Elite Event: An Evening With LongHorn Steakhouse – Piedmont

I raved to friends so much about this event, that I had convinced myself I already reviewed it. Ooops.
Well, here we go. I had a fabulous time at the longhorn event. I love any time us Unilocalers can sit around a table and catch up with one another while enjoying some fabulous bites.
I was very impressed with the setup and the service. There were lots of staff coming around answering questions and making us feel very, VIP. I learned so much more about the menu and it really changed my impression of Longhorn for the better.
The evening began with some appetizers. My favorite were the chicken bites and the corn fritters. Next up was the grilled watermelon salad. This was a pleasant surprise. I expected grilled watermelon, i expected the varied greens, but somehow it was still better than I expected and quite delicious. If you find yourself at a Longhorn this summer, I urge you to order this. For our entrée, we picked a cut of steak and a side. I’m still new to the whole red meat scene, so i went with the most tender cut, the filet. It was very flavorful and very tender. I got mac and cheese as my side because mac and cheese. I really don’t need to say more about that. While the entries were being served, one of the servers came around with a small dish, then proceeded to explain the table-​side steak sauce. Oh my. I had no idea they did anything like this. Ingredients are combined in a dish with a hot stone, right there at the table. It smelled so good and taste even better. What a nice complement to the meal.
Lastly, there was dessert. And oh boy. The dessert (chocolate mousse cake and fruit turnover of some kind) did not disappoint.
Everything was great, and this event has definitely changed my impression of longhorn. Ill be back fro sure.

This ranks as one of the more special Elite events where you feel very lucky if you get in. The group size was intimate and I also liked that Ben assigned seats so that we weren’t next to folks we already knew — and as someone who’s been Unilocaling since ’08, it was also nice to see almost all new faces at this event. I love steak, like a lot, so I was super stoked to get in — thanks, Ben G!
I couldn’t believe the generosity of LongHorn — our dinner included 4 apps, huge entrée sized salad, choice of 3 steaks, choice of 5 sides, and two desserts. No surprise we took leftovers home. Among the apps, my favorite was the Horseradish Aioli sauce for the Kettle Chips — horseradish as a dipping sauce?! Ingenious. The other apps were good too (fried shrimp, fried chicken bites, fried corn fritters) but a little overload on the fried. The follow-​up Grilled Watermelon Wedge Salad was a huge contrast with ingredients like kale, quinoa and feta cheese … back on the healthy track :) Sadly I didn’t get the grilled or smoky flavor from the watermelon that others got … I was also surprised they added honey to the watermelon. There’s a lot going on in this salad so I’d definitely recommend as an entrée and not as a side salad.
For my steak I polled the servers and hands-​down, they said their favorite was the Hawaiian Ribeye so that’s what I got. Loved the flavor but keep in mind it’s a ribeye so it’s pretty fatty … or should I say «juicy» :) Also tried the Renegade Sirloin with the prairie seasoning and the Flo’s Filet — both very good too esp. when dipped in the most awesome Table-​side Steak Sauce which they made in front of us. SERIOUSLY BEST STEAK SAUCE EVER with ingredients like orange peel, rosemary, onion, garlic, parsley and this disc which I assume is the base which they keep at 600 degrees all day. I believe the sauce comes complimentary with the 32 oz. (??) steak otherwise it’s something like $ 2.50 extra — SO WORTH IT. For my side I had the Fresh Asparagus — didn’t get the chargrilled flavor and it was on the «stalky» side … the folks who got the Mac & Cheese were raving about it so I’d probably get that next time.
By now our stomachs were completely satisfied but they brought out the Chocolate Stampede which was a delicious chocolate mousse and the Peach & Raspberry Tart. Wow LongHorn you really know how to make your guests feel very special. Not just the food but your entire staff of servers were superb — they really went out of their way throughout the evening to make sure we were well taken care of and they were genuinely very friendly. Thank you again LongHorn and Ben G and Keaton for hosting this event! I am definitely coming back for that Table-​side Steak Sauce with a side of steak please :)

