It was Chili and giant cinnamon rolls back in my day or breakfast with hash browns.
Restaurants in Ames.
- Thread starter dafarmer
- Start date
That place has always been suspect but took an even harder nose dive about 8 years ago. It's almost instant food poisoning now.
The common joke around town is that they have to be laundering money through there. Even at the busiest dinner times there's never more than 3 or 4 cars in the parking lot anymore. No way a place that has to put all that food on the buffet is making money with the little traffic they get.
I'm genuinely curious what @riceville98 and @jcisuclones consider good restaurants. I could puke up a sirloin that's better than a ribeye from Texas Roadhouse
I don't think Texas Roadhouse is terrible.. That being said it is crazy how many people frequent it. Average food but their restaurants are always busy.
- Mar 27, 2006
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It's not like they're going to serve you something gross or inedible there. And at least their steaks aren't frozen like at an Applebee's type place. But that's about the best you can say for it.
If Texas Roadhouse is someone's idea of "good steak" they have a whole heck of a lot to experience. Because it gets way, way, way way better than that.
That's more or less my point. It's not terrible, but if I'm going out for steak it's not TR. I can make something twice as good for 1/3 of the price at home. The Drover in Omaha is the only place I've had a better steak than anything at home.
We go semi regularly. It's a loud restaurant which is good as a family with young kids. Our kids aren't ******** by any means but it's nice to not feel like they're being super disruptive of everyone around us. The food is also consistently decent. I never walk out blown away, but I rarely walk out feeling like it sucked. You're not going to get a steak that's the same quality as 801, but you're also only going to pay 25% of the price.
Of course you're also only talking like $20-30 for a steak there. There's certainly better steak out there, but you also will pay for it at those other places.
I remember eating at Ames Bonanza once as a kid maybe 1982-83, when it was on the corner of Grand and Lincoln Way. It relocated to where Hickory Park is now. Then turned into Golden Coral for awhile I think. HP must’ve taken over sometime in the early 90s.
They underwent a remodel, and jacked their prices wayyy out of whack for the food quality. Place is literally down the street from me and we don’t eat there because of the price/poor quality
Everything they got was free, they didn't jack up their prices anymore than any other place. Don't eat there I guess. I will still go.
Disagree all you want Ranging coner but you are wrong.
I’ve never had a steak at TR. always get something else. Have dishes that you don’t get at most other places and the buns are good.
From a handful of work lunches I actually like their BBQ chicken quite a bit.
Roadhouse is cheap, consistent, and you can stuff yourself for $20-$30 pp. That qualifies are “good enough” for many people. I won’t **** on it because their bread and cinnamon butter is great, steaks are decent/consistent typically, and sides are serviceable. It’s not upscale or fancy but doesn’t pretend to be. There are infinitely worse chains out there, in my opinion.
Where are you getting lunch at TR on a weekday? The TR in Des Moines all open at like 4 which is bs because I work next to the one in West Des Moines.
It’s been a couple years, but we are at the Ames location for lunch. It was a Saturday, I guess.
EDIT:
Website shows open at 11 a.m. Fri-Sun.
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Calm down, buddy. You're "dumb" for not knowing what fast food is. Are there better steak spots better than two chain restaurants that I would pick over them if given the option? Absolutely. But does does it make those two bad spots to go just because they're chains? Nah.
