‘Watts for Dinner’: Everything is bigger at Texas Roadhouse

You’ll need an appetite the size of the state when you visit Texas Roadhouse; luckily that’s me nearly every day.

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Things got off to an appetizing start with first, the fresh and wonderfully delicious bread and butter that automatically arrives at your table; and second, with the “Cactus Blossom” we ordered; a Texas-sized onion, golden-fried and served with Cajun horseradish sauce for dipping. If you are a fan of Outback Steakhouse, and the blooming onion, then you’ll love this dish too. When it arrived at the table, so did the smell of carinal food.

Personally, I’m not a fan of horseradish, Cajun or otherwise, so the waiter brought us some mayonnaise, ranch and blue cheese dressing. I tried it with each and delighted in every bite.

If you’re health conscious, tell yourself: “It’s a vegetable.” Also, don’t look in the bottom of the plate, keep your eyes straight ahead.

For my main dish, I picked the fried catfish: U.S. farm-raised catfish, lightly breaded in cornmeal, deep-fried, and served with Creole mustard sauce. For my sides, I picked a cup of chili and seasoned rice.

First off, Texas Roadhouse chili is amazing. It comes topped with raw onions and shredded cheddar cheese. The chili is thick and heart with big chunks of meat.

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The catfish was crispy and some of the best I’ve ever had. The corm meal crust is thin and evenly distributed and there’s no muddy taste to the catfish. I exchanged the Creole mustard sauce for some good old-fashioned tartar sauce.

To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the seasoned rice. I was just trying to avoid fries, after that heavy Cactus Blossom, and go for something a bit lighter.

My partner in dine picket the steak filet medallions, three (9 oz. total) tender filets topped with Peppercorn sauce and served over seasoned rice, as his main entrée. Even though he ordered the meat well done, and it was cooked to perfection, it remained tender and juicy. That rarely happens.

He replaced the seasoned rice with traditional mashed potatoes – you can also order them loaded with cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

This dish came with three sides, so he also selected the buttered corn, which he found to be a bit to “peppery” and the sweet potato (yes, more potatoes) which he apparently had experience with. Why? You might ask. Because he ordered it loaded, and that means with mini marshmallows and caramel sauce. This side became his default dessert. Decadent and delicious. There’s lots of marshmallows on this one.

We left a lot more food on the table than one should. When ordering, keep in mind, everything is bigger at Texas Roadhouse.

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If you go

Texas Roadhouse

• 6815 Collier Blvd., Naples
• 239-417-1111
• Texasroadhouse.com