They Tell 'Em Big at LyingHorn

This is a recurring topic here at I Paid For That but I’m finally posting a long overdue rant about butter sauce on my steak. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate butter. I just don’t want it on my steak. I’ll choose and apply my condiments myself, thank you very much.

A good steak doesn’t need butter. I’d rather save those calories/points for other things. If I can cut the extra and unneeded points and calories in some foods, I can use them for dessert or wine. I thought I’d solved my steak and butter issue at one restaurant.

As I’m a packrat in real life and electronically, I still had the following exchange in my email (edits to protect my privacy and save you some time reading). I left Mr. Livrieri's name in it, though, because an executive of this steakhouse can and should be able to Google himself and find out there's a big problem. It’s an account of my first run-in with the butter sauce and, I thought, resolution of that problem.


-----Original Message-----
From: Ima Wurdibitsch
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 10:49 PM
To: guestcomments@longhornsteakhouse.com
Subject: Our dinner at Longhorn tonight


Dear Longhorn,

First of all, I'd like to say that Longhorn is one of my favorite steakhouses. Great service, great food. I've asked to speak to the manager on several occasions to either praise a server or just thank them for a consistent job well done. I wish now that I had also written to you all about the wonderful meals I've had in your Huntsville, Alabama restaurant. I wish that because I hate the fact that the first letter I'm writing to you is a complaint.

My mother, daughter and I are all watching our weight so we order carefully (dressings and such on the side, lower calorie steak and side choices). As usual, the service was good and the salads excellent. However, when my steak came, I thought I got the wrong steak. There was a pale sauce that looked kind of like melted cheese on it. I asked the waitress what was on my steak and she told me it was a butter sauce that they always put on all the steaks and seasonal vegetables. I quickly scraped it off my steak to stop it from seeping further into it. I'm used to (and enjoy) the prairie dust that your chefs use but had never seen this butter sauce before. Your steaks are excellent! They don't need the butter sauce. My waistline certainly doesn't need it.

There was so much butter on my place when I finished my steak that I estimated it at somewhere between a quarter and a third of a cup! My dad found a manager and we asked him if that was normal and did they usually put all that stuff on the steaks. He verified what the waitress had said and told us that they've always put the butter sauce on their steaks and if I'd ever had a steak there any other way, someone in the kitchen had prepared it incorrectly.

The manager offered a free cheesecake dessert for our trouble. Ehm... I'm watching my weight! I didn't want compensation or a dessert or anything else. I just wanted to find out if that was normal and, if so, I'd know to order my food without the sauce.

So, to the point of my letter... What's the story? Is that policy? Butter sauce on the steaks? Or, did I get a manager who was merely backing up the waitress? Please let me know. And, aside from tonight, keep up the good work!!

Thanks,
Ima


Longhorn quickly responded.

On Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:25:58 -0400 , Nina
Nina.Lastname@loho.com wrote :

Dear Ms. Wurdibitsch,

Thank you very much for contacting us regarding your visit to our Huntsville, AL., location. On behalf of LongHorn, I would like to apologize for your very disappointing experience. I have forwarded your e-mail to our Regional Vice President of Operations, Paul Livrieri, who would like to contact you personally to apologize and discuss your concerns. Is there a phone number where you can be contacted, at your convenience?

Again, our sincerest apologies and thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond.

Sincerely,
Nina Lastname
Executive Assistant to the President/LongHorn Steakhouse


I responded as follows:

Dear Ms. Lastname,

Thank you for your quick reply to my comment. I'd like to re-emphasize that I usually have excellent dining experiences at LongHorn. Last night's meal was unusual. If Mr. Livrieri would like to speak to me, I should be in my office for most of the afternoon. He can reach me here by dialing XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Regards,
Ima

Mr. Livrieri did indeed contact me and informed me that Longhorn does put “love” (aka a butter sauce) on all of their steaks. However, he assured me that all I needed to do was request that my steak be prepared without it. He sent a gift certificate nice enough for our entire family to eat again at Longhorn.

We continued going to Longhorn for years. It worked out for family occasions because it is somewhat family friendly and everyone can find something they like. I also liked their quick response and what seemed to be a real dedication to customer care and service.

We don’t go there anymore.

There were a few times that I noticed butter sauce on my steak and I did send it back but that wasn’t it. It’s what happened the last time we ate there.

MrWurdi and I went for what I thought was a Weight Watcher (and Core plan) friendly meal. My steak arrived with a pool of butter sauce. The waitress apologized and said she told the kitchen “no love.” The manager arrived at our table a few minutes later. In a far too long and drawn out speech full of blame-shifting and excuses, he finally got to the point. He told me “The Longhorn Secret.” Most of their steaks aren’t cooked on a grill. All but two of the steaks are cooked on a hot griddle-like surface. The cook ladles a big scoop of butter sauce onto the griddle, cooks the steak, ladles more butter sauce, flips the steak and then after plating it, puts more butter sauce on it. According to this manager, that’s what makes their steaks so good. Bullshit.

“So, what you’re telling me is that all these years that I’ve been asking for my steak with no butter, I may not have gotten the extra ladle-full after cooking but they’ve been prepared with the butter?” I asked.

“Well, the steak would stick to the griddle if we didn’t use the sauce! And don’t we have wonderful steaks?” He wasn’t getting it. I think he could sense my annoyance by this point. He finally said that I could ask to have my steak cooked on the grill in the future.

I don’t think so. Basically, I’d been lied to for years. They no longer get my business.

Butter sauce. I paid for that but not anymore.