The skinny from a gal who worked at LoneStar!!!
Written: Mar 17 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Read my review :)
Cons: Please read my review!
The Bottom Line: Good food, friendly service, and a good time? All for a pretty reasonable price? This is the place to be!
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| gatorgirlie's Full Review: Lone Star Steakhouse |
I will say one thing -- out of all the restaurants I have ever worked at, I liked LoneStar the best. It was harder to provide truly excellent service (maybe it's because our cooks never cooked the steak correctly), but I still had fun. I was always an Outback worshipper until I began serving and bartending at the LoneStar in Port Orange, FL. That quickly changed when I realized a few select things. First of all LoneStar's steaks are cut fresh daily (all except the TBone, which most stores don't have a bone cutter). Almost every other steakhouse has theirs shipped in frozen. Second, LoneStar grills the steaks. Outback pan fries them. It makes a difference, trust me. Plus I find the quality of steaks better for the price.
The atmosphere is fun, and the serving is a relaxed casual. We didn't dance at our location, but I wish we would have. That would have been great! Well here goes:
Atmosphere
Better than Outback. At least our LoneStar's menu isn't filled with gaggingly cutesy, supposedly Australian words like "bonzer." I'm sorry, but I have a few friends who live in Australia.. and not ONCE have they EVER said that word. The decor is better at LoneStar -- especially the stuffed heads we tell all the kiddies are real. I won't review service here because I always got great service going in there.. why? Cause I worked there, that's why. It also varies so much from one place to another due to management styles, etc.. that it's hard for me to say how good the service is.
Drinks
LoneStar has a very good happy hour. Ours was all well/call single liquor drinks are two for one, and big 21 oz draft beers were $2 - $2.50. Again, like I said in the Olive Garden review.. and I'm giving away a huge trade secret right now.. The specialty drinks you see on the special, brightly colored menu are not worth the cost. The "Azul," "Pineapple Poncho," etc.. They are great drinks, don't get me wrong.. But don't expect them to get you hammered. If you want a fruity concoction that tastes good, and you don't mind it costing you $5.95.. then go for the Pineapple Poncho.. That was my favorite. Our margaritas are very, very good.
Coffee.. One thing I've always found with coffee is that servers never throw it out. Always ask your server how fresh the coffee is, if they don't know.. ask them to brew another pot, chances are it's very old.
Appetizers
Yummy, yummy, yummy. Their "Texas Rose" (onion blossom) is great, I love the spicy texas rose sauce that comes with it. The Cheese Fries top Outback's by head and tails. That comes with a spicy Texas Ranch sauce (different from the Rose sauce). They are 22 oz of steak fries topped with a mountain of cheddar and jack cheese, and then bacon. The ribs are second to none. The barbeque sauce is so delicious, and the ribs fall off the bone. I never tried the shrimp, but a lot of people liked it (I'm allergic to shellfish). The Jalapeno Poppers were good, but they are different since LoneStar makes them. It contains cheddar and bacon as opposed to cream cheese. They have chicken wings which are good. I may be forgetting something, but no biggie.. I've outlined the best appetizers here, and if it's something that I would forget.. It's probably not worth having.
Soups, Salads, Lunches and Sides.. Oh my!
The main soups they have are chili and black bean soup, and they always have a soup of the day. Don't let that term deceive you -- it's normally a soup of the week, or soup until it runs out. Those can be french onion, steak and potato, chicken pot pie, chicken noodle, or a couple others. The best, by far, is the steak and potato. It's a good, hearty soup (almost a stew) with thick chunks of steak and potato along with carrots and celery. The french onion runs a second with the cheese melted so nicely over the top. If they don't have either of those two, try the chili. It's nice and spicy, very thick and hearty. I wouldn't recommend the black bean soup. They put sour cream on top, and that can occassionally make the soup cold. I never really had that many customers that liked the black bean soup, and personally I would never try it.
Their salads are very good. They make some of their salad dressings like the honey mustard and bleu cheese. Those, in my opinion, are the two best. I also like the texas ranch, which is a spicier version of the usual. Their salads are usually fresh, especially for lunch.. since the servers are in the back making them. The caesar is extremely good, even if they don't make the dressing. A lot of people like the Lettuce Wedge. To me, it's nothing special. It's a chunk of iceberg lettuce (while the house salad is a mix of iceberg and romaine), topped with bleu cheese dressing, bleu cheese crumbles and tomatos. If you don't like romaine, you should order this. If you don't care, I'd stick with regular salad.
