The Longhorn Steakhouse
Warwick Mall
Warwick
by Bob Mariani
The staff at The Longhorn Steakhouse seem genuinely glad to see you, and to serve you from the cowboy style menu that covers a whole lot of territory. The menu is vast, the portions more than ample, and the prices are surprisingly reasonable.
The Starter list includes things like Texas Tonion™ which is jumbo Spanish onion petals lightly battered, fried and sprinkled with the Longhorn’s signature "Prairie Dust™". It comes with a tangy dipping sauce. There’s also Spicy Shrimp on a skewer; Firecracker Chicken Wraps in flour tortillas with a cool avocado-lime dip; Buffalo wings; Texas cheese fries; and six shrimp Santa Fe style stuffed with Pepper Jack cheese in a chipotle ranch sauce.
We chose the Wild West Shrimp starter and though I’m sure you won’t find these crispy little critters roaming the range or high desert, they seemed quite at home here in the Ocean State accompanied by some hot sliced cherry peppers. Kind of the Texas version of Rhode Island calamari. ($6.99)
The menu states that the Longhorn’s "legendary steaks" are "cut from Midwestern corn-fed beef, never frozen and cooked up just the way you like them." My entrée was the Bleu Cheese Crusted Filet ($18.99), nine ounces of tender beef fillet, cooked perfectly medium rare (bright pink in the middle) and topped with melted bleu cheese. The steak sat on top of a large grilled marinated portabella mushroom cap that was a vegetarian steak in itself.
My wife ordered the Baby Back Ribs ($16.99), a full rack of tender baby backs rubbed with a smoky barbecue sauce and char grilled. The meat fell off the bone at the touch of a fork and had that great outdoorsy flavor. It came with an interesting jalapeño cole slaw and seasoned French fries.
The Longhorn’s list of entrées covers just about every preference from shrimp and chicken quesadillas to a hearty, heart-stopping 12-oz. sirloin topped with peppered bacon, bleu cheese, to Longhorn salmon fillet in their own "secret marinade" ($12.79), and a pair of 8 oz. Cowboy Pork Chops served on the bone with brandied apples and seasoned French fries.
The Longhorn’s rustic décor is a great replication of the Wild West with aged saddles and bridles, ropes and chaps, road signs, and photos of cowboy heroes from yesteryear. Many of the artifacts were skillful reproductions, but there were a few items I felt sure were authentic remnants of the Old West.
For dessert we shared a huge blueberry-studded strudel cake with a large dollop of vanilla bean ice cream finished with a raspberry swirl. Delicious, and more than enough even for two berry lovers like us.
Part of growing national network, there’s only one Longhorn Steakhouse here in Rhode Island and they’re open for lunch and dinner every day. Their wine list is short but you’re bound to find the right match for the basic, hearty fare served here at this beef-lover’s oasis in the heart of the Warwick Mall. Fore more information call 737-6943 or visit their
website.Bob Mariani is a Southeastern New England freelance author. Besides his "Table for Two" restaurant reviews found here, he also writes jazz articles on allaboutjazz.com.
