An Evening with Longhorn Steakhouse, Marietta

I thought I wrote a review. Maybe I just imagined it in my food coma. Better late than never right?
This was AMAZING. It was more food than I even expected. I planned to just have soda, but upon hearing of $ 5 margaritas, I had a few of them. WORTH IT.
So as everyone else has gone over, they started us with four appetizers… and even brought us more of the chicken bites those of us at my table were very attached to. I don’t even like shrimp very much and I ate some of those. The chips were good too, and the corn fritters weren’t bad either.
The salad has to have been one of my favorite parts of the night. Typically I don’t like fruit in salads whatsoever. But I figured worst thing that happens, I eat the watermelon separate from the salad. Initially I thought maybe the watermelon was going to be like off the grill hot which would be weird, but they flash chill it so that really meshes well with everything else. It was just sweet enough to not really detract from the salad, which is the problem I have w/​fruit in salad. The texture of watermelon also goes so well with kale, and I loved the entire thing with goat cheese too. I definitely had to make sure to save some of that.
I had the Hawaiian ribeye along with the mac and cheese. Whoa. I really just wanted ribeye and was prepared to just brush the pineapple salsa on top off to the side, but it was totally tolerable and I enjoyed it. Of course making the tableside steak sauce really spicy helped to detract from the sweet too…
The mac and cheese though. I could have just been given a 3 quart pot of that stuff and I’d be happy. IT IS AMAZING. I have had to convince myself I don’t need to go there just for mac and cheese.
And if that wasn’t enough food, we had the peach raspberry tart and chocolate stampede. Ohmahgawd. Our server said once this little girl refused to order anything BUT the chocolate stampede and proceeded to EAT IT ALL. I don’t know how but props to her. While there, I only had a bite of the tart, which was a much lighter dessert and really good, but it was all about the chocolate. It was crazy.
I had enough food to take home to feed a small army. I think I ate all the leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day.
I’m still full because I won a $ 25 gift card for Instagramming and I look at it in my wallet, but I can’t get myself to go back just yet. But one of these days… it’s gonna be lunch… the mac and cheese.
Thanks Heidi and Longhorn for such an amazing meal! I still have my little cowboy hat in my car. You know, just in case it comes in handy to have a sparkly red little cowboy hat.

So much food! Longhorn staff was amazing and very informative on their steaks. They truly love their company and it defintiely shows. Thanks Heidi for throwing such a great evemt. I personally loved the Peach Iced Tea it was delicious. Defintiely try it if you’re at Longhorn!

What a lovely event! I’ve been to Longhorn several times but this event’s experience has made me want to return with friends again in the near future. Loved the casual, laid back atmosphere. The entire management staff and servers for the event were super friendly and accomodating.
We learned a few new fun facts about Longhorn’s history and enjoyed getting to know the local managing directors. You can definitely tell they enjoy what they do and love the company brand. Great to see for sure!
The food was AMAZING. My favorite appetizer were the chicken bites but loved all the dipping sauces that came with the popcorn shrimp, house chips and the steak. The grilled watermelon salad with feta was one memorable dish. Who knew that grilling a watermelon would taste so good! We were told that they basted the watermelons with honey before throwing them on the grill. No wonder each bite tasted so sweet!
My filet mignon was cooked to perfect. I asked for it «medium» and the meat was lean and juicy! The fellow Unilocalers enjoyed their rib eye steaks with the Hawaiian topping. The entire dining experience was fantastic and a night to remember.
Huge shout out to Heidi P., the management team at Longhorn Steakhouse and the wonderful serving staff that made our night so special! Thank you!

Thanks for a very nice event Heidi!

I think I might have been a cowgirl in a previous life. I sure do love Longhorn Steakhouse! Everything about the night was fantastic! Kudos to Heidi and the amazing staff for showing us such a wonderful time.
In terms of food, you must order the Wild West shrimp, ribeye steak with tableside steak sauce, and the chocolate stampede cake. Yum! All of the sides are amazing as well.
Seriously, I can’t wait to return here soon.

