The Side Dish Texas Roadhouse Doesn't Make From Scratch

For over three decades, Texas Roadhouse has prided itself on making its products and meals from scratch. From its hand-cut steaks to its complimentary bread rolls and highly addictive honey cinnamon butter spread (which you can order to-go), the casual dining chain markets itself as a restaurant that avoids shortcuts to ensure freshness every time they serve customers' orders. However, there's a loophole to this claim since not all menu items are prepared onsite. A representative for the chain has confirmed (via Eat This, Not That) that its steak fries aren't actually cut and prepared in-house. Instead, they're delivered to each location frozen.

Steak fries are a default side for many of Texas Roadhouse's entrées, so customers who are paying premium prices for the meals understandably expect the thick-cut potato fries to receive the same treatment as the rest of the menu. As such, this revelation can be polarizing for patrons, even if frozen fries are quite common in the restaurant industry, which oftentimes prioritizes faster prep times over quality. Even still, knowing that the fries start frozen instead of fresh may feel like a betrayal to the brand's image and reputation.

As it turns out, steak fries aren't the only item on Texas Roadhouse's menu that doesn't fit its scratch-made narrative. Another offering that isn't prepared fresh on-site is the kids' mac & cheese. Instead of a homemade cheese sauce or a proprietary recipe for this dish, the famous chain relies on a ready-made product: Kraft Mac & Cheese. Yes, the same boxed and commercially available macaroni and cheese you can find in grocery stores across the country is being served by the casual dining brand to its customers.

Using Kraft Mac & Cheese may be a smart move by the chain since it ensures consistency in flavor. Besides, the creamy, cheesy boxed meal could pass as homemade when prepared right. From a practical standpoint, it also helps reduce food waste as the menu item is targeted at picky eaters. Still, much like the issue with the food establishment's steak fries, many may find it unfair that the chain is charging premium pricing for a store-bought, mass-produced product, especially since it's considered a premium side dish at the steakhouse.