Being Awesome Reaps Reward

The Belle of Ballast Point was recently rewarded for her awesomeness by her employer. She came home the other day and announced that the company had given her a $15 gift certificate to be redeemed at her choice of chain restaurants. Fifteen dollars? Come on, she's more awesome than that.

Oh well, not to gander at the mouth of a gift horse, we decided to use her certificate last night. We had a choice of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Seasons 52, I don't remember, and Longhorn Steakhouse. All, except for I don't remember and Olive Garden (too much creamy goo), were worthy choices. We hadn't been to Longhorn for awhile and I was in the mood for a steak, so we headed for cow country - specifically the one at 2055 North Dale Mabry.

It would be nice to think that all Longhorn locations are as good as this one, but I am only speaking here of the one on North Dale Mabry.

We were promptly seated and presented with menus by Sandy, our very pleasant and efficient server for the evening. Sandy took our drink orders, a glass of Cab for her (no, not Sandy) and a Sierra Nevada draft for me. We eschewed appetizers and instead started with the house salad for her and the house Caesar for me. Both salads were crisp, fresh and went well with the basket of bread and butter.

I was surprised that my dining partner chose the Baby Back Ribs instead of steak, but she swooned at the taste and tenderness of those ribs. The sight of barbecue sauce adorning her dainty lips, from ear to ear, attested to the fact that this was a gastronomic delight.

Photo from Longhorn web site

My dinner choice was the Outlaw Rib Eye, an 18 ounce bone-in beauty cooked to a perfect medium rare. I am not sure I want to say that this was the best bone-in rib eye I have ever had, but it darn sure ranks right up near the top.

Another stand out for me was the side order of Fresh Steamed Asparagus drizzled with lemon-butter sauce. It was a real treat to be served asparagus that was perfectly prepared - not mostly raw or cooked to death. This side was excellent!

Our dinner for two with two beers and a glass of wine came to $58.26 before the $15 gift card. We tacked a 20% gratuity onto the non-discounted price.