Talk about the perfect event to introduce me to the world of Elite Unilocalers!
This was my first event as an Elite member and I don’t know how it can ever be topped! The staff truly amazed us with all of their offerings and hospitality. The location has been in business since 1982 but you would think they had opened yesterday it was so well maintained.
I think this was one of the best restaurant experiences I have had in years. To be fair — I haven’t been to a Longhorn for probably close to a decade. This evening showed me they are worth putting in the restaurant rotation.
Every team member I interacted with was enthusiastic, energetic, and willing to go above and beyond to take care of us. The managers Katie and Lisa clearly loved their jobs, the people they worked with, and the food made. They couldn’t wait to share fun facts about the products, their preparation, and guide us through their new offerings. I can’t wait to get guns like Lisa’s carving steaks in the back!
All of the appetizers were tasty and had a fresh take on them (plus their classic shrimp!). Our table was divided on favorites between the fritters and chicken and mentioned that we wished we could have some more they were so good. Little known to us, the staff overheard and minutes later came out with second helpings for us to enjoy. It really impressed me that they were so in tune with their diners and their needs.
Next we had a superfood salad — grilled watermelon, kale, quinoa, feta, OH MY! It had a rich balsamic drizzled on top which really brought out the flavors and melded them together in harmony. It was a huge portion and our amazing server Ben made the comment that it was only the appetizer size! The entrée was twice as big and came with chicken on top! Talk about a salad that packs a punch.
We got our choice of entrée and I went for their new Hawaiian ribeye creation. So worth it. The steak is marinated for two hours before hitting the grill and man did it show. The steak was juicy and flavorful with a sweet pineapple topping. I was afraid that the fruity sweetness might be too overpowering, but the sauce was smoky and had a kick which was much appreciated! It paired perfectly with the topping to cool things down a bit.
For dessert we had two giant plates brought to our table — the chocolate stampede and their new fruit tart. I have never in my life not finished a dessert (especially one as decadent as these!), but I could not eat another bite after having a small helping of each. They were a great way to end the meal.
Throughout the night they gave away $ 25 gift cards for Instagram/​Twitter posts featuring their food and fun stuff throughout the night. The managers handed out their cards and urged us to say hello the next time we made it in. They handed out free appetizer coupons to everyone and were thrilled to invite us back. All of the servers, managers, and staff were truly exceptional. I can’t wait to come back to try more of their offerings and bring some friends along!
Thank you Heidi, Joy, Katie, Lisa, Vanessa, Ben, Reid, and Pam for putting on an amazing event for us! It was spectacular!

Heidi and the Longhorn Staff are awesome! Another fantastic event. Longhorn’s staff was very accommodating and friendly. Everyone else here has beat me to the punch and reviewed this event, so I’ll keep it short. Chicken Bites, Shrimp, Corn Fritters, Watermelon Wedge Salad, Steak w/​fantastic sides and desserts = AWESOME NIGHT!
I had the Sirloin. Forgive me I do not remember the exact name but man it was juicy and delicious. The staff at Longhorn were very knowledgeable and shared their opinions on the dishes. What can I say… if you missed this event — you missed out!

