper tantrum worked; they must have missed us and fixed whatever it was we didn't like. If only we could have gotten there sooner.
It turns out that I forgot about some construction taking place at 410 and Bandera this weekend, so it took us a solid 40 minutes to go one exit from Culebra to Bandera. That really sucked. And it made me hungry.
Given our attitudes about Outback - my wife actually said "Let's just get this over with" - it was going to take a really solid performance for us to even consider saying anything positive about the place. Our waitress, who was probably 8 or 9 years old the last time we were there, sat down next to my wife and got right to work. When it was clear that we weren't sure about appetizers or not, she opted to grab our drinks to give us a little more time.
I liked that and in fact, she was back with drinks and a loaf of warm bread in about a third the time it takes to get a beer at Chili's. 
The place looks about the same as I recalled. I did noticed a huge flat panel TV in the bar area and several smaller ones hanging around the place. We also noticed that there was a lot of staff and at least two management types walking around. We never complain when we eat out, but it is nice to know that if a manager came by and asked how things were, you could unload if need be.
In near record time, we were served our starters. I had the house salad and my wife went with some potato soup. It has an Aussie sounding title for it (which I don't recall), but it was potato soup, and it was excellent. My salad was very good and I have no complaints. Loved the croutons.
My wife had the Alice Springs Chicken. I love chicken and I recall that every time we would go, I would order this. For some reason, I was continually getting more and more disappointed with it, either for being dry or being just thrown together. The ASC is a breast of chicken with some mushrooms and bacon on it then smothered in cheese. I'm guessing they have reverted back to the original formula because the size of the portion was big, the chicken was extremely juicy, not dry, and the toppings were delicious. Oh, and my wife liked it too.
After careful deliberation, I went with the 8 ounce Outback special sirloin (Look at that beauty), and a baked potato, loaded. The steak was cooked medium as ordered and it was a fine specimen for the price. It cut easily and there was no excessive chewing required. I'm still gonna take the presentation of the baked potato at Texas Road House over this, but this one was nothing to sneeze at. Certainly cooked enough and no skimping on the "loaded".
The service we had was great. None of the psycho business where they come and harass you every other bite asking if everything is okay. I hate that. Our waitress was available when needed, but otherwise, kept an eye on us from afar. I like that.
So, my wife ordered up some dessert to try out. She got a sample version of a brownie with ice cream sort of thing. To be polite, I also had a small bite of it, just so she wouldn't feel as though she was eating alone.
In the end, I can't imagine this was a fluke. Something must have happened since our last visit; maybe it was that whole Y2K thing, who knows? But for great service, an awesome steak and the Alice Springs Chicken, Outback at 410 and Evers is once again, a Tasty Treat.
Yesterday, we took my daughter and son-in-law to Texas Road House to get a bite to eat for lunch. They have a TRH up in New Jersey, but according to them, while good, the steak definitely tastes different compared to real Texas beef. I have always sort of questioned that. I mean, you'd think that beef is beef, or that chain restaurants would do some sort of quality control thing to make sure it is as good in one state as another. Can you really tell the difference between a McDonald's or Burger King hamburger from one city or state to the next? I doubt it. But, if it makes my daughter feel better to get the real thing while she visits San Antonio, who am I to pass on a trip to TRH?
So anyway, it was while we were getting our TRH on, it occurred to me just how much better in appearance things looked compared to what we had at The Stockyards.
First, Look at the Stockyards House Salad on the left and the TRH House Salad on the right. Notice the croutons and the size. TRH is way better.
Next, look at the baked potatoes, both served loaded. Stockyards on the left (and yea, no butter), and then TRH on the right (you may ignore my ribs). Look at the salt on the skin. I swear, the TRH baked potato is so much more delicious, and the appearance just makes you want to dig in.
Finally, ignore the potatoes and look at the Stockyards steak on the left. I know, it would surely do in a pinch. And on the left, this is the TRH steak my son-in-law ordered. If you can see beneath the onions, you will note the darker color and inviting appearance. And having tasted both, I can tell you hands down, TRH is far better.
Oh, and finally, cost? Four of us ate at TRH for $11 less than what my wife and I paid at The Stockyards.
For several weeks now, my wife and I have been looking for opportunities to visit The Stockyards, primarily a dance hall and saloon arrangement with an, oh by the way, steakhouse tucked neatly into the back. For whatever reason, we just didn't have the time to get over there. This afternoon, our kids were off doing their own thing and we decided to slip in for a late lunch.
But when you show up at 3:30 in the afternoon, you'll get no lunch! Even though the Lunch menu on The Stockyards web page has a menu for daily lunch specials until 4pm, apparently, they don't open until 4pm. How convenient! No problem; we are flexible when it comes to eating. So, we did some errands and returned, hungry and ready for some serious steak.
By way of background, the building that houses this restaurant/dance hall/saloon, was originally opened as a restaurant called the Red Barn. The problem was, the place was huge with an enormously wide-open seating area not unlike an elementary school cafeteria. You could hear everyone but the people at your own table due to the crazy acoustics of the place. It was horrible. It was also the place where on our one and only visit, the waitress literally spilled the plate of food on my wife. Oops! 
Anyway, the new owners must have realized the space was not used correctly and they instead turned it into a much smaller scale restaurant, and a large scale dance hall. Good plan.
You can enter the steakhouse from the side entrance which has a really nice covered patio area. I'm guessing you can sit here and have drinks and wait for your table if the place is busy. 
Inside, lots of wood and a few TVs in case you need to see a score. I especially liked the large wooden booths that can easily hold a regular family of six or a San Antonio family of four. That's just a little joke there.
