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| - If I could give "0" stars, I would. Anyone who knows me would know that chain restaurants are not my thing. With that said, however, I do realize that they do have their place and serve their purpose for many people. Sometimes we want a "decent" meal, in maybe a little less time, at a lower cost, and maybe in a more casual atmosphere; electing to sacrifice quality for convenience if you will. I get it, and I think that's fair. There are many chain restaurants that I think hit the mark when it comes to this philosophy. Long Horn Steakhouse in Rocky River, Ohio, I'm afraid, does not.
I stopped in on a Sunday night with my girlfriend. We had just finished some errands on this side of town and were both hungry, but neither of us really felt like going anywhere "special," we just wanted to grab a quick bite of something maybe a step or two above a hamburger or a burrito.
When we arrived, there was about a 15-20 minute wait. The hostess station and waiting area was nice enough. Time passes rather quickly and we were seated at a booth beside a party table situated in the center of this particular section of the dining room, where a birthday party of about 12-14 guests was just finishing up.
The waiting for a table, and being seated is where any pleasantness during our visit came to an abrupt end. We sat in our booth for some time before being acknowledged by our server; a good five minutes or more. When he did arrive he asked if we would like something to drink, and offered some selections from the bar; the standard. We decided we would not be drinking this particular evening, and both just asked for water. He returned about 10 minutes later with our waters (seriously TEN MINUTES), and asked if we would like to order any appetizers. We don't topically order apps from these places, as most of them are fried or drenched in butter, but in this case, there was also some concern as to timing, as we have now been in the restaurant for nearly 40 minutes (including the 20 minute wait for the table), and so far have just received our waters. I declined any appetizers and asked if we could order our entrees. This seemed to annoy him to some degree. Thinking back, I thought he appeared somewhat annoyed when we order only water, but I didn't give it much thought at the time.
Look, I don't know if this guy just didn't like me, or didn't like my girlfriend, or if he thought I was a jerk; whatever. I certainly didn't give him any reason, but it sure seemed that way, and quite frankly that's ok; not everyone is going to like everyone. The point is, under these circumstances, I shouldn't know it.
We ordered our entrees and "salads" (don't get me started on those). When we were finished with it salads, I moved them to the end of the table, with the hope that they would be more easily spotted by our server, and so that he would know that we were finished. After not seeing him for another 10-15 minutes (I kid you not, no refill on water, or checking on the salad; nothing) he stops by the table grabs the two salad bowls and just continues walking towards the kitchen without missing a beat. He doesn't stop to see how we enjoyed the salads (we didn't enjoy them at all by the way), or ask if we would like more waters (both glasses were COMPLETELY empty; even the ice), or let us know how are entrees were coming along. It was truly unbelievable. Some of the absolute worst service I had ever encountered.
After another 5 minutes or so (not so bad this time) our server returned with our entrees, a filet for her and a sirloin for me, with a side of Parmesan creamed spinach (which cost $1.99 extra because it's a "Signature Side" ).
My steak was good enough for a sirloin, but the spinach was disgusting. It didn't even look appetizing. If it wasn't for my deteriorating relationship with our server that evening, I would say that I was surprised that anyone would leave the kitchen with that so and actually present it to a customer.
As for my girlfriend's steak? It was cold. Cooked properly, but cold. Like cold, cold. I even tried it for myself.
All-in-all this was an awful experience; one that will keep me from ever returning. I've had some so-so meals at this particular Longhorn in the past, and some questionable service there too, but this was off the charts. Especially in the service department. This is definitely a fool me twice, and shame on me.
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