The Lonestar is part of the Ramblin Jacks/Mercato's restaurant chain here in Olympia, WA. The Lonestar is the newest addition to the chain, opening sometime back in 2006 in a new building located at
Lonestar Kitchen
4441 Pacific Ave SE
Lacey, WA (360) 528-3226
Cutting to the chase, this is not a good review. We have been to the Ramblin Jack location a few times and have had mixed experiences. We have also been to the Lonestar before and had a decent time, with good food. This experience however, will go down in history. We got to Lonestar a little late on a Saturday evening after attending a local event with some friends. There were six of us total, and we arrived at about 8:30-9:00. The restaurant was full so we sat at the bar.
Our first signal to leave should have been the announcement of what was NOT available on the menu. Some background here. Ramblin Jacks and the Lonestar's claim to fame is their extensive selection of smoked and cured meats. They have several combination plates that you can choose from to try a variety of beef, pork, and chicken prepared in different outdoor styles.
Upon being given our menus we were informed that the Lonestar was out of the beef brisket, the pulled pork, and the smoked chicken. This would also mean that the sandwiches of the same meat varieties were also unavailable. This may not sound like much of an inconvenience until you realize this is the majority of their menu. They were also out of mashed potatoes. How you run out of mashed potatoes when there is a 24 hour Safeway store across the street is beyond me, and an example of a very poorly run kitchen.
We were disappointed to say the least. But the wine was good, and our server was friendly, even if dejected and embarrassed about the menu.
We were informed, to our delight, that the Saturday night special, prime rib, was still available (just not with mashed potatoes). The three men order the 16 oz prime rib special. And by now I was hungry. One thing I really like about Ramblin Jacks and Lonestar is that they will blacken a prime rib cut if asked. This is by far the best way to enjoy prime rib in my opinion. But unfortunately, blackening tends to hide the fat. And boy did we have fat.
Simply put, there is no way on Earth we should have been served those three steaks. Of the 16 oz on the plate, a minimum of each plate was 8-9 oz of solid fat. And not the kind of fat that surrounds the edges, I mean large fist size sections of the entire cuts was solid fat. Most of the steak was inedible. We expressed our displeasure, and were told that all the prime rib looked the same way.
Needless to say, we wont be going back to the Lonestar or Ramblin Jacks anytime soon. I'm not even going to bother giving them ratings because I dont have a number scale that goes low enough. If you're considering dining in one of these restaurants, dont. Or at least maybe call ahead and see what is on the menu, and what they forgot to buy at the grocery store that week.
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Posted by: Lena | January 14, 2010 at 03:38 AM