9 Insider Tips For Getting the Best Value at Texas Roadhouse
Texas Roadhouse is known nationwide as an affordable restaurant chain offering numerous ways to order steak. The chain takes pride in making its menu items from scratch, including the fan-favorite complimentary dinner rolls baked every five minutes. A casual steakhouse chain like this may seem easy enough to figure out, but as it turns out, there are more ways to maximize the dining experience than you might realize.
One former Texas Roadhouse employee recently spilled the green beans on Reddit, providing a detailed list of tips and tricks for having the best meal possible. In short, this shared knowledge is a treasure trove for value seekers.
Finding a high-value meal at Texas Roadhouse isn't limited to getting the most bang for your buck, though that certainly helps. Increasing the value of your dinner can also mean finding the freshest, highest-quality steak and enhancing the flavors of your meal, often at little to no added cost.
The next time you're dining out at a Texas Roadhouse, remember these tips. They will help stretch your dollar further or, at the very least, give you the tastiest meal possible.
Filet medallions offer more steak for less money
Customers can find nearly every cut of steak imaginable at Texas Roadhouse. Whether you prefer a tender filet mignon, a juicy New York strip, or a succulent bone-in ribeye, the chain's extensive and customizable menu allows for building the steak dinner that's right for you. However, not all orders are created equal in terms of value. With a little bit of math, you can find yourself with even more steak for less money.
As a former employee explained on Reddit, the restaurant's filet medallions get you more steak than a small order of filet at a cheaper price: "Filet Medallions (3 x 3oz medallions of filet), which is a total of 9 oz of Filet that costs $1 less than the 8oz Filet." This entrée also allows you to double down on value when it comes to side dishes. As the poster explained, the dish comes served "on a bed of rice plus the two sides that meals get."
Don't forget about the sidekicks
A standard Texas Roadhouse steak meal comes with your choice of two side dishes. The menu also features "sidekicks," or premium enhancements that you can add to your meal for a small fee. These include additions like extra pieces of shrimp, a small salmon filet, and ribs. While it may seem counterintuitive to spend more on your meal to find value, the Reddit thread points out some benefits of upgrading your meal this way.
The poster noted how it's "very uncommon that these get talked about," but the sidekicks "can be great if you're thinking of splitting a meal or want to have just the right amount of leftovers to make everyone at the office jealous the next day." If splitting a meal, a few extra bucks for some added protein may be just the right amount of food for two people, and at a far lower price point than if each person were to individually order entrées.
Order the chili as a side to optimize your dollar
Texas Roadhouse entrées come with your choice of two side dishes, which range from baked potatoes to green beans to a house salad. Customers can also order a side dish of Texas Red Chili, perfect for those chilly winter nights. Doubling down on meat by selecting chili as a side dish to your steak dinner might seem odd, but as the Reddit poster explains, it stretches your dollar further.
The poster points out that Texas Roadhouse "hand-cuts all of their steaks," which means there are trimmings left over. Those trimmings are used when making the Texas Red Chili. If you were to make the same chili yourself, it would be "the most expensive chili you could make at home," the poster explains, "because it is ground Filet, ribeye, strip, and sirloin meat." A chili with all of those premium trimmings is a higher-value use of your included side dish than, say, a house salad or french fries.
A bonus chili tip: the chili can be used for a secret Texas Roadhouse menu item called the Chili Cheese Cactus Blossom. As the Redditor describes it, "it is exactly what it sounds like." That is, the same rich house-made chili combined with the restaurant's popular fried onion appetizer.
Sunday is prime time for prime rib
The popular prime rib isn't always available at Texas Roadhouse, which can be frustrating if you're out to dinner with the family and want the most options possible for your dining budget. If prime rib is what you're looking for, stick to weekend visits, particularly Sundays. The ex-employee explained: "Sunday lunch rush prior to church exit would be a good suggestion that will definitely have prime rib." Strategically timing your visits can help ensure you have a better chance of finding fresh cuts of meat in good supply.
Ask for a bigger steak to guarantee freshness
Since Texas Roadhouse hand-cuts most of its steaks, much of the prep work done is prior to opening to ensure efficiency in the kitchen. However, there is a way to ensure that your chosen cut is even fresher. The trick, according to the Redditor, is to size up: "If you want to ensure your steak is cut to order (instead of precut that morning like many 6, 8, or 11 oz Sirloin), you can always request a specific size as long as it is bigger than the largest size on the menu."
You'll wind up paying a small fee for the extra ounce or two of steak, but you'll know that your steak will have been cut the moment your server puts in the order. That, for many, is worth the extra couple of bucks.
The lone exception to this rule is the porterhouse t-bone, which is the only steak that is not cut in-house. "They do not have a bone saw," the poster explained, "and so these are not usually the most fresh."
Create your own dip
A great sauce or condiment can elevate a dish from good to excellent, and Texas Roadhouse is known for some of those enhancements. Take, for example, its cinnamon honey butter served alongside the fresh-baked rolls. Regular whipped butter is also available, which you can use for the rolls as well as other dishes if you're up for a little experimenting at your table.
One commenter on the Reddit thread suggested that customers can create their own dip: "My ex-Roadie hack is to order a side of peppercorn gravy and regular whipped butter. Mix the two. Dip whatever you want in it, but I like to dip rolls."
Double up on your burger patties
If there's one kind of restaurant chain that knows how to make a great burger, it's a steakhouse chain. Specifically, Texas Roadhouse includes a few varieties of the classic hamburger on its menu, including a Bacon Cheeseburger and a Smokehouse Burger. It doesn't cost much to turn your burger into a double, according to the Reddit thread.
A commenter noted, "I think they upped the price, but next time, ask how much it is to add a patty." For a nominal extra fee—around $2, according to the commenter—you can make your burger a double, which is a solid value to get twice as much meat in one burger. As the commenter pointed out, "they're half-pound patties to begin with." Prices may vary depending on your nearest Texas Roadhouse location.
Ask for more butter to boost flavor
Don't be shy in asking for extras of anything at Texas Roadhouse, especially when it comes to the chain's yummy butter. As the original Reddit poster suggested, "If you care, you can ask for more butter." There are actually a few different varieties of butter that pair well with various dishes, beginning with the famous honey cinnamon butter that comes with its dinner rolls. There's also a garlic butter typically melted for salmon and shrimp dishes, and the regular whipped butter that comes with potatoes.
These butters can be asked for at any time, no matter what you're ordering, according to the former employee: "I like to finish my strips with garlic butter, but that's just me."
Ask for sirloin seasoning on the side
You may find that different steaks at Texas Roadhouse come served with different seasonings. Specifically, the sirloin has its own distinct seasoning blend. But you can also it for other things, according to the Reddit poster. "[A]sk for a small side sirloin seasoning (it's free) and dip your fresh baked bread into it. It's oddly really good." No matter what you choose to add the seasoning to, it's a no-cost way to further enhance your Texas Roadhouse meal.
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