LongHorn Steakhouse

A new LongHorn Steakhouse opened recently in Sanford, and so we were anxious to give it a try. I've generally had a good, consistent experience at the Lake Mary location, and this new location boasts being a "new concept" in decor. Indeed, it is very nice inside with lots of brick and wood in dark tones, very warm. But we were there for the food.

We arrived on a Friday night and quickly put in our name for a table. We were told it'd be a 25 minute wait but it was less than that, probably just under 20 minutes, before we were seated. We started off with a drink order and then studied the menu. We decided to begin with the Wild West Shrimp, crispy hand-battered shrimp that were fried and served with some spicy peppers (I counted pickled cherry, banana/pepperocini, and jalapeno) and ranch dressing. It as pretty good. The shrimp were cooked well, not rubbery. They were just a bit on the greasy side, though, and as we ate them, the oil left behind on the serving dish was apparent. Still, they were mighty good and we polished them off. One minor point about the ranch dressing container: it looks messy!  Why didn't then clean that up a bit before serving it. Attention to detail is needed.

We both had salads and they were pretty good. I had a house salad and thankfully ordered the raspberry vinaigrette on the side. It was not the most appealing salad i've ever eaten, visually, because it seemed to me the lettuce, tomato, and cucumber were all sort of tossed together with the requisite single onion ring and a few croutons and a few bits of cheese thrown on top. But, that said, it was a very tasty salad, and the raspberry vinaigrette was very nice.

Tommy ordered the house salad with Blue Cheese Dressing. Now, he likes Blue Cheese dressing, but to me it seemed a bit overdressed. But he liked it so that's all that matters. 

For his entree, Tommy had the Chop Steak, a grilled ground filet smothered with grilled mushrooms in a red wine reduction and topped with onion straws. He ordered it medium but in reality it came out between medium well and well done, maybe closer to well done. It was flavorful, but you can see very little "juice" on the plate, because it was not that juicy, a victim of a bit of overcooking. He had it with a loaded baked potato that was just that.

For my main course, I chose the Blackened Salmon & Cheddar Grits from the "Chef's Showcase" menu. It was a 10 oz. portion of hand-cut Atlantic salmon that was blackened and seared to perfection, served on a bed of creamy cheddar grits and topped with a citrus butter sauce. First of all, it was indeed seared to perfection. I cannot recall ever having a piece of salmon that was this perfectly cooked. A few degrees less and it would have been a bit raw, but this was not. As a result, the fish was tender, flavorful and delicious. Now, as for the "blackened" part--well, I did not really get that. "Blackened" should at least have some bit of good heat. I could see it, but not really taste it. The grits were good but they lacked something. Maybe it was the citrus butter sauce because i was left thinking that the dish needed a bit more acid--I did not get that in the "citrus" part of the butter sauce. I had the green beans as a side and they were nice and delicious, crisp and flavorful. Overall, I liked my dish. It was indeed good. I do, however, think that it needed just a few more tweak in order to be great, not just good. 

Overall, we had a generally good experience here. The wait was not long, the waiting areas, inside and out, were comfy and not crowded. The service was decent and the food was fair. Not outstanding, but good. I guess that I eat in too many local places where food is not an assembly line, and so I often find chains a bit lacking--they have the corporate recipes and formularies and stick to them, whereas a local place can taste, season, and adjust better. Still, would I go back to LongHorn? Yes, I would. But they have a lot of competition out there!