This is the fourth year that Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse has participated in KRLD’s Restaurant Week, and it’s not something in which we participate in order to bring traffic thru our doors. The truth is, that we’re only one of two restaurants in the West End that is participating this year, which makes us somewhat of an oasis destination during Restaurant Week. We participate in it because it is for a good charity: North Texas Food Bank, a 30 year old non-profit fighting hunger.
Despite our isolation, with regard to the other participating restaurants, we’ve had more reservations for Restaurant Week dinners and lunches than any of our previous years, AND we still have the 3 busiest days of Restaurant Week (the weekend) left ahead of us. We’ve notice a lot of first-time Y.O. Steakhouse visitors thanks to this promotion, and all of them are pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality of food on our menu. One such first-timer offered this five-star review on OpenTable:
“I went for restaurant week and I have to say I was very surprised. With Ranch in the name I was a bit worried, but come to find out its named after a legendary ranch that’s over 130 years old. The atmosphere is casual but upscale at the same time and where as the decor is rustic its elegant. The service was very sincere and efficient but the food was what really blew me away. The flavor of the steak was incredible and the pecan crusted trout had a cactus succotash and molasses butter. It was very delicate and wonderful. The manager came by and asked how everything was, you don’t see this very often anymore and its a real nice touch.”
We realize that most people that walk away from any pleasant restaurant experience don’t immediately take to the internet to offer their praise. Generally they tell friends if it was truly noteworthy, and tend to keep that place in mind for future dining occasions. When it comes to bad experiences, especially with restaurants, tech-savvy people tend to flock to the internet with their complaints. Which is why we were also surprised by this stellar review by user “Lucky P.” on Yelp, by the end of the first day of KRLD’s Restaurant Week:
“OMG.
OMGOMGOMG. Oh, holy christ, holy holy.
Gorgeous food, impeccable service.
Appetizer: Wild Game Special Appetizer. Came with quail, wild boar sausage, and venison. Sausage served over a marinated purple cabbage not unlike sauerkraut but firmer in texture. I could have had a bowl of that all to myself. Venison is tender and delicious. Quail… could have been chicken. Whatever.
I truly believe the grand poo-bah of the dishes we ordered was the buffalo filet mignon. I ordered it rare and it was just perfect – and for some odd reason, it was just a little too much food for me (I’m fairly active and as a result, my appetite is like a bottomless pit, which is why I tend to avoid buffets). It was cut thick, very juicy and sliced easily.
There was a mixed grill special entree with a smaller serving of the buffalo, two elk chops, and some more boar sausage. Elk is different, as it is gamier than beef, but not as rough as lamb can be, it can be hit or miss anywhere. I would give it a B+ here.
For sides we got the baked sweet “potatoes” which is actually just one huge potato. We also ordered the Gouda (“Mac”) & Cheese. GET THIS. I am not kidding. Perfectly al dente shells (not mac… thanks) in a creamy sauce that did not separate, baked with breadcrumb topping like it’s supposed to be… and I truly could have eaten that all by itself.”
We know that a promotion like KRLD’s Restaurant Week can cause some places to get over-crowded, or cause service to decline in its attentiveness; we’re no stranger to those faults. But we’ve made it our goal to contact those folks that have made reservations for KRLD’s Restaurant Week, a day or so after their visit, in order to illicit feedback on their experience. Any thing we can do to improve our performance on a regular basis will make your dining experience with us, all the more enjoyable.