Special thanks to Heidi for hosting such a fabulous event! I’d also like to thank Longhorn and their wonderful staff for being so accommodating to us. The service they provided was unlike any other! Everything went really well!
We started with a number of appetizers including the following below:
–Spicy Chicken Bites
–Homemade Chips with BBQ and Horseradish sauce
–Wild West Shrimp
–Corn Fitters
My favorite was the Spicy Chicken Bites! The funny part is that I NEVER eat anything spicy and I LOVED this appetizer! It had the perfect combo of sweet and sour meets tangy and spicy with a small kick. Then came the Kale and Watermelon salad which included a zesty Lemon Vinaigrette. The Watermelon was slightly chargrilled and glazed which provided a fresh and sweet touch!
There were a number of choices for the main entrée of the evening. It was an extremely hard decision but out of the 7oz. Flo’s Filet, 8oz Hawaiian Rib eye, and Sirloin Renegade, I choose the 8oz. Hawaiian Rib eye cooked medium well. I loved the sweet taste in the steak which was marinated 4 hours prior to being served. There were also a number of sides you could choose to accompany your steak including the new corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, sweet potato, baked potato, or the baked mac n cheese. My favorite was the sweet potato with cinnamon and butter! It was delicious and somewhat healthy (without the butter part!).
Then, after all that food, came the dessert! There were 2 choices as listed below:
–Chocolate Stampede: Tasted like a chocolate mousse cake w/​vanilla ice cream
–Peach and Raspberry Tart: Served hot with the cooked fruit in the middle.
What a great event! We all had a REALLY great time! Thanks again Heidi! Special shout out to my awesome fellow elites at our table Randy, Lena, Ashley, Frank, and Loren! We had way too much fun!

First I’m giving out my shout outs for the evening. Heidi Ms. OTP) Katie, and Lisa (managing partners) and can’t forget Desirae and Reid both part of the wait staff. BRAVO FOLKS Thanks so much! :)
This was my 1^st Elite event (FaNtaStiC.10 across the board!
Now, let me tell you what had me feeling like a barrel. To be honest all I needed was a couch to stretch out on!
That’s how full sampling all the delicious New appetizers and super food salad, Tender Hawaiian RIBEYE, corkscrew pasta 4 cheese blend Mac&cheese with BACON had me feeling! My favorites of the apps were #1 the spicy chicken bites #2 corn fritters oh me oh my! (These 2 alone Could have been a meal)
My 2 table partners Amanda/​Melina were getting their drink on with huge $ 5 margaritas, I can tell the alcohol was in them as they started to loosening up and giggle! That made it more fun. :)
Desirae never let my sprite go under ice before she was bringing me another bubbly refill. Reid was along side of her attending to what ever else was needed. (Appreciated)
Did somebody say Dessert? Rasberry/​peach tart with powdered sugar/​vanilla ice cream (just a taste but good)
Let me just leave by saying when the chocolate stampede came out… It was over for me! Chocolate cake on top of some chocolate mousse with vanilla bean ice cream. (Delicious, rich, creamy sighh. .DAMN GOOD! The end)

Whoa. I don’t know that I’ve eaten this much food in a very long time. I gained 3 pounds yesterday thanks to this fabulous meal (no kidding!). In fact, I’m still full.
Longhorn Steakhouse treated us like royalty and provided us with lots of tasty items to eat. My fellow Elite Unilocalers covered all of the items provided. I was particularly fond of the spicy chicken appetizer. That sauce it was served with is amazing. I’ll have 10, please. This may have been a major contributor to the three pound weight gain. I went with the Hawaiian Ribeye and grilled corn on the cob for my entrée. Delicious!
I enjoyed seeing all the familiar faces at the event and catching up. Thanks Heidi and Longhorn for putting on a great event!

