Roadhouse Grill

Location: 525 Kolb Dr, Fairfield, OH 45014

Date Visited: Friday, February 8, 2008


Today we ate dinner at Roadhouse Grill on Winton Road just in front of the Cincinnati Mills mall (formerly ForestFair Mall).

We barely beat the Friday evening rush. All the booths were taken so we had to sit at a table with chairs. We prefer the comfort and space of a booth. With a table you have to worry about wobbly chairs and traffic. It seems like whenever I sit at a table I always have waiters bumping into me and weaving around with trays of food that barely miss my head as they go by. It didn't bother me today though.

We just got there in time for Happy Hour, which is a wonderful thing. Roadhouse Grill has excellent beer prices during Happy Hour. Lori got a Bud Light draft for $1.51. If you sit in the bar area the beers are only 99¢ during Happy Hour! If you like to have a beer (beers?) with your meal then get there before 7:00 to save some bucks.

I got sweet tea (my favorite beverage) to drink, which came served in a large mason jar. The first jar was kind of bland -- like it was watered-down. But the next two were much better. The tea was Luzianne and was good, but not as good as Cracker Barrel or McAllister's.

The atmosphere at Roadhouse Grill is Texas-style. It reminded me a lot of Texas Roadhouse in many ways. They put a pail of peanuts on the table and you are supposed to just throw the shells on the floor as you eat them. It doesn't take long before the floor is covered with shells. It didn't seem to bother anybody though and in fact added to the fun.

The waitress was very friendly. She brought us some rolls with butter to eat while we waited. They were quite good, but not as delectable as the ones Texas Roadhouse serves. I couldn't decide between a ribeye steak or a Jim Beam marinated sirloin they call The Roadie steak. I asked the waitress and she recommended the Roadie. I ordered it medium rare and it actually came medium rare, which is rare. :) Usually a steak comes well past the medium rare stage when I order it. I wasn't in the mood for veggies so I got sides of mashed potatoes with gravy and a baked sweet potato.

The steak was delicious and packed a lot of flavor. It had a sweet, rich whiskey-based marinade that I enjoyed. The steak was served on a sizzling skillet with sauteed onions. Very nice. I ate the whole 12 ounce steak with no trouble and enjoyed every bite.

The mashed potatoes and gravy were good but nothing special. The baked sweet potato was more enticing. It was served with butter and some brown sugar with cinnamon.

Lori is a vegetarian so we were worried the Roadhouse Grill wouldn't have much she could eat. They did offer some pasta alfredo, but that was the only vegetarian entree available. Lori ordered a gorgonzola salad with balsamic vinaigrette dresssing. She said it was wonderful. She also ordered the stacked potatoes, which is Roadhouse Grill's version of potato skins (of course Lori got them without the bacon). They are round potato sections covered with cheese and sour cream. They were quite good but didn't have enough crispy skin to be a true winner.

The bill came to $30.84 which was a fair price. It was a bit more expensive than Texas Roadhouse, but much cheaper than Outback.

All things considered it was a very enjoyable meal. We will be happy to eat there again some time. If you are hungry for a big steak and a beer then you won't be disappointed with Roadhouse Grill.

-- Nick



Ratings:
Overall: 6 (scale of 0-10 with 5 as average)
Today: 6 (first visit)
Portion size: Large
Atmosphere: Casual
Family-friendly: Yes
Prices: Moderate
Cleanliness: Good
Good place for a 1st date?: No
Similar Places: Texas Roadhouse, Long Horn Steakhouse