The Steakhouse Chain Boomers Love More Than Texas Roadhouse (No, Not LongHorn)

We don't mean to engage in any reductive, generation-based stereotyping, but we figure most baby boomers love Texas Roadhouse. It involves a number of things boomers are known to love: indulgent excess, restaurant themes, and line dancing (Texas Roadhouse employees are known to line dance). It turns out to be true that boomers are a big fan of the chain, but there's another steakhouse chain they like even better. According to YouGov, the steakhouse boomers love most is none other than Outback Steakhouse.

If you sort the YouGov data by generation, you'll find that 99% of boomers have heard of Outback. That in itself isn't too unusual — just by being alive and advertised to in America we all become aware of a great many brands. What's more notable is that 70% of boomers like Outback Steakhouse. That's enough to make it the sixth most-popular chain in America among boomers. (The most popular? Baskin-Robbins, which enjoys 81% popularity among the cruise ship set.) Boomers, being our most brand-loyal generation, likely glommed onto Outback when it was the preeminent budget steakhouse chain and didn't let go despite challenges from Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn. We can only guess as to why Outback caught on in the first place, but it's probably some combination of decent food at reasonable prices and having watched "Crocodile Dundee" on VHS. (Did you know that movie got nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars? Wild stuff.)

Just because Outback is the steakhouse chain of choice for baby boomers doesn't mean Texas Roadhouse is doing terrible. It still has a respectable 94% fame rating among boomers and 64% popularity. That's enough to make it the 21st most-popular dining brand among that generation — which may not sound that impressive but there are a whole lot of dining brands out there. (The YouGov survey accounted for 264.)

With other generations, Texas Roadhouse is doing much better. Among all adults, it's the seventh most-popular dining brand, with a 69% approval rating; millennials and Generation X both list it as their fifth favorite dining brand. (What can we say? Those honey butter bread rolls are the bomb.) Third place in the steakhouse chain ranking is LongHorn coming in at 36th across all adults, and further down is Ruth's Chris Steak House at 85th, which may be higher-end than the others but only has a 68% fame rating.

There are some more pronounced generational differences regarding other chains. Boomers count Marie Callender's, the restaurant chain that is now mostly known for its frozen pies (we ranked 11 from worst to best), as their fourth-favorite dining brand, whereas it ranks 32nd among Generation X and 52nd among millennials. (It may have something to do with the fact many millennials don't know Marie Callender's is a restaurant chain at all, having dwindled to just 23 locations.) But lest millennials get too cocky, their favorite pizza brand, Little Caesars, is ranked fourth among them, but 27th among Generation X and 45th among boomers.