Last night, I made an overdue trip to Saltgrass Steak House.
I am still in charge of this blog, and it’s a new restaurant, so I needed to dine there. I was looking for an excuse, and just needed enough consecutive days in town to get around to it. As it happened, a couple of events inspired such a trip on Wednesday night. I won’t bore you with the details, but it was well worth loosening the wallet a bit.
My friend Sydney Noh and I arrived about 7:30 to find a crowded parking lot and restaurant. We waited about 20 minutes for a table and when we walked through the main dining room, I was surprised at how lively we found it. Obviously we had waited on a table, so I wasn’t surprised that it was full. But the room was bigger than I expected and the atmosphere was upbeat to the point of almost seeming electric. There were a lot of people that seemed excited to be having a steak dinner in fancy new digs.
That’s what Saltgrass is. It’s a new chain steakhouse that’s probably a rung up the ladder from others in town and, as long as it feels new, it will seem more like two rungs up the ladder. It’s not a local, top-shelf steakhouse like 135 Prime or DiamondBacks. But it’s solid.
Sydney and I both ordered ribeye, though we chose to top them differently. That’s one distinguishing factor of Saltgrass: they offer upgrades on each of the steak. Now, I come from a cattle ranching family and I was raised to appreciate a steak based on the quality of the beef. But I didn’t feel like making this new steakhouse live up to some of the elite steak restaurants I’ve wandered through. So I topped mine with bleu cheese butter. Miss Noh had hers “smothered” which I think included sautéed onions and mushrooms. All things considered, I like the option of topping a steak.
However, I mildly regret my decision to top a ribeye with bleu cheese butter. The natural flavor of the well-marbled steak and the tanginess of the topping made for an overly savory dish by the end of the entrée. The bleu cheese butter would’ve been better on a filet. All things considered, I’ll steer clear of the ribeye at Saltgrass on return. Although, it still looks tempting in the photo with this blog.
I know that’s a pretty specific introduction to one menu item at Saltgrass, but that’s what you get from me. Take it or leave it. I will add that the wedge salad was excellent, with the welcome addition of a little balsamic dressing drizzle on the plate for another layer of flavor. And you can’t argue wit cold draft beer in a mug.
You know, I sometimes get Saltgrass confused with another chain steakhouse called Hoffbrau, which is a place I frequently dine with my family in Granbury. But I can see why I get confused. They’re both the same thing. They’re good steakhouses for the family to dine together and enjoy each other’s company. It’s not where you take people to impress them, but it’s tasty and fun.
