Haven't been to ole TR in years and man, I missed those rolls!
Recently came through for my dad's birthday and an early Mother's Day meal with the family. We decided to hit it up on a Saturday afternoon around 3pm, thinking we would be slick and get their after the lunch rush and before the dinner rush...we was wrong! This place doesn't seem to have "slow" times, just busy and less busy. Even with the crowd waiting, we were told it would be about 25 minutes and it turned out to be about 35 minutes. So, all in all it wasnt a bad wait and they have plenty of covered outdoor seating for you to hang in. And if that isn't your thing, you can hang in your car or run an errand as they take your cell phone and text when your table is ready.
Once our table was ready, we all headed in where you are greeted by the steak case, where you can pick your steak out if you know that is what you are there to devour! All of our party had steak on the mind, but none of us were decisive enough to pick our meat out before sitting...so, we left it up to the professionals. Upon seating, the one noticeable difference from my last visit to this was the cleanliness of the floors and the missing pales of peanuts on the table tops. This is clearly due to the pandemic and to be honest, I wasn't mad at it. The peanuts are still available, but they are in barrels around the restaurant in sealed packages, around the same size you get at a baseball game. The one plus here is you can easily take em to go or grab a bag or two on the way out.
Food wise we loaded up across the board with most of the table getting the combos of steak and shrimp or steak and ribs. Per my family, everyone's steaks were cooked as requested and the other parts were decent however the ribs were a little dry and the shrimp were over seasoned on one plate. Neither was enough to cause a re-do, just notable for future ordering. Personally, I am somewhat of a Country Fried Steak connoisseur, so naturally I gravitated towards the Country Fried Sirloin with white pepper gravy. I had romanticized this very dish, as I remember it from years ago. The crispy breading, the meaty and massive piece of steak all topped with a creamy and peppery gravy...man, I was really pumped for this dish!
Sadly, it missed the mark this time :( They had to have changed the recipe over the years, as this cut was paper thin, the breading was crispy along the edges and the gravy was borderline bland...oh, and some part of it was extra salty. I guess next time, I will have to switch up my choice as I don't think I can withstand another CFS heartbreak. While we are on the subject of salty, we all started with an order of Fried Pickles. Those pickles, even after being breaded and fried made all of our mouths pucker up...those pickles gotta be in an extra pickly brine! They were still tasty, but had to be enjoyed in moderation for sure!
Service was fantastic! Our server was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and attentive from start to finish! Additionally, I let him know it was my Dad's birthday and he made sure he got the crew together to sing to the ole man and dropped a great little brownie dessert off for him to enjoy.
Overall, we enjoyed ourselves and the experience. There were a few things that were left desired, but we got to spend time with family and get a belly full of those delicious rolls! So, I will chalk that up as a success in my book! read more