Elite Event: Steak-ation at LongHorn Steakhouse Cobb Pkwy

This event was super great! Props to Ben and JJ as usual, and thank you to the young ladies that manage this location and the Piedmont Road location for being gracious hosts!
Our menu items included:
Corn Fritters
Spicy Chicken Bites (That sauce was IT!)
Wild West Shrimp
Brew Pub Pretzel Sticks with beer cheese or mustard dipping sauces
Bleu Ridge Wedge Salad
Harvest Mushroom Filet (This was my choice-​we also had selections of a great ribeye and a larger sirloin steak)
Chocolate Stampede Cake
Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake
Erm my gosh each item was delicious. I even ate the salad-​and I say it like this because I HATE blue cheese dressing. I’ll eat the crumbles, but hate the dressing. I think this one was different because there were other things on the salad such as bacon, tomatoes, and red onions (i took the onions off). We had people in the group that did not like this salad and Lisa (the manager at this location) graciously replaced the salad with an alternative for them.
The sauce on those spicy chicken bites-​I wish I could bottle it up and take it home. It was a sweet chile sauce that set off the taste on EVERYTHING.
The pumpkin spice lava cake was very good. It was moist, and just a wonderful taste of fall.
My steak was awesome-​very buttery soft. Glad I had some to take home. It was great the next night as well!
To top it off I met some cool people I haven’t met before – this has been the beauty of having Elite only events lately. :)
Thanks Ben!

This was such a great event! Loved every minute of it. It’s a nice touch that Ben sets up assigned seating so that we’re able to meet new Unilocal elites that we haven’t met before as well as catch up with old ones.
The staff at Longhorn was amazing and the food served was equally good! I’m not a huge fan of fritters but the corn fritters were soft and tasted great with dipping sauce that it came with. I also dug the pub pretzel sticks and my favorite was the spicy chicken bites. Loved the sauce that came with it.
You can’t go wrong with a great wedge salad and the blue ridge salad that was served that night was a meal in itself. It had everything you would want in a wedge salad which included red onions, the right about of blue cheese dressing, chopped tomatoes and more. I look forward to ordering the same, the next time I visit a LongHorn. I chose to try something different this time around and ordered the 18 oz. Outlaw Ribeye and loaded Idaho Baked Potato. Both were great but the seasoning on the ribeye was a tad on the saltier side for me so I’ll have to ask them next time to ease off on the seasoning.
The desserts were quite memorable. The chocolate stampede cake was our table’s favorite but I loved the pumpkin spice lava cake. It was the perfect fall dessert to end our evening.
Thank you Ben, JJ, Lisa from Longhorn and our amazing servers for a wonderful event! The whole even was well organized from start to finish and we all had a great time!

Longhorn, you completely spoiled me… the utter gluttony that took place! This was a nice intimate meal amongst new friends – I was lucky to be seated next to Panida, Lily, and Trevor. Panida and I especially kept ourselves entertained. As soon as we sat down, Denise, our caretaker for the evening, had water glasses on the table, was all smiles, and ready to keep us happy and full (which she most certainly did).
After a few minutes, the apps started piling in between us. First, bread… on no, you better only have one bite of that because those warm and toasty pretzel sticks just arrived. Boy, they were the BEST with that honey mustard. Then, ooh, those corn fritters – WOW! After one bite, the wild west shrimp arrived – tiny but packed with flavor and spice with ranch for dipping. I was really shocked at how good the Spicy Chicken Bites were – way better than the Chili’s version. I tried so hard just to taste and not gorge. Next, the Wedge salad arrived all fresh and crisp. We were all snapping photos left and right (and my photo of the pretzel sticks won me a DVD of the movie «Chef” – WOW). Denise came over to whip up the Longhorn steak sauce with rosemary and hot chili sauce. I was pretty excited about the sauce, but little did I know that no sauce would be needed. As it was, my 18oz sizzling medium rare ribeye came out perfectly seasoned, wisps of Kosher salt, lemon, and just good olé meat! I am rather picky about my steak and I was impressed. Thank the lawd they started giving us to-​go boxes and bags for this over-​the-​top feast. How in the world could I muster up enough room for dessert? Somehow I did it. A simple delightful taste of the pumpkin spice lava cake… all warm and heavenly with cream cheese frosting.
I am so appreciative for this entire affair. It has completely changed my opinion of eating at Longhorn. The company, the managers, the servers, the presentation, the food – everything was terrific. Bravo Ben and Longhorn! #ILoveYelpElite #BenGisAwesome #LongHornYelp