Heidi once again puts together an over-​the-​top Unilocal Elite event!
This time a group of OTP Elite Unilocalers converged on one of the oldest (yet remodeled) Longhorn Steak Houses in Atlanta — this one is on Lower Roswell Rd near Johnson’s Ferry Rd and is indeed a venerable location. The building is to the right of one of those crappy shopping malls that has signs all over it «No outside parking» — «No Longhorn Parking — Violators will be Towed» — you know the type. Luckily this particular Longhorn offers valet parking. It took me about 45 minutes to travel to this location from work (I work near Perimeter Mall and took Perimeter Center Pky which turns into Abernathy which turns into Johnson’s Ferry so it was pretty much a straight shot) — this was during the remainder of the afternoon rush hour.
Arriving at the restaurant, we were greeted by Katie, one of the store managers, and Lisa along with several servers who all did a fantastic job. The idea behind this Unilocal event (and it’s actually a series of events hosted by Longhorn), is to provide a sampling of new menu items to Unilocalers for evaluation and comment. It was an extensive tasting of several apps, a salad, choice of steak and a couple of desserts — call it a 4-​course meal!
After a short introduction we were given a bit of history on Longhorn and also some detailed descriptions of the food. For appetizers, there were three new selections plus their top selling:
New! Sweet Corn Fritters with Red Chili Ranch.
New! Spicy Chicken Bites in chili-​ginger
New! Homemade Kettle Chips with a smoky BBQ sauce and horseradish aioli
Top Seller! Wild West Shrimp with ranch
All four were good but I believe the Wild West Shrimp will still remain the top seller it is — these were lightly breaded fried shrimp tossed with peppers and garlic butter, served with a nice ranch dressing — they were cooked to perfection, no rubber bands here! The Spicy Chicken Bites were a close second — these were tossed in a sweet chili-​ginger sauce and quite tasty and spicy.
The salad was an unusual Grilled Watermelon Wedge salad — this had watermelon doused with honey and grilled so it had a smoky flavor that was new to me (I know, right?) — this was served with a super-​green salad with romaine, kale, quinoa and goat cheese — the dish was drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. This salad was a bit much for me — I would have been happy with the watermelon alone or the green salad alone. Try it for a new taste sensation.
Course three was a choice of two signature steaks: Flo’s Filet or the Renegade Sirloin, or something new, the Grilled Hawaiian Ribeye. I chose the Flo’s Filet and was quite happy to have it with a side of asparagus.
For the finish, we enjoyed two desserts — one of my favorites, the Chocolate Stampede and a Raspberry and Peach Tart — each served with vanilla bean ice cream — at this last point I was done — couldn’t hardly eat more than a couple of bites.
In all, another extremely successful and well-​attended Unilocal Event. The food was great, but really it’s all about the camaraderie of a bunch of good folks who all like to eat and talk about food! Thanks to Heidi P. for organizing and all the very accommodating people at Longhorn for feeding us Unilocalers!

