A Decent Restaurant

*Every time I flipped on Food Network or the Travel Channel, someone was smoking, slathering, or munching on BBQ ribs. It was driving me nuts. So when we found ourselves in Muskegon, looking for supper and a little adventure, the van found its way to a Texas Roadhouse, a BBQ chain out of Indiana (?), started in 1993, that had a good local reputation.
*Judging by the cars in the overflowing parking lot, I anticipated a 45-minute wait for Friday night supper, so I sent Claudia in early. I was surprised that she hailed me down, said 'zero' waiting time, so I parked the van, went in, found Claudia, and she was already munching on yeast rolls and cinnamon butter. I'd only been gone a minute or two! Turns out that the details of this restaurant would continue to surprise us before the night was done.
*Texas Roadhouse prides itself on hand-cut steaks, that you can pick out of a meat case if you want, or have them custom cut. They looked good, but my mind was on ribs. They also provide fresh dressings. But what they don't tell you, is the SERVICE. These people were trained beyond anything I have seen recently.
*A recurring question we ran into was: "is this your first time here?" We suspect that newcomers get extra special treatment, which is a bit of genius. First impressions are still the most important for building a repeat business. We think we will answer 'yes' to this question everytime we go there.
*I love it that when your hostess ushers you to your table, she picks up a basket of warm yeast rolls with cinnamon butter on the way, so that when you sit down, you're immediately eating! Of course there is the obligatory bucket of peanuts for continued munching.
*The menu looked simple, but I didn't give it much notice. I found the ribs, and that was that. I got two sides of perfectly steamed vegetables, and mashed potatoes with brown gravy. Claudia got the house salad with fresh ranch. All the food was excellent. Although a couple of wet-naps were provided for my ribs, I didn't need them. A fork was all that was necessary to pick the bones clean. Very tender, good sauce, good char, good pork.
*Service was quick and efficient, and the wait for the food was nothing. In fact, she brought Claudia's salad first (which was excellent. how do they get croutons to melt in your mouth?), and I waited a bit more for my ribs. But somehow, the first salad was a mistake, so they brought a 2nd one at no charge. It now sits in our fridge.
The server had a picture of her kids on her ordering tablet, visible to the customers. Nice trick. I'm sure it helps in tipping to know she is supporting some little ones, or nephews, or whatever. The beauty of it was, it was a DETAIL, and this place likes details.
In serving our meal, up to 4 people serviced our table for various things, including the Asst. Manager that came over to talk to us. There wasn't a lot of waiting time for anything, which I'm sure contributes to good table turnover and keeps the volume up. But we didn't feel rushed.
*But the best part of the night was the bill. We decided ahead of time to split my meal, and get Claudia a house salad, order lemon waters, and skip dessert. MORE than enough foood for the two of us, and it came to $22.00. Add a generous tip, and we got away with $27.00. We took home a salad, 4 rolls and butter, for later. Next time, I'm going for a half-rack of ribs and we can get by for $21.00. Not bad for a great meal.