If Unilocal and I were dating, this would have been our anniversary dinner.
Of course, we are always treated well at events, but I felt straight-​up pampered at the Longhorn Steakhouse Event. The food, the service and the company were all fantastic!
Let me take you on a FOUR COURSE MENU ADVENTURE!
FIRST COURSE: ALL the appetizers
— Bread loaf ( Unilocal branded!) and butter– you’re average run-​of-​the-​mill wheat bread– good butter though.
–Sweet Corn Fritters– absolutely beautiful, cooked to perfection, but lacking that sweet creamed corn flavor I’d been expecting. Much more like a hush puppy than a corn fritter.
–Spicy Chicken Bites– reminiscent of the Chinese General Tso’s chicken, these little bites packed a big punch! Wonderful, spicy flavor. Delicious, but a little out of place in a steak restaurant.
–Brew Pub Pretzel Sticks– YUM YUM YUM! Soft and warm on the inside and the right amount of crunch on the outside– served with a cheddar beer dipping sauce that was to die for. Very heavy though.
–Wild West Shrimp– Simple fried shrimp. Not that special, until you combine it with the sauce from the spicy chicken bites, then you have one helluva dish! (Thanks to my neighbor Unilocaler for the recommendation.)
SECOND COURSE: Bleu Ridge Wedge Salad– I’ve never been a fan of a wedge salad… I don’t want to have to cut my own lettuce (heck I don’t even do that at home– thank God for bag/​box salads). I am also really not a bleu cheese fan. That being said, the other toppings (bacon, onion, tomatoes) and the quality of the dressing made for quite a tasty salad. I think the portion was off though… for a side salad, it was WAY too much. With such bold flavor, a smaller plate would be more than substantial.
THIRD COURSE: 8 oz sirloin steak and Steakhouse Mac and Cheese– I’ll admit that my knowledge of steak is minimal, but I’lll tell you, the moment that plate hit the table, I don’t think I said a word until I had had my fill. The sirloin was tender, full of flavor, and cooks perfectly to my request. The mac and cheese was a nice pairing, and I’m sure it was wonderful, but I couldn’t stop «mmmm”-ing over the steak.
FOURTH COURSE: DESSERT!
–Chocolate Stampede– aka: death by chocolate… if you’re into that kind of thing.
–Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake– this is best described as supermegafoxyawesomehot! But really, a very large portion of tender, moist pumpkin cake with a cream cheese «lava» sauce. Amazing, spicy, albeit super sweet.
Besides my anti-​bleu cheese stint, this is by far one of the best Unilocal-​sponsored meals I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy.
I am a strong believer that food can really bring people together, and through this event, I met some wonderful Unilocalers and learned a lot about some truly cool people (Michelle, April, Trevor, Jason, Tunicia– ya’ll rock!)

SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!!! Steak-​ation, for serious! :)
We arrived to the event a little early, thank you Waze! Ben & JJ were setting up the tables, greeted us and invited us to sit early. The seating was assigned, which I have to admit, I was nervous about. Silly, I know, but I was! I was seated with 2 ladies, that I’ve never met before, Troy & Lilly. They were both so nice, and I hope to see them again! Thanks Ben!
Let’s get to the FOOD!
Appetizers came out in abundance! I kept thinking if I don’t stop eating the apps, I’ll never finish my dinner! That thought went in one ear, and out the other! When you have apps this DUH-​licious, how does one stop???
Sweet Corn Fritters: Reminded me of fried corn bread balls, hahaha! But really! They were crunchy on the outside, soft in the inside, with corn kernels inside. They were yummy, but I do wish there was more corn inside. It was served with a Remoulade dipping sauce, which was YUM!
Spicy Chicken Bites: Bite size pieces of chicken, covered in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce.
Brew Pub Pretzel Sticks: MY FAVORITE app!!! These buttery, salty, soft, and warm Pretzel sticks came out in a basket, accompanied by a Honey mustard sauce, and a cheese sauce. They were super good, BUT I had to keep reminding myself of the rib eye I had coming out!!! ***put the pretzel stick down!!!
Wild West Shrimp: Small shrimps, lightly battered and fried. Served with pickled peppers (yes, they were spicy!) scattered on top, and a Ranch dipping sauce.
I ordered the Rib Eye (go big, or go home, right?), and a fully loaded baked potato.
Rib Eye: Cooked to my liking! Medium rare, please!!! Nice charring, made the steak that much better! Seasoning was on point! What else can I say, but I had a perfectly cooked Rib Eye! Nicely done Long Horn!!!
Loaded Baked Potato: Cheese, sour cream, chives, and butter… PERFECT STEAK side!!!
The staff was beyond awesome! From the managers, to the servers! I enjoyed hearing about the history of Long Horn. The servers were so attentive, funny, and eager to make everyone happy. Added bonus to the DUH-​licious food!
Good company, good food… what more can you ask for?! Thanks Long Horn, and Ben for an awesome evening!!!

