No beef with Texas Steakhouse

Texas Steakhouse & Saloon

Date published: 9/1/2005

By NANCY DEARING ROSSBACHER and STEPHEN W. SYLVIA

For THE FREE LANCE-STAR

She: A friend recently remarked that I hadn't dished out enough criticism in our recent reviews. After all, the job of a restaurant reviewer is to be brutally honest about service and cuisine.

He: Which we are. We just happened to luck out with some creditable restaurants of late.

She: But I don't want to be the milquetoast of food reviewers, so I thought: If there was ever a place I could review with cutting acerbity and knife-sharp snideness, it would be a chain steakhouse. You know, the kind that is self-consciously casual in a barn-boardish way and mooing with cow-motif decor.

Texas Steakhouse & Saloon, one of 30 franchises operating in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, debuted a year ago in Central Park, and it looked to be a promising candidate for carping.

I rubbed my hands with evil glee as we pulled up at the entrance of Texas Steakhouse & Saloon on a recent weekday evening. Look out, cranky critic comin' through.

He: The expected decor did not disappoint. In evidence were Texas flags, Texas license plates, and even an armadillo--plastic or stuffed, I know not.

I was mildly surprised that the hostess didn't greet us with a "Howdy!" Instead, she cheerfully and efficiently led us to one of the scores of wooden tables between the padded wall-hugging booths and the stool-surrounded bar.

She: A smiling jeans-clad server arrived within moments and took our drink order, and in the time it takes to say "Yee-haw!" we had a frosty mug of Blue & Gray draft ($2.99) and a crisp Tanqueray gin and tonic ($5.75). As I played with a clever cardboard dial-a-drink game on the table, I realized I was having a good time.

This wasn't going at all as planned.

He: I started out with a crock of French onion soup ($3.59), which, while rich with spoon-clinging cheese, was unremarkable.

She: Then my house salad arrived. It was plentiful, colorful and garden-fresh, and a splendid barbecue-tinged ranch dressing was served alongside.

TEXAS STEAKHOUSE & SALOON Address: 1731 Carl D. Silver Parkway, Fredericksburg. The restaurant is on the left at the first intersection when entering Central Park from the Bragg Road entrance. Phone: 540/265-1809 Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Prices: Appetizers, soups and salads: $2.49-$9.99 Lunch sandwiches and burgers (lunch served until 4 p.m.): $6.99-$8.49 Entrees: $7.99-$20.99 Desserts: $3.49-$4.49 Full bar and children's menu available. Takeout is available at separate entrance on the right side, but not all items are available to go. Atmosphere: Emblems of the Lone Star State abound in a casual, family-oriented setting in which your neighbor is as likely to be holding a toddler as sipping a glass of suds. Music varies from boot-scootin' boogie to cryin'-in-your-beer country. Wheelchair accessible. Smoking section available. Payment: Major credit cards accepted.

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Date published: 9/1/2005