Man celebrates his son’s birthday at Texas Roadhouse. Then the $140 bill comes for food he says was lukewarm: ‘At least keep it the same’

Going out to eat and having a dining experience that doesn’t meet your expectations is a special kind of disappointment. If it happens at a restaurant that you normally love, then that disappointment hits even harder.

For Alonzo Massey (@alonzomassey), that’s how a recent trip to Texas Roadhouse went. He went to celebrate his son’s birthday, but they both left at the end of their meal feeling that it was just not that good this time.

The quality alone left a lot to be desired for Alonzo and his son. However, the issue was worse due to the higher prices that he paid for food that seemed to be of a lower quality than he expected from a Texas Roadhouse.

Alonzo claims that the quality went down and prices went up

This story took place at the Texas Roadhouse in Gurnee, and Alonzo said that he wasn’t sure if it was a one-off experience or just that location. Alonzo found that it wasn’t just one item that wasn’t of the quality he expected, but multiple items that he and his son received.

Even the iconic Texas Roadhouse rolls failed to impress, as Alonzo said, “It wasn’t golden brown. It was like they left them cooking too long, and they took them out of the oven, and that’s what they gave. So when we open it up, you can taste that the outside was a bit overcooked. There was no warmness coming; there was no steam.”

According to Alonzo, the theme of the dinner seemed to be that the food was lukewarm. He got the sampler for the appetizer, which includes potato skins, mozzarella sticks, and boneless wings. He also felt that his and his son’s steaks were dry.

Alonzo’s total ended up being $140, and he did say that he got a free small appetizer when he mentioned that the food just wasn’t good that time. However, his main comment about the situation was, “For you to raise prices, your food quality needs to stay the same. You can’t raise prices, and the food quality goes down. At least keep it the same.”

Commenters shared their own thoughts about Texas Roadhouse

One commenter was surprised by the prices and said, “My Texas Roadhouse menu prices are vastly better than these. This must be a premier city location, not the norm for sure.” However, another commenter felt that this was normal, saying, “Texas Roadhouse has always been a higher price than the quality. Never understood the hype tbh.”

It’s possible that part of the problem is simply the higher beef prices right now. Quite a few restaurants have higher prices for entrees with beef compared to other proteins, and Chipotle bringing back its brisket is a perfect example, as the price for extra meat is an average of $8, varying by location. People have reported paying up to $25 for one brisket bowl with extra meat.

The Wall Street Journal believes that the high beef prices aren’t going anywhere. This could mean that more stories like Alonzo’s will start circulating as the food industry adjusts to the increased cost without bringing down profits.

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