Cool Hand Luke’s – an Un-Solicited Review

Last night my husband and I ate at Cool Hand Luke’s Steakhouse/Saloon for the first time.

Mainly because we got a gift card for Christmas, and we’re cheap frugal, but that’s neither here nor there.

Within two minutes of walking in the door, we were seated at an enormous booth, big enough to seat six.  Which was awesome, because we were on a romantic anniversary date and were able to share one side of the booth without feeling like we were packed in like sardines.

Our drinks arrived quickly – a full glass of tasty Pinot Grigio for me, a humongous, frosty mug of Bud Light (draft) for Jeremy.

Soon after, our salads, baked beans and sourdough rolls arrived.

The ranch dressing was so incredibly creamy, it completely made up for the plain, iceberg lettuce salad.  The sourdough rolls had been brushed with butter while still warm, and were crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, just how I like them.  I let Jeremy have one, but only because it was our anniversary.

And the baked beans?  Let me just tell you – I am not a huge fan of baked beans.  But these were delicious.  I avoided the jalapenos, left whole just for that purpose, I assume. 

Also, thank you, Cool Hand Luke’s, for serving the baked beans in a little separate pot, because I would have been less happy with my food if it had been served with baked bean liquid all over the plate. 

Smart thinking!

Finally, on to the main course.  I ate every. single. bite. of a 10 ounce prime rib. 

Wonderfully seasoned, perfectly cooked – medium, the way I like it.  I didn’t lick the plate, but only because there was a little girl sitting at the next table and I didn’t want to teach her any bad manners.

On a side note, I loved the dark cloth napkins – perfect for a place where paper napkins just wouldn’t have held up.

I was less than enamored with the garlic red mashers, but that’s not Poor Luke’s fault.  It’s mine Kimberly’s.  I love Kim’s mashed potato recipe so much, all others are tasteless in comparison.  I need to just stop ordering them in restaurants, because they’ll never measure up.

Jeremy had Tri-tip and french fries, which he let me taste.  Because, you know… 10 ounces of my own meat just wasn’t enough.  The fries were very tasty, especially dipped in the ranch.  Jeremy said the tri-tip was good while it was hot, but not so much as it cooled off.  He thinks it’s because he ordered it medium-well, instead of Medium.  Totally his fault.

We also ordered a side of shrimp, which had been forgotten somewhere along the line, and so to make up for us having to wait, they tried to comp us our entire meal.

The whole, delicious meal, people.  All. of. it.

Which, hell no.  We are cheap frugal, but we’re not about to accept a $50 meal for free just because of some late-arriving shrimp.  Especially not when the restaurant was clean, well designed to allow for a romantic date or a family meal, the food was beyond delicious and the service was stellar: from the hostess desk to the server, to the bussers stopping by to pick up dishes we were finished with. 

We let them comp us the $5 shrimp, but left a 32% tip.  And I ate the shrimp for lunch today.  YUM.

Overall Review:

With a stuffed, round belly and a loosened belt, I give Cool Hand Luke’s *FIVE* big belches.

*Just in case the title wasn’t clear enough: This was an un-solicited, un-paid review.*