Lunches. They have the same items as on the dinner menu, plus their lunch menu. These can be great deals -- most places have a 2 for $10 lunch coupon (keep a look out in your local paper on Sundays). The lunches that are included in that coupon are a small Ribeye, I believe 7 ounces, chicken breast, pork chop, shrimp, chicken fingers, and a steak sandwich (think the 7 ounce ribeye on a bun). They all come with your choice of side, and you can add a salad for very little extra. I'll review the food in the dinner section, the only difference is that the lunches are half the size.
The burgers are good, and they can cook them any temperature. The chicken sandwiches are o.k. But they don't come with any sides, and for the money.. I would go with something else.
Sides. I love their sides. The fries are fries, essentially. Their sweet potato is the best you can find, anywhere. And I mean that. You can top it with regular butter, cinnamon/sugar and/or honey butter if you like. They are huge. I once saw one that topped two pounds! You like sweet potatos, these are amazing. Their baked potatos are pretty good as well. Not as big as the sweet potato, they are still decent sized. Brushed with butter and salt while they cook, you can top it with butter, sour cream, bacon, cheddar and scallions. These are another good choice. The steamed veggies I never really liked. They usually come out so salty and buttery that it destroys the natural taste of the food. I'd stay away from them. The texas rice is pretty good.. It's a mixture of brown rice, white rice, peas, carrots and a few other veggies. It can tend to be salty, so be careful. If you can't ingest a lot of sodium, stay away.
There are two sides you can add to any meal, and I highly recommend them for steaks. I don't like mushrooms. I have always hated mushrooms. I've tried the sauteed mushrooms at every single steak house I have ever been to, because my husband always has them. Why am I saying this? LoneStar's sauteed mushrooms are EXCELLENT! They are like an addiction, I would eat some every day I worked. They are oohhhh so good. The sauteed onions are almost as good, but if you want to choose.. Go with the mushrooms.
You can also add king crab legs or shrimp to the side. I don't recommend the crab, not very many people like it.. and it takes a while to cook.
Dinner
Now we get to the good stuff. I'll be quick, I promise. The way LoneStar cooks their steaks (they undercook on tendency, by the way) is.. RARE = cool, red center (it's going to moo, trust me). MED RARE = warm, red center (there is very little pink to a medium rare). MEDIUM = hot pink center, pink throughout. MED WELL = hot pink center, gray outside. WELL = cooked all the way through.
STEAKS: All steaks are grilled over mesquite wood. No, this doesn't give the steaks a mesquite flavor... but it does add to the aroma and smokiness of the texture. All steaks come with your choice of side, and soup/salad. Keep in mind.. BECAUSE LoneStar cuts your steaks fresh every morning, they can hand cut the steaks to your specifications as well. I've seen people order a 25 ounce Ribeye before -- you just add $1 / ounce you order.
San Antonio Sirloin - Comes in 9, 12 or 16 ounces (called the Big Tex). Let me get this off my chest -- Sirloins are horrible steaks. They come from the hind end of the cow, and thus tend to be chewy and tough even in the best specimens. That's why they are also used for hamburger meat in most places, and why they are the cheapest TRUE steak on their menu. If you are looking for a $10 steak, here it is.. but don't expect too much from it. You couldn't pay me to eat this steak.
Delmonico -- This is a 11 ounce type of Ribeye. Delmonicos are the same cut as a ribeye, just a little farther down.. almost like an end cut.. if you get my meaning. This is a very good small steak, very flavorful and delicious. It's moderately priced.. Around $11.99.
Cajun Ribeye -- Best steak on the menu. This 16 ounce steak is marinated for 60 hours in cajun spices (thus they cannot specially cut this steak, unfortunately). Not only are our ribeyes a better cut of meat than other steak chains, the cajun spices just add to it. Of course, it's expensive. It's a $20 steak, but it is well worth the cost.
Texas Ribeye -- Second best steak on the menu. A 14 ounce ribeye cut that is grilled to your specifications. Ribeyes are the most flavorful steaks because of the amount of fat in the steak (called marbling), and this ribeye is wonderful.
Five Star Filets -- I've never been fond of Filet's. They have no fat, and thus no flavor. The fat marbling throughout a steak is what gives it flavor, no fat.. No taste. LoneStar wraps a piece of bacon around the Filet to give it some sort of taste, most places do. It is generally a smaller, yet thicker cut than the other steaks.. So be very careful when cooking to med well or well done -- butterfly it. What does that mean? Cutting the steak in half so it cooks more evenly and faster. They come in .. 6, 9 and 12 ounce sizes. They also tend to be on the expensive side.. but they are the tenderest steak you can find.
