1734 West Pinhook
http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/home.aspx
12 oz Ribeye, medium rare
1. Price - $16.29. Steak with steamed broccoli and loaded mashed potatoes.
2. Look
The look was plain. The grill marks were weak. I could barely see any seasonings on the steak. The menu claimed the ribeye came topped with a seasoned butter, yet no trace of the butter was seen.
3. Cooked to Doneness
At first, I was pleasantly surprised. The steak wasn’t overdone, nor drastically underdone. It was medium rare, however, something was still off. The temperature of the steak seemed to be a little cooler than I’d like it to be. My theory is the grill in Chili’s kitchen simply isn’t good for steaks. Either they don’t turn it up high enough, or it simply can’t go high enough for a good, quick sear. Or they just don’t know how to cook steak. Anything is possible.
4. Taste
At first, I was pleasantly surprised. The steak tasted like steak. It was tender as a ribeye should be. And even though there was no sign of the seasoned butter again, it did have seasoning. Perhaps a bit too salty(maybe they confused butter with salt?), but it was decent. I do wish there would have been other predominant flavors other than steak and salt. Maybe some herbs? Garlic? Though it seems Chili’s has adopted the simple approach. The menu lists their steak options as “Classic Sirloin” and “Classic Ribeye.” But again, something was just off with the temperature and it slightly affected the taste.
5. Seasoning
Seasoned butter? Still nowhere to be found. Salt? Oh we got your salt. But other than that, pretty basic. Nothing is going to wow you here. You may as well move along.
6. Bang for the Buck
Coming in at 16.29 for a 12 oz steak and two sides, this is about what you’d expect. From Chili’s. Also expected from Chili’s, a popular, nation-wide chain keeps competitive pricing with other restaurants. Was the food as good as its competition? Is it ever? Depends on what you’re expecting, I guess. But as far as true bang for the buck, I’m going to say no. If you’re at Chili’s, I’d say spring for the appetizers. Steak can be messed up. Fried food is simplicity in restaurants.
An additional note. I’ve mentioned before that we don’t take service into account. Some people have different opinions about this. But my belief is that it’s unfair to hold your entire opinion of a restaurant and its food hostage to the performance of one server. But we had some pretty lackluster service at Chili’s.
-Aaron A. Aaronson
8 oz Sirloin, medium rare.
1. Price - $12.99 with loaded mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.
2. Look
Not-so-hot. Even for a cheap steak, this looked like something between tuna and jerkey. I was not impressed. In general, I shouldn't wish I had another person's plate from the moment my plate hits the table, but that's what happened.
3. Cooked to Doneness
Sadly, this is only part of the review that will be remotely positive. If I had to make a bet, I'd say my steak was a tick past medium. I ordered medium-rare. However, the steak was small, so I'll try to give the cook some credit. It's tough though.
4. Seasoning
It's hard to tell you how the seasoning turned out, honestly. My steak was not particularly salty or overly peppered. Blah is probably not the term Chili's would put on its menu, but that's how it came across.
5. Taste
Not good. While eating, I told Aaron that my steak reminded me of tuna. I don't know if my steak was frozen too long, not frozen at all, or run over by a garbage truck, but I can tell you it didn't taste good at all. It didn't go down easily, and when I struggle to finish an 8-ounce steak, a restaurant has failed completely.
6. Bang for the Buck
None. Chili's was shooting blanks. Get chicken crispers, nachos, fajitas, or a big mouth burger. This was the kind of meal I fear. Even the mashed potatoes and broccoli were less than stellar. Seriously: Chicken crispers or you'll be sorry.
-Optimus Prime Rib
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