Lone Star vs Outback in On Kildaire Farm Rd (Durham: live, restaurant)

[Grawburg]

Just an FYI -

Saturday nite 7pm Outback has a 1.5 hour wait and Lone Start 15 minute wait. That should have been my first clue.
Lone Star service was slow, clueless, and forgetful and the food was mediocre at best....and don't get me wrong, I don't expect chain store food to be fantastic, either.

If you must go to either of these, wait the hour and a half.

[MAtoNC!]

I agree! Outback would be my choice also.

[leighbhe]

when I lived in that area, I was always surprised at the LONG wait for outback......then again, maybe everyone is trying to get the blooming onion, voted the restaurant food that is the WORST for you! It only has something unreal like 2300 calories and 134 grams of fat!!!

Leigh

[Taryn]

I'm not a fan of Outback either but I had never been to a Lone Star until a month ago and it was just AWFUL!!! I could not even eat a bite of my dinner.

Taryn

[Korillian]

We've been to both Outback and Lone Star recently. We like Lone Star better. Outback steaks just don't taste like they used to, to us, anyway! One of the steaks was really fatty. The others were undercooked -- medium doesn't mean red/raw inside. :-(

Lone Star can be hit or miss, though. We've had two good meals, one so-so there. I think the so-so meal was on a weekend night, the other two were during the week.

The nice thing about Lone Star is that it's not as crowded and so you do get more personalized service. Outback I felt like they could care less if we eat there. And it felt very cramped inside.

[adlnc07]

I've not been to a Lone Star in NC, but I did go to the Outback in Cary once and I wasn't impressed at all. Long wait for a table, slow service and the food just wasn't that good, IMHO. My favorite chain steakhouse is LongHorn, and the one in Apex is quite good. There can be a bit of a wait, but the food & service have been excellent the 3-4 times I've been there. We even went there on Father's Day - it was a madhouse, but the service and food was fine. Our dessert was a few minutes late and the manager came by and apologized multipled times - and wound up giving it to us for free. Anyhow, just another option if you're willing to drive a bit from Cary!

[Korillian]

I didn't know there was a LongHorn here! Thanks for the tip!

[mommiewrites]

Been a LONG time since I've been to either, but I prefer Outback.

The lonestar in Falls of Neuse (is it still there?) *used* to be decent.

[arsbadmojo]

Different strokes, I guess. I'm not a fan of chains either, but went to the Lone Star in Brier Creek for lunch on the company's dime. Ordered the 'Dee's Filet' rare, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. To my amazement, everything was perfect. I was in town on business, but was also combining the trip with my KB design studio appointments. There are 2, an initial and a final, a few days apart. So a few days later, I'm back at Brier Creek for the final, and I gave Lone Star another try - again, everything was perfect.

I got to talking to the waiter, and he said he loved working there because he got a great discounts on the steaks, and that they were USDA prime. I asked him if he was sure about that, and he said he was. I've read their menu, and their website and see absolutely no mention of that, so I really doubt it's veracity - but in any case, it was still a very good steak, and it was cooked properly on both occaisions - I would return without hesitation.

[Jdatlas]

I don't know if there's a Texas Roadhouse in Cary but we went to the one in Durham recently and had a really great meal. They even have the raw steaks on display and you can choose your own if you want to.