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Last Update: Jun 29th, 2015
Texas Roadhouse, Miramar

Texas Roadhouse

3241 Sw 160Th Ave.
Miramar FL, 33027
(954) 499-3391
Overall Rating
2.8
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
06/27/2015

Details

Hours: M-Thu 4pm-10:30pm Fri-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun 11am-10pm
Attire: Casual
Parking: Private Lot
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Full Bar
Outside Dining: No
Delivery: No

Pros

Great Value
Lots of Big Booths
Generous Sides

Cons

Amateurish Service
Deep Fried Appetizers
No Verizon LTE, No WiFi

Critic's Review

Rainey Saturday and I felt like taking a drive. I've thought about checking out the Texas Roadhouse. There's only 2 of them in South Florida, with others slated to open in West Palm Beach and Boynton Beach. This one is in Western Miramar, just off route 75. 27 miles from downtown Fort Lauderdale, which is about as far as Delray Beach.

While you can see the location from the exit off Route 75, the restaurant is located in the rear of a busy shopping center. The first thing you notice is that there are a lot more pickup trucks out here than in the east. They have a big free lot, and I went at about 2:45 so it was only 1/3 full. This location is only open for lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, which is one thing that's kept me from coming before.

At first I thought that the "Don't Feed the Ducks" was part of the shtick, but then I saw the duck. Are people really throwing the ducks their leftovers? Do ducks like steak?

Texas Roadhouse Ducks

Upon entry they have a meat display, which if nothing else gives you an idea of the size of the steak you may be getting. It's not as impressive as Council Oak, but you won't be getting scalped here by the prices either.

Texas Roadhouse Steak Display

The hostess tried to steer me to an empty bar, which I roundly resisted. She then led me past entire sections of bit empty booths to a miniature booth right in front of the kitchen. Who trains these morons anyway?

Texas Roadhouse Mini Booth

This booth is fine if you're having a hamburger, but with the buckets even 1 person can't eat comfortably here. I moved over to a nice big table and a server promptly took my beverage order.

I'm tired of mixing it up with teenage hostesses. Just because you're 17 doesn't mean that your brain doesn't work. Its 3pm, the place is half empty, nobody is coming for 2 hours. Let people be comfortable.

"Extra" lemon is 2 wedges here; bread is optional but I took it to see what I'd get.

Texas Roadhouse Ice Tea and Bread

The rolls are fine, but it comes with some sort of cinnamon butter that ruins it. You can't improve butter; there's no point to flavored butter, Period.

There's also a bucket of peanuts on the table, as well as one for garbage. I had a couple of nuts while waiting for my tea. Memories of the Ground Round.

I had a coupon for a free appetizer, but the apps are all fried stuff. I ordered the "rattlesnake bites", which are actually jalapeno poppers. I also ordered a 16oz prime rib, medium rare, with sides of Chili and a house salad with blue cheese. Smart restaurant offering a salad as a side. My server asked if I wanted the salad first; I told him to bring it out with the appetizer.

The interior is Ale House meets Outback; they have some interesting decor. Characters of NASCAR stars on the wall.

Texas Roadhouse Interior

They also have a pretty nice mural that is ruined by Heat and Panthers logos; the price of sponsorships.

Texas Roadhouse Dining Area

The place was about 1/3 full; they have pretty loud country music which I really don't mind: "Kiss a Girl", "Slow Hand", George Strait and there was a server dance to "All Jacked up".

The poppers (uh, rattlesnake bites) came out first.

Texas Roadhouse Rattlesnake Bites (Jalapeno Poppers)

Deep fried cheese and jalapenos; these were actually quite good. Sometimes they're too hot, but these has just enough kick to light up the flavor of the cheese. Some of them were overbreaded; I tried a couple that weren't too hard but I had no intention of eating them all.

The salad came out 7 minutes later.

Texas Roadhouse Salad

This salad has just about everything in it, with an unusually low proportion of lettuce. Kind of a shallow bowl; I got the dressing on it and mixed it up and it wasn't too bad. Certainly better than some of the "vegetable" sides I saw coming out. You don't order vegetables in a place like this.

Texas Roadhouse Salad

My server checked on me and I asked him for some plain butter so I could try a roll. Much better with regular butter.

Texas Roadhouse Roll

The prime rib came out 5 minutes later. I'd barely started on the salad. Since prime rib and chili is all pre-made there's really no reason for it to come out so quickly.

Texas Roadhouse 16oz Prime Rib

This was closer to rare than medium rare, but I wasn't sending it back to the microwave. With the chili and the salad I wouldn't be eating more than half of it anyway.

The chili was just "ok"; made with ground beef and beans which is very un-Texas like. Texas chili is beanless and made with slow cooked beef. The Prime Rib was gristly and too lean; a little fat is needed to tenderize the meat. It was also fairly heavily seasoned, so it had a "flavor" other than beef.

One thing that was odd and different was that not one thing was removed from the table in the entire time I was there. Even when I got an iced tea refill, the empty glass wasn't removed.

Texas Roadhouse Full Monty

He dropped off the check and brought me a container for my remaining prime rib, but still didn't remove even 1 empty plate. I had to clear an area so sign the check. I was trying to figure out what a mess it would have been if I had stayed at the smaller booth.

The real story here is the check. When you look at all the food I got for $22, and the tiny piece of salmon I got the other day at Redlands, you understand why people come to these places.

Texas Roadhouse Check

Conclusion

I think that the Texas Roadhouse is a bit better than the Ale House; more of a restaurant with a more interesting menu. It's probably not worth the trip if you live east of 95. but for those in the west I'd come here before the ale house. The steaks are better at the Outback; or at least better than the one I got today.

Comment Policy Add Comment
Ralph
Reply
This is almost identical in concept to the Road House Grill, it was a local chain that went out of business, the one location here was on Commercial, where Kaluz is located now. I wonder if someone is trying to resurrect it?
Administrator
Reply
This place started in the mid 90s, so it was around before Roadhouse imploded. There are still some "Original Roadhouse" restaurants around in CA and OR. Not sure if it's the same one or not.

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