«Don’t be fooled, it isn’t thunder /​Staying put would be a blunder.
Run! IT’S A STAMPEDE!» — Jumanji (1995)
Fullness abounds, Ladies and Gents. It’s certainly neat to be elite. Heidi and the Longhorn crew outdid themselves (and my stomach capacity). Now the longest standing Longhorn (moment of silence for the Toco Hills location, please), this East Cobb location has been here since 1982 — and you would never know it. The place looks brand new.
We were welcomed into the space by location Managing Partner, Katie, and visiting Managing Partner (from Akers Mill), Lisa and a bevy of waitstaff and other management staff. They gave us the history of Longhorn and the location and told us about the new menu items (and old favorites) we would be getting to sample for the evening. Sample is an understatement as the menu consisted of their signature Honey Wheat bread, 4 appetizers, a salad, a choice from 3 steaks and 5 sides, plus 2 desserts… now you can understand my current discomfort.
As we munched on Unilocal-​branded bread, the appetizers began to flood into the dining room. Before you knew it, our table was laden with yummy goodness. Our first treats were new offerings: Sweet Corn Fritters which came with a red chile ranch and Homemade Kettle Chips which was accompanied by both a horseradish aioli and a BBQ sauce. The corn fritters were an instant hit with me — of course, if you know me, then you know my love of all fritters. Like little corn pillows, packed with kernels — sweet and savory — the sauce really complimented them well. The chips were good, but were my least favorite of the items. If they were all I had on the table, they would have been amazing. But in comparison — they came in 4^th.
Then the next two apps arrived: Spicy Chicken Bites with a gingered chile sauce — instant HIT! Also a newcomer to the menu — I will be back for these. And also the Wild West Shrimp with the side of Ranch — this is an old favorite I have enjoyed for years. Crispy little shrimp paired with peppers for a little kick with the ranch to cool it off. Loved them as always — but on this table — came in 3^rd. Gimme more fritters and chicken! (and they did).
Next up — their new salad. Grilled Watermelon Wedge salad with quinoa, goat cheese, romaine and kale. They toss it in a lemon vinaigrette and then drizzle it with balsamic vinegar. When they grill the watermelon, they first brush it with honey for that extra sear — this salad was all kinds of awesome — but huge! I could only eat half of it (but all of the watermelon). I knew there was more to come.
Our steak course — we could choose from either the Flo’s Filet, the Sirloin or the new Hawaiian Ribeye. Since I usually go for the Filet when I come here, I decided for the ribeye and I was not disappointed. I did, however, decided to go for asparagus instead of a starchy side since the appetizer course was so intense. The ribeye was cooked perfectly to my requested Mid-​rare and was sweet, spicy with that hit of salt from the soy sauce marinade. The topping was a roasted pineapple salsa and went very nicely with the steak — not too sweet. The asparagus was not its usual charred on the grill complexion I am used to — but with 20+ of us plus their usual restaurant crowd — all is forgiven.
At the end of the meal — out came dessert. 2 of them… The humungous Chocolate Stampede — Chocolate times 6 and 2 huge scoops of vanilla ice cream. They tout that this serves 2 people — the 4 of us at the table could not finish the one placed in front of us. And dessert number two — the new peach and raspberry tart — served French Galette style with baked peaches and raspberries in a homemade crust and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream — delightfully light after all this madness, but still — we could not finish it.
And I pass out into food coma loveliness. Thanks to Katie and Lisa — and our server Ben (plus a shout-​out to Pam for our lovely table side steak sauce demo) for keeping us fed, hydrated, fed, entertained, fed, and all around happy campers all evening. Even though this was already my neighborhood LS, I will be back again.

Walking in we were greeted by a very friendly staff, managers Vanessa and Katie quickly introduced themselves and filled us in on a bit of Long Horn’s history.
This is the longest standing Long Horn it opened its doors in 1982, the oldest was the Peachtree Rd location in Buckhead that is now gone probably due to the age of the building. I have fond memories of the place and realized I have been eating at Long Horn for 25 years.
The dinner ahead of us was to be four full sized courses. The appetizers four of them were to be shared good thing too it was time to start pacing yourself.
First course:
Spicy Chicken Bites — Spicy, savory and sweet.
Wild West Shrimp — Lightly breaded, flashed fried with cherry peppers and served with a light sauce.
Sweet Corn Fritters — Just a bit on the dense side without being too heavy.
Fresh Kettle Chip’s — Perfectly crispy.
Second course:
Grilled Watermelon Salad — A quartered piece of watermelon has been covered with honey and grilled it comes with a salad made up of kale, quinoa, romaine lettuce and gorgonzola (?) The salad was dressed with a lemon vinaigrette and balsamic. Really liked the watermelon but felt the ratio of kale to romaine was off and the balsamic (to much) was overpowering.
Third course choices:
7oz. Flo’s Fillet.
8oz. Renegade Sirloin with Prairie Dust.
11oz. Grilled Hawaiian Ribeye.
Now you know I chose the Filet it was cooked to the right temp. And needed only the seasoning that was put on it.
Mac & cheese was chosen as the side it is made with four cheeses, bacon and finished with provolone. The mac here is super creamy, very cheesy and not oily at all get it.
While we were waiting on the main course table side steak sauce was being made we had never seen it before and was told that it usually «comes with the Porterhouse for two». The base has fresh rosemary and orange peel this stuff smells amazing when preparing it and has a bit of a kick to it try it.
Dessert course:
Chocolate Stampede — Wow just look at the picture you will understand, two triangular pieces of layered cake made with six different kinds of chocolate is over the top served with two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream.
Peach & Raspberry tart — Mmm a soft flakey crust is filled with peaches and baked, served warm, garnished with raspberrys and served with a scoop of vanilla the perfect bite is both together.
Thank you Heidi for a wonderful evening you did a great job looking after everyone.
Huge Thanks to all of the staff at Long Horn you took great care of us we really could want for nothing and everyone was on point.