OMG. Probably my all time favorite Elite event ever. For serious. An abundance of hot, delicious food and a cooked-​to-​order steak: awesome sauce! I was still full from last night when I woke up this morning, and I didn’t really eat breakfast. That’s when you know you had a good meal!
At first, I wasn’t thrilled about the assigned seating, but it turned out well! Unilocal tends to attract really cool people (Duh, why didn’t I remember that earlier?!), and I liked the folks Ben paired me with for the night. We started off with Longhorn’s famous bread and butter (served warm, of course), then onto a slew of apps:
1. New Sweet Corn Fritters, served with red chili ranch: good, but are more doughy than I anticipated. I’m used to Niffer’s corn nuggets in Auburn, AL, where they serve a fried nugget filled with creamed corn. This was more like a non-​cornbread hush puppy with a few pieces of sweet corn mixed in.
2. Spicy Chicken Bites: good, but not my favorite either because I’m a spicy food wimp.
3. Brew Pub Pretzel Sticks with honey mustard and Sam Adams beer cheese: these were
! Hot pretzel sticks that managed to be the perfect balance of crispy and soft inside, without being too salty. I loved the honey mustard dipping sauce, and didn’t care for the cheese as much because I don’t like Sam Adams beer.
4. Wild West Shrimp: I understand these are a house favorite, but they weren’t mine. The shrimp were so small that I could barely taste them; all I got was batter and sauce, when I dipped them.
The salad for the evening was a Blue Wedge, but I got mine without blue cheese. Because they serve it with romaine instead of iceberg, it was still really good. Crisp, fresh lettuce and ripe tomatoes, and crispy bacon that I topped with balsamic and EVOO. Great combo!
Next, we got to choose our own steak plate (!!!). I got the filet, my favorite cut, served with Harvest Mushrooms and a side of mac and cheese. Right before our steaks came out, our awesome server Denise made the table-​side sauce for us with fresh herbs and other yummyness. The smell alone was wonderful, and made me all the more excited for my steak.
Then, the long-​anticipated filet came out, and it was just perfect: perfectly seasoned (I almost didn’t need the sauce because the flavor was so good on it’s own), perfect temperature, perfect size. The meat was tender, and the mushrooms are a great addition. All of it paired perfectly with the glass of Malbec I ordered. Sadly, though, I only ate half. I wanted to keep eating, but needed to save room for dessert!
My mac and cheese was equally great. Good flavor without being overly cheesy, slightly past al dente noodles that weren’t soggy, and there’s bacon in it! Again, wanted to eat more but had to choose between that and dessert, and dessert won (and made boyfriend happy because he’s eating my leftovers today. He was incredibly jealous that he couldn’t come).
Other entrees included: an 18oz bone-​in Outlaw Ribeye, and an 8oz Renegade Sirloin. Other sides included: Loaded Idaho Baked Potato, Sweet Potato with Cinnamon Sugar and Butter (it looked like a log because they cut the small ends off and have it stand up. Cool presentation, but looks hard to eat), Fresh Steamed Asparagus, and Potato & Leek Au Gratin.
Finally, the long-​anticipated dessert: Chocolate Stampede cake with vanilla bean ice cream and a Pumpkin Spice Lava Cake. My favorite was the Chocolate Stampede because I’m a raging choco-​holic, but enjoyed the Pumpkin Spice as well. And, the PS Cake won the smell contest, for sure. That aroma was intoxicating.
At the end, we got coffee and to-​go boxes for all the leftover food we couldn’t eat. I was surprised that they actually have decent coffee: smooth, not bitter, and didn’t require a lot of doctoring to cover up bad flavor. Kudos!
Last, but certainly not least, the Longhorn staff were top-​notch. Denise was a wonderful server who took care of everything we needed, including getting me a wedge salad sans blue cheese. The other server, Ricardo (I think), was equally awesome and the other table taunted us by saying that he was the better server. I don’t know if that’s the case, but I’ll definitely request one of them when I return to redeem my free app! Thanks, Managing Partner Lisa!
All in all, this was a great event, and I hope I can come to another one! Props to Ben for arranging this, and for getting us all the to-​go boxes to share with our jealous +1’s who had to stay home and see our delicious Instagram feeds!

