The Chicken Fried Life

Texas Roadhouse

(Editor’s Note: We’re not too hot on chain restaurants, but we’ll try anyone’s chicken fried steak. It’s about the research, people.)

The Food: We had the Chicken Fried Steak(of course). It was huge, but was thin and very salty. The winner here was the cream gravy. This is not our favorite chicken fried steak, but the restaurant was fun. They give you a large pail of peanuts to shell, eat, and toss the shells on the floor, while you wait for your entrees. There’s also all-you-can-eat rolls with cinnamon butter that are pretty tasty.

The Place: The interior will remind you of many of the Outback, Chili’s, Applebee’s-type places you’ve been. It is a little darker. They have TVs in the bar that are visible through much of the restaurant, in case there is a game you need to keep an eye on. One fun feature(especially for kids) is the digital jukebox near the front of the restaurant where you can pick all your favorite new and old country songs. (We opted for some old Willie Nelson.)

The People: Friendly, local staff. They seem to be high school, college age. They occasionally break out into a line dance which is fun or frightening, depending on how you feel about that.

Cost: $10.95 for Chicken Fried and two sides. (All meals include rolls and peanuts, too.) Other entrees range from under $10 to more than $20 for a large steak.

Take-out: Sure.

Adult Beverages: Yup, and happy hour drink specials.

Locations: 310 stores in 44 states. (Sorry, Hawaii) http://www.texasroadhouse.com/store-sites/