New York Strip -- This is a good middle-of-the-road steak. It's not excellent, it's not a Sirloin. It's not expensive, it's not a sirloin (ie: cheap). It's not chewy, but it doesn't melt in your mouth like a filet. It doesn't have the most flavor like a ribeye, yet it's not bland like a filet. Like I said, very middle of the road steak. I personally like this one, and if I can't afford a ribeye, then this is the steak I get. Comes in 11 and 14 ounce sizes.
TBone -- Our TBones are porterhouses. What does that mean? Well a TBone is a bone-in steak where half is a filet cut (tenderloin) and the other half is a strip steak. It becomes a porterhouse when (and this has been a while, so I may be wrong on the numbers) the filet side is three inches or more. I believe it has to be almost the same size as the strip steak side. Our TBone is very good, but it's very expensive as well. It's around $20.
Prime Rib -- This is an unusual prime rib. Many of our customers liked it, I didn't... and I LOVE prime rib. They slow cook the prime rib, so keep in mind.. They may only have one or two temperatures available when you come. It's only served after 4 pm. The earlier you come, the rarer it will be. But the spices they rub on it makes it taste like ham. Now, I like ham. But when I order a steak.. By gosh darn it, I want it to taste like steak! You can cut it any size you want, but the sizes on the menu are 8, 12 and 16 ounces. Once they run out, they run out for the night.
Chopped Steak -- I don't even like calling this a steak, because it's not. It is more like a hamburger patty than a steak. This is what happens. Since we cut our steaks fresh every morning, inevitably there will be a lot of excess meat trimmed off (ie: when the manager weighs the cut and it comes out to 10 ounces instead of nine, he has to cut off one ounce).. So what they do is they take all the meat trimmings left over from that morning's beef cut, and grind it down. They shape it into patties (exactly like a hamburger, but since it is true steak going into it, they don't have to call it a hamburger), and call it the "Chopped Steak." It comes with sauteed mushrooms or onions in addition to everything else. It's $9.99. People think this is a great deal on a steak, it's not. You could order a hamburger for cheaper. Order at your own risk.
OTHER ENTREES
These are non steak entrees that come with your choice of side.. but you have to add a soup/salad at an additional cost.
Chicken Kabob -- Many of my customers liked this, I never tried it.
Beef Kabob -- Never tried it, again customers liked this
Chicken Breasts -- Very good. Juicy and always tended to be cooked correctly.
Sweet Bourbon Salmon -- This is great salmon! Keep in mind it is cooked med rare to medium, so if you don't like that.. let them know. It's marinated for a few days in a bourbon sauce (made with Jim Beam Green Label), then grilled to perfection. Don't use the lemon, it destroys the delicate flavor of the salmon.
Pork Chops -- Never had them since I don't like pork chops, but people have said they are ok
Ribs -- Just like the appetizer, they are excellent. Yummy yummy, messy ribs. They come in half and full rack sizes.
Shrimp Dinner -- There are 10 shrimp on a bed of rice along with the choice of side. Just like the appetizer, they are good (or so I heard).
You can also order the combos (Filet and Chicken, Chicken and Ribs, etc).. Those are exactly what they say!
Desserts
Let's see... desserts.. I'd have to say, LoneStar has the weakest dessert selection of anywhere else I have worked. The Apple Cobbler is the only good cobbler (out of apple, cherry and peach).. but since it is a daily selection, you never know when you're going to get it. They do make it daily every morning, so it's fresh, though. Big Brownie Blast.. Oh how this was the bane of my existence there. I HATE this, just because the server has to spend about 5 minutes making it. In a big, frozen schooner is put a hot brownie topped with hot fudge, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and a cherry. It's a good dessert, but as a server I had a bias against it. They have a really good Key Lime Pie, but their cheesecake is lacking.
Closing
I love this place. From their hot fresh rolls (which I never mentioned, oops) and honey butter, to their appetizers and steaks.. This is a truly enjoyable dining experience. Country music plays in the background, and occassionally the servers will get up and dance. If you like good food, good service, and a good time.. Go to LoneStar Steakhouse. But always remember, it is a steakhouse.. so it will be slightly more expensive than a Applebees.. But it's well worth the extra money.
OH.. AND.. a big sticking point for me. Tuesday nights are Kids Eat Free night. Every adult who orders an entree (not just salad) will get two free kids meals for your rugrats. PLEASE PLEASE tip your server off the original amount, not the discounted amount. Just because your kids are eating free, doesn't mean you don't have to tip for the food they ate and the mess they made! Same goes for the 2 for $10 coupons!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
gatorgirlie
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Location: Orlando, FL
Reviews written: 248
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