Ted's Montana Grill is the place for a great meal
Written: Sep 03 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beef & bison available, Environmental friendly, Fresh ingredients, Made from scratch
Cons: Slight price premium over comparable restaurants
The Bottom Line: Though there is a price premium at Ted’s, I really like to eat there and I look forward to having more meals from Ted’s in the future
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| jps246's Full Review: Ted's Montana Grill |
I like Ted's Montana Grill. They have some great steaks, a ton of sandwiches and if you're up for it, burgers and steaks that are made from bison in place of beef.
I had never heard of Ted's until they started building one near my office. That's when I did a little searching and discovered that it was a steak house co-founded by Ted Turner. It focuses on using fresh and natural ingredients and cooking everything from scratch in the kitchen. Not only that, they have a stronger focus on the environment than many other restaurants today. They even use paper straws!
All told I was pretty impressed before I even got to go for my first meal. When the place finally opened, I wasn't disappointed. The food and service has turned out to be great. The prices are a bit high, but overall what you get is a good value for your dollar.
Experiences
I've eaten at Ted's several times trying various items from the menu. By far my favorite has to be their burgers, which was what I first had when I ate there. Now, I'm not a huge burger fan, but I really enjoyed their burger and actually look forward to having one there. The burgers (and there are tons of variations available) come with fries and are around $9 to $10.
Another sandwich kind of meal that I enjoy is their chicken grill sandwiches. At Ted's there not just a grilled chicken sandwich, they have a whole section devoted to them, which gives those of us who try to avoid beef as much as possible a large choice and saves us from having that boring old grilled chicken sandwich. The chicken grills also come with fries (or another side).
If you like chili cheese fries, Ted's has got a great chili cheese fries appetizer that's made with bison chili. It was gone soon after it reached the table, which speaks volumes about how good it tasted.
The house salad and the Caesar salad have also been good and are available at a discount if you want to add them to your meal.
Finally I've also tackled the steaks, which are also very good. The Kansas City Strip is very tasty and the prime rib is good too. The Kansas City Strip is marinated with lemon butter, which gives it a really unique and very good taste. I've also found that the grill at Ted's is good at actually cooking a steak to order, much more so than other chain steakhouses that I've come across. The entrees generally come with your choice of two sides.
More of the menu
One of the very cool things about the burger menu is that the burgers are available with beef or with ground bison if you want a slightly healthier alternative on your burger. In addition, the steaks are also available in a beef or a bison version. I personally haven't gotten the bison, but I have tried what others have had and it is quite tasty.
Ted's pretty much has a menu that follows most other restaurants. There are a number of soups and salads available along with a handful of appetizers (including those great chili fries). Then in addition to the burgers, the chicken sandwiches and the steak entrees, they have a daily "Blue Plate Classics" and a featured entrees section. The blue plate classics change each day and include favorites like roast turkey, crab cakes, and chicken fried chicken. The featured entrees are available every day and include pot roast, meatloaf, and salmon along with a few other seafood and chicken dishes.
Generally I'd think that almost anyone could find something to eat here, even if they weren't all that gung-ho on steaks since the steak and the burgers, while making up a good part of the menu, by no means have a monopoly on what's served here.
My friends and my partner have gotten a variety of different dishes here including the pot roast, the roast turkey and some burgers and chicken sandwiches. I really haven't heard any complaints about the taste or the quality of the food and I don't really have any myself.
Price
Here's my only gripe with Ted's and I guess it's sort of understandable. The prices here are a bit higher than at comparable restaurants. Not outlandishly high, but expect to spend a bit of a premium to dine here, especially if you go for the entrees and/or the steaks. My partner and I usually spend about $30 here for lunch and around $50 to $60 for dinner, more if he has a drink or two. For lunches, I'd say it averages about $15 per person since most burgers and chicken sandwiches are about $10 and if you add a salad and a drink you're basically at $15. An appetizer will push it up even more.
If you go for the steaks, expect to spend at least $30 per person as the steaks generally start around $20 and go up from there. The entrees are slightly less expensive and probably average around $15 each. The blue plate classics vary in price depending on the day but are generally less expensive than the entrees and the steaks.
Now for my understanding of the price. Ted's is a different kind of steakhouse. They ship in everything fresh. Nothing is frozen. That means deliveries are pretty much coming all the time and their food costs must be higher than a place that freezes everything and using preserved foods. Not only that, but the focus on the environment probably also adds costs as they are using recycled goods and items which probably cost a bit more than standard items. In addition they don't use plastic, so everything is either metal or glass, which also adds to the costs I'd imagine.
Overall for the experience, the quality of the food and knowing that what I am eating is fresh and has been prepared from scratch, I'm willing to pay that extra premium. It just means that I don't eat here quite as often as I would like.
Ambiance and Service
I've been consistently impressed by the overall level of service that Ted's has. They have a number of wait staff and servers working and they all work together as a team picking up and helping out each other to make sure everyone in the restaurant has what they need and are enjoying their meals.
The meals I've had have been well paced, especially at lunch time. They give you plenty of time to eat each course, but not so long that you are wondering where you food is. They are also very polite, knowledgeable about the menu and helpful. They'll answer any question you've got about a meal or if they don't know, they'll find someone who will.
The overall décor of the restaurant is nice too. It's not overdone like many chain restaurants. Instead you have a fairly simple dining room that's made out of darker natural woods with simple tables and chairs (along with booths). The dining area is open and lit well. It does get noisy during busier periods, but it is still fairly easy to carry on a conversation at your table.
Final Thoughts
I really like eating at Ted's Montana Grill. I find the food to be really good. I like the large selection they have and I like the fact that the food is fresh and it's prepared freshly from scratch before I eat it. That way I know I am getting natural, non-processed food to eat. I also like the fact that Ted's cares about the environment. While they aren't solving all of their eco-problems, they are at least making an effort, which is a lot more than most restaurants can claim.
The prices do tend to be a bit higher at Ted's, but you are paying for the fresh, quality food and the environmentalism of the chain.
Overall even though there is a bit of a price premium at Ted's, I really like to eat there and I look forward to having more meals from Ted's in the future.
Recommended:
Yes
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