Words cannot express how much I love Longhorn. Thank you Ben for hosting such a fabulous event. I had a blast. I loved meeting new people and having the opportunity to explore some of the new menu items at Longhorn’s. This location on Cobb Parkway is probably my new favorite location since the Longhorn’s on N. Druid Hills burned down.
Everything was INCREDIBLE! Starting with the appetizers: I had the chance to try the new brew pup pretzel sticks and the spicy chicken bites and they were served hot. They were so delicious! They also served us one of my ultimate favorite appetizers: the wild west shrimp. I would definitely order everything I tried again!
Moving to the salad, I was able to try the blue ridge wedge salad… and I must say it was a beautifully plated salad. I loved all of the toppings. I would also definitely order this again the next time I visit the restaurant.
In terms of entrees, I had the outlaw ribeye and its one of my favorite steaks from Longhorn. Ahhh-​MAAAAZING! For a side item, I order the sweet potato and it was just what the doctor ordered. Mmmn… Cinnamon and sugar on top of a perfectly baked sweet potato. I’m getting hungry just thinking about the sweet potato goodness.
Lastly for dessert, we had one of my favorite desserts, the chocolate stampede. You can’t go wrong if you love chocolate. However, they brought out another dessert that also stole my heart: the new pumpkin spice lava cake. This was one of my favorite parts of the entire evening. Even if I am not hungry, I will return to Longhorn’s for more cake. Its that good… TRUST ME!
Overall, I had a wonderful time… despite being in a little pain from an earlier dentist visit. It was a great event with friendly Unilocalers and the service was absolutely incredible. I can’t wait to return to this Longhorn’s on Cobb Parkway very soon!

My first Elite Event! Overall, I had a great time thanks to Ben, our host, and all the other Eliters (is that what we call ourselves?) I got to meet.
The even started with a greeting and introduction from Lisa Hoggs, the Managing Partner of the location, and a true Seattle Seahawks fan (Go Hawks!). She went over a little bit about the history of Longhorn, what the restaurant has been to her and her career, and how the evening was going to go.
Our dinner began with 4 appetizers: Sweet corn fritters, Wild West Shrimp, Pretzels, and spicy chicken bites. All were very good. The corn fritters were similar to hush puppies that came with a side of dipping sauce. Although fried they were warm, and soft on the inside and the sauce went very well with them. The wild west shrimp were fried shrimp served with banana peppers and a ranch dipping sauce. I’m real picky when it comes to any seafood, but these weren’t too bad; the shrimp are small but you get a lot. The pretzels were warm and soft and not overly salty. They were served with some sort of honey mustard and a beer & cheese sauce. These were to die for. Probably my favorite. The spicy chicken bites were dipped in spicy chili sauce and had a little kick.
After being bombarded with all these delicious appetizers, we were brought a huge bleu cheese wedge salad topped with bacon chunks. Everyone at the table completely forgot about this part of the dinner. But it was very good. I’m a huge bleu cheese fan and this thing had bleu cheese sauce as well as crumbs, and the bacon was plentiful.
After our salads, Lisa went over our main course options: The 18oz Outlaw Ribeye, 8oz Renegade Sirloin, and the 8oz Harvest Mushroom Filet. Out of the 3, the Ribeye was unquestionably my choice. Everyone else at my table also ordered the Ribeye.
We also were allowed one side with our piece of meat. With a steak, I have no choice but to go with a loaded baked potato. They go together like PB&J. Other options included mac & cheese, asparagus, sweet potato, and a potato & leek au gratin
Between ordering and our main course, Lisa came to our table and prepared the steak sauce table side. She threw some lemon peels into a bowl with a hot stone followed up with some garlic, onion, rosemary and their base sauce. Then boom. Magic.
The steaks came out soon after (I feel like the entire kitchen stopped everything just for us cause it came out fast). I ordered mine rare (as you’re supposed to). I’ve had a lot of high end steak houses (Del Friscos, Flemings, etc.) where a piece of meat this size would cost 2−3x as much. And I have to say this was on the same level. My meat was perfectly cooked. I didn’t even use any sauce until I was almost done because I was enjoying it so much. The sauce was very tasty, but I’m a purist when it comes to steaks.
After the main course, we were served our deserts: the Chocolate Stampede and pumpkin spice lava cake. I can’t even go into detail about what these things looked like because they were devoured before it got to me. My favorite was the chocolate stampede; it’s served with vanilla ice cream and that with chocolate cake is my favorite combo. The pumpkin lava cake, though, was very good. The gooey cream cheese was delicious and went well with the pumpkin flavor.
Our servers for the night, Denise and Reggie, did a wonderful job.