When we arrived (the second time) we were still the first people there and in fact, no other patrons joined us until we were already leaving. It could certainly be that we are in the midst of Christmas weekend, but I was surprised at the emptiness of the place, given the fact that Rudy's right next door was totally packed. My wife and I wondered about this quite a bit. What if everyone already knows something bad and we just hadn't gotten the word?
Our waiter was very friendly and suggested starters, perhaps the mushrooms or an onion, but to be honest, we had steak on our minds and didn't want to spoil the experience by being stuffed with fried food ahead of time. He took our drink orders and gave us a minute to look at the menu. By the way, in case you are wondering, iced tea is the same price as draft beer, so my wife had a sweetened iced tea that was very good, and I had a Miller Lite that was slight warmer than room temperature, but it was after all, the same price as the iced tea.
We both ordered the house salad with Ranch and it was very good, though certainly on the smallish side. They also give you several pieces of hot wheat bread with some sort of honey drizzled on top of it. That too was very enjoyable.
In no time our steaks had arrived. My wife ordered the 7oz sirloin cooked Medium Well and the loaded mashed potatoes as a side. Her steak arrived Well Done, but not so Well Done that she needed to risk sending it back. I'm sure she meant it as a compliment to me, but within her first or second bite, she told me that my steak is as good or better than this. I didn't try her steak but I took a bite of the loaded mashed potatoes and they were okay.
I went with a 10 oz Rib Eye cooked medium (anything more is a crime) and I got a baked potato and asked for cheese and sour cream. I know this sounds bad, but I just assumed that butter would have been, well, assumed. Apparently not. Since they charge you 25 cents for each extra thing you put on the baked potato and the choices were cheese, bacon, sour cream or chives, I guess I didn't think I needed to say, "Oh, I'll take some of that free butter with my 50 cents worth of extras."
There was nothing wrong with these steaks; I didn't have to fight it to cut it and it chewed easily. But, technically, it did not taste good to me at all, but perhaps that was just the way they prepared it. I didn't ask for any steak sauce as that may have been offensive especially since there was none present on the tables or anywhere in sight. And by the way, you simply should not have to douse a steak in sauce. The cook can do all the fancy marinating and seasoning ahead of time but the eater of the steak should not be doing any messing around with it once served. I couldn't help thinking how good it might have been on a toasted bun with lots of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce or even slathered with about a pint of the sauce we purchased from Harmon's. But I ate it. And I drank the warm beer. And I ate as much of the dry baked potato as I could get down before running out of warm beer to swallow it with.
I'm not even a huge fan of Rudy's, but it was clear to me why, given the choice, Rudy's was packed and we were sitting alone in The Stockyards. We had great service - and I trust it wasn't simply because we were the only people there, but really, when it comes down to quality and taste, jeez; go to Texas Roadhouse or even Chili's, much less a no kidding steak house, and you'll be a lot happier.
Have you tried The Stockyards and found it to be a great experience? Tell me about it or leave a comment here.
But with the opening of Logan's in AR, not more than a few miles down the road from us, we were eager to give an old friend a new try. And, in spite of being opened a relatively short time, we had a great experience in both service and quality of food.
Inside, Logan's is much more wide open than TRH. I'm not sure it matters in the dining aspect, but I do question the openness and brightness of the bar. We only sit at the bar in places like Chile's or TRH when the wait for regular dining would be too long. Usually, if a seat is open, they'll let you jump right in. My concern is more for the folks who want to make their visit more of a sporting event or just hang out. The idea of the wide open brightly lighted bar just doesn't do it for me. If that sort of thing is important to you, then you'd be better off in TRH's bar area.
Of course, I'm still a fan of the standard signage everybody nails to the wall; old pictures, license plates, posters and beer signs. It makes you feel like your house is a lot better decorated.
Before I get to the food, there is one thing I must note: The water was horrendous! I don't know if somebody crossed the pipes or what, but I took one sip of water and instead opted for beer. Seriously, skip the water. But the peanuts are good. And just like TRH, you are free to toss them on the floor. I feel so naughty when I litter.
Just like TRH, Logan's server will bring you some hot fresh bread with a big scoop of butter. It is really good and hard to turn down the offer to bring more, but we did knowing that we'd make pigs of ourselves before the rest of dinner arrived.
My wife is a fan of the petite 8 oz steak at TRH and ordered a 6oz version from Logan's. For her two sides, she selected the loaded mashed potatoes and some form of onion peels. Instead of rings, they take hunks of onion and fry them, then cover them in salt. They were actually pretty good. She ordered her steak cooked medium but felt like it was done a little too much. Over all, she says the steak was good but compared with TRH, she would go with TRH. I had one bite of it and thought it was very good.
I immediately went with the southern fried catfish, the loaded baked potato and a house salad with Ranch. First, the salad was fine, served in a chilled bowl and very consistent with what you would get at TRH or Chili's. The one thing missing for sure was croutons. How do you serve a salad like this without croutons? For that injustice alone, the salad contest goes to TRH. The baked potato is served almost exactly like TRH including the huge chunks of salt glued to the skin. If you set them side by side or did a taste test, it would be a toss up. The fish on the other hand goes clearly to Logan's. I have always enjoyed the catfish at TRH (and will continue to do so when I visit) but the portion and the flavor of Logan's was easily superior in my mind.
My wife was intrigued by the little dessert special they have. A play on the bucket of peanuts they leave at your table, they offer you a small cup of ice cream or something, served in a little bucket you keep and topped with a Nutter Butter cookie.
Great food, great service, and the price is comparable to TRH. If you haven't been to the Logan's Roadhouse in Alamo Ranch, give 'em a whirl for a Tasty Treat.
