Do you know the 2 special things found in every Texas Roadhouse? A Willie's corner and a mural of an older distinguished Native American figure. Willie's corner has photographs of Willie Nelson and memorabilia like his bandana. The founder of Texas Roadhouse, Walter Kent Taylor, was friends with Willie Nelson after they met at a Farm Aid event. Willie Nelson is part-owner of one Texas Roadhouse in South Austin, Texas.
The mural honors Native American culture. It is also a symbol of good luck to the business. The first Texas Roadhouse restaurant had a mural of an older Native American. The next 3 restaurants did not. Those 3 went out of business, so all of the following restaurants had a version of the mural.
My wife and I have visited this restaurant on multiple occasions. We have tried their Combo Appetizer, rolls, chili, salads, BBQ ribs, sirloin steak, prime rib, Fort Worth ribeye, and red sangria. The Combo Appetizer gives you 3 choices from a list. The list can be found in my photo of the menu. You get 2 choices of dipping sauces. The sauce choices were their salad dressings, sour cream, and BBQ sauce. We picked the Buffalo wings, fried pickles, tater skins, ranch dressing, and honey mustard dressing. The Buffalo wings were moist and tender. The coating was thin and crunchy but not hard. We chose to have it tossed in hot sauce, and it was moderately hot. The wings had a good fried flavor with a buttery Tabasco sauce coating. Overall, this had a very good traditional flavor.
The fried pickles had a thin crispy coating with black pepper. It had a good balance of flavors from salt, dill, and vinegar in the pickles combined with black pepper and oil in the coating. We enjoyed the taste. The only problem was that some pickles were soggy because the coating was too thin, so the moisture from the pickles soaked through.
The Tater skins were slices of baked potatoes with the skin still on. They were topped with melted cheddar cheese and bacon bits. The toppings added great flavor to the potatoes. The potatoes were well baked, and the skins were a little chewy. This was satisfying and filling.
Their complimentary rolls and honey cinnamon butter were delicious. The rolls were sweet and had butter brushed on top. They are freshly baked daily. The honey cinnamon butter was whipped and soft. The honey and cinnamon flavors were noticeable without overpowering the butter flavor. The rolls and butter were outstanding.
The Texas Red chili was mildly spicy hot with a savory flavor from the beef. The taste of chili powder and cumin was present, countered by a mild taste of brown sugar and slightly acidic tomato. The beans were well cooked. There were cheddar cheese and red onions on top. This chili was excellent.
We got a Caesar salad and a house salad. The Caesar salad had hearts of romaine, fresh parmesan cheese, and made-from-scratch croutons with a zesty Caesar dressing. The house salad had mixed greens, diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, eggs, and croutons. The salads were crisp and fresh. Nothing unusual, just good.
The ribs were moist and fall off the bone tender. The pork and barbecue sauce had a flavor that was rich, spicy, savory, and slightly sweet. Get this if you don't want steak.
FYI, all steaks come with 2 sides. The list of sides can be found in my photo of the menu.
We got the 8 oz sirloin steaks. It's the 2nd cheapest steak. The 6 oz sirloin is the cheapest. The 6 oz is their most popular steak. We found it to be somewhat tender and slightly dry. It had some savoriness. This is a low-budget steak that was so-so.
The prime rib was extremely tender, savory, and succulent. The only downside is the amount of fat on each steak. Every prime rib that I have gotten had big pieces of fat on it. The steak tastes so good that I don't mind.
The Fort Worth ribeye comes in 12, 14, or 16 oz sizes. The ribeye was moist, tender, and juicy. This is an excellent steak. We got a sweet potato as a side dish. It came buttered with cinnamon brown sugar on the side. Mixing a small amount of cinnamon brown sugar into the sweet potato made it interesting and enjoyable. Adding too much made it taste too sweet.
The red sangria tasted like watered-down red wine with some lime juice, triple sec, and grenadine. It didn't taste like any sangria we've ever had. It was missing fresh fruit flavor.
The dining room and restrooms were clean. The service has been friendly, polite, and responsive. This is a great restaurant for steaks and ribs. They also have other meats. We haven't tried them because the steaks are so good. They have great food, good service, and a friendly atmosphere at affordable prices. What's not to like? read more