Ben was right, LongHorn was indeed a steak-​ation (stay-​cation for my tastebuds!). This event was simple, no fuss no muss, just a four course meal with twenty or so Elite Unilocalies for food sharing and pleasant conversation. Upon walking in, I noticed I was one of the last few to arrive. The Unilocal banner was hidden and actually took me a minute to find.
We had «assigned seating» with name cards, a ’14 elite sign, and a tasting menu. The menu consisted of 4 appetizers to share — Wild West Shrimp, corn fritters, warm Bavarian pretzels, and spicy chicken bites, as well as the usual complimentary bread, a bleu ridge salad, a steak of your choice between a sirloin, ribeye, or filet, and finally 2 desserts to share — the Chocolate Stampede, and a pumpkin spice lava cake. Holy cow, that’s a lot of food, right?
I really liked how they chose their seasonal and limited edition appetizers to showcase. I think the consensus at the table was that the Wild West Shrimp was the favorite, followed by the pretzels. These pretzels were SO good, not even really the consistency of a pretzel, just the taste. It had a thick, salty outer layer with a doughy inner layer. In the words of Ben, «It’s like eating a pillow.» Right on. The honey mustard sauce and beer and cheese sauce both paired nicely. The spicy chicken definitely had a nice kick to it, and if the sauce it came with wasn’t enough, there was an additional spicy dipping sauce that had a hint of sweetness.
Did I mention they branded the bread with the Unilocal logo?! Super adorable.
The salad was their spin on a wedge salad with bleu cheese crumbles, and a bleu cheese dressing. Not to mention, bacon bits. But were they really bits? More like, bacon chunks. YUM. This is by no means a, «Hey-I’m-on-a-diet-so-let-me-order-a-salad» salad, but good none the less.
By this point, the to-​go boxes started coming out. Just when you thought you were done, you remembered that the steaks haven’t even arrived! LongHorn does a GREAT table side steak sauce. If it seems too showcasey to you, you’re wrong. This steak sauce is delicious, and I don’t generally go for any sauce. They bring out a ramekin with orange and lemon peels with a rosemary and garlic mixture. At this point, it already smells amazing. Then they throw in a house steak sauce and the rest is history. If you like a bit of extra heat, they also have a chili sauce (similar the the Chinese restaurant hot sauce) to pair with it.
Most of the people around me ordered either the Harvest Mushroom (cremini, shitake, and oyster mushroom medley) filet mignon or the ribeye. I kind of wish I had gotten the sirloin just so I could see what it looked like, but no complaints on the filet mignon and I really enjoyed the mushroom topping. I picked the less hot, younger brother of side items — the baked potato because I really just can’t pass up potatoes. But I did manage to steal a bite of mac and cheese. It has a crispy top layer, and a cheesy bechamel sauce (I think?) to really hold the mac and cheese together.
Finally the desserts! I think the pumpkin spice lava cake gets gold by a long shot. It’s this warm, moist pumpkin cake that has a sweet cream cheese frosting flowing around it. Need I say more? The Chocolate Stampede was really good as well. I’m not sure if it’s always presented this way but it was two slices of cake, a cake layer and a thin mousse layer, standing up, kind of like horse hooves, I guess! Then in the center, whipped cream, and two scoops of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce drizzled on top. The plate was also garnished with chocolate shavings. Honestly, I’m glad the desserts were to share a) for self control issues and b) well, more self control issues.
Throughout the dinner, Lisa, the general manager did a great job presenting each of the dishes to us. She also helped us pick out a steak if we were unsure of what cut would be the best. They also did gift card giveaways (2) and «Chef» DVD giveaways (5). Congrats to the lucky winners!
Thank you to Lisa, our servers — Reggie and Denise, and Ben and Unilocal for another delicious event as always. I’m really liking how each event shapes up to have its own vibe.