you’ve done it again, heidi! I swear, no one ever leaves hungry at any of these OTP events! not to mention, there’s always such a surplus amount of food that there’s always carry-​out boxes that are passed around; gatta love that!
the evening started with some freshly baked bread that has been branded with the Unilocal logo; lovely touch btw ;) the bread was paired with the house whipped butter, which came on the side. then shortly after everyone was seated and digging into the bread, the appetizers made theirs way to tables ever so quickly. the appetizers kept coming one after the other — literally. as soon as one plate was placed down, another server came out with a new one. the appetizers of the evening included.
1) SWEET CORN FRITTERS served w/​red chili ranch
2) SPICY CHICKEN BITES tossed in spicy sweet chili-​ginger sauce
3) HOUSEMADE KETTLE CHIPS served w/​bbq and horseradish aioli
4) WILD WEST SHRIMP served w/​ranch dressing
we all loved the corn fritters so much that we requested a 2^nd batch! then our new buddy, jen, joined our table late, so they were more than happy to bring out another round of all the appetizers again. lucky for us! ;P we were all able to dig into each appetizer twice, minus the shrimp — which no one really cared for.
soon after we were all done, the GRILLED WATERMELON SALAD was brought promptly to our table of 6. we were told that they brushed honey on the watermelon before grilling. I’ve never had watermelon salad before; therefore, I was pretty impressed with the overall cohesiveness and taste of the salad. the watermelon was paired with a kale & quinoa mixture and topped with a balsamic vinaigrette and bleu cheese crumbles.
our table was pretty slow on the salad munching, so our server was nice enough to stop by and ask us if we wanted to push the entrees back by a few mins. instead of doing that, our table was ready to feast on. everyone got to choose their own entrée, which was between 3 choices of steaks. then we were able to pick 1 side to pair with that dish, but our table was allowed 2 sides each; how lovely and friendly of them! loren, frank, jen, randy, ashley, and I all enjoyed our steaks for the most part.
STEAKS OF THE EVENING:
1) 7oz. FLO’S FILET MIGNON
2) 8oz. RENEGADE SIRLOIN
3) FIRE-​GRILLED HAWAIIAN RIBEYE
there were some minor flaws with the steaks and texture issues, but our server — ben and manager — lisa were beyond spectacular when it came to customer service. they went above and beyond with all our crazy requests and refills. since I don’t mind a little fat every now and then, I do highly recommend the HAWAIIAN RIBEYE. it’s marinated for at least 2 hrs with soy sauce and ginger and then topped w/​pineapple. as for the sides — they were alright. side dish choices were: BAKED POTATO, BAKED SWEET POTATO, STEAMED ASPARAGUS, MAC&CHEESE, and CORN ON THE COB. best side dish was the «mexican» style corn on the cob. loren b. could attest to this ;]
then for dessert, each table shared a generous serving of.
1) CHOCOLATE STAMPEDE (2 huge slices of chocolate cake/​mousse made of 6 diff. chocolates and served with vanilla bean ice cream)
2) PEACH & RASPBERRY TART (peach stuffed tart topped w/​fresh raspberries and and served with vanilla bean ice cream)
— – — – — – — – –
big thanks to heidi for organizing such an excellent event. i’m pretty sure everyone left stuffed and w/​plenty of leftovers for a midnight snack or lunch tomorrow. also, huge thanks to longhorn for having us and for allowing us to sample your new showcase menu!