I’ve been slacking on writing reviews this week (busy at work), but I figure, for such a great time as was had at the Elite event at Longhorn Steakhouse, I need to Unilocal!
I’ll be honest that since I started dating my boyfriend, who is a self-​proclaimed grilling expert (which I can agree with), it’s been a long time since I’ve ordered steak at a restaurant, but at Longhorn what else could you possibly expect?
When I arrived at the restaurant, Ben, our awesome CM, had already mixed everyone up at the big table we all shared so we sure to be sitting with new people. This turned out to be a brilliant move because I met a ton of new Unilocalers and even one who turned out to be a co-​worker in a different department of my large company. What are the odds?!
Anyway, throughout the night our servers were all fantastic and attentive and between each course (nicely printed out for each guest) the managers of two Longhorns gave us a little history or thinking behind the dishes to come: the seasonality, the ingredients, etc., which was really nice to know.
We started out with a round of new appetizers Longhorn’s just come out with, including spicy chicken bites with a sweet sauce, fried corn fritters, fried shrimp and housemade chips. Notice a trend here? I especially liked the chicken bites and corn fritters, but as Elites, we all knew to pace ourselves for the onslaught of food still awaiting us.
The second course was the salad course and possibly the biggest hit of the evening. It was a very unique salad of a big wedge of grilled watermelon that had been slathered in honey then laid on a grill, alongside a bed of greens with goat cheese, quinoa and balsamic vinegar dressing. People literally raved about this salad, no joke. More than one person proclaimed they would never eat watermelon any other way again.
Our third course was what everyone was most looking forward to: the meat. We had three steaks to choose from plus a side. I went for the Renegade sirloin steak with grilled asparagus, which was perfect. Unlike many people who foolishly ordered the rich, giant bowls of mac and cheese (which was excellent from the bite I had) or the sweet potato with butter and cinnamon, I was able to finish every bite — and it was superb. The meat was cooked just medium, it was well seasoned, and I really enjoyed it. Not quite as good as my boyfriend’s grilling, but pretty darn good, considering.
Finally, to cap off the food coma, they brought out plates of chocolate cake with ice cream (chocolate stampede) and a raspberry, peach tart with more ice cream. The chocolate cake was rich and decadent, but I think I liked the fruity tart more, to be honest.
And Ben gave us one more goody that caused all the Elites to swoon right before we wrapped up: the Unilocal 2014 towels!!! Yes! I am a lover of all Unilocal swag, but getting the super-​special, limited-​edition Unilocal towel was amazing!
A big shout of thanks to Ben for organizing yet another fantastic Elite event and to Longhorn Steakhouse for putting on such a great dinner for us. We’re truly a lucky bunch of Unilocalers!

Ben… Ben…Ben…You outdid yourself this time! Who am I kidding… You outdid yourself again! And the Longhorn Stafff — 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 Hawaiian Ribeye. The sweet marinade and honey-​glaze is fantastic! 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!

First of all, I’d like to thank Ben for hosting such a great 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! This event was absolutely phenomenal! From the food to the service to the parking, everything went really well!
We started with a number of appetizers including the Spicy Chicken Bites, Homemade Chips with BBQ and Horseradish sauce, Wild West Shrimp and 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. It was perfectly dressed and the Watermelon was slightly char grilled 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 7oz. Flo’s Filet cooked medium well. 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! We tried both the Chocolate Stampede and the Peach and Raspberry Tart. The Chocolate Stampede reminded me of a chocolate mousse cake with vanilla ice cream and the tart was even better than I expected! It came out nice and hot with the cooked fruit inside. DELISH!
Thanks again Ben!

Well played LongHorn, Well played.
As I have been to this location a couple times, and knew it was the actual original location of the 400+ franchises — — I was quite excited to tag this 4-​course steak dinner and see what their new summer/​prime-​time menu was offering.
Spicy chicken. Win. Corn chowder balls. Win. Kale salad. Win.
Honestly — just simply watching the guys make the table-​side steak sauce was pretty awesome. Dropping the steaming hot onions into sauce and cooking it to perfection.
The only thing better than the enthralling conversations had with my fellow Elites was the ridiculously good Hawaiian Rib-​Eye that got plopped in front of me cooked medium-​rare. #Nom3
Ben G. and the rest of the Unilocal crew were really cool to kick it with on a Monday night. The service was excellent. USA beat Ghana. Leftovers happened.
Success!

There was nothing about this event that WASN’T absolutely perfect!
First off, let me shout out Ben G. for yet another fantastical evening (don’t judge me, it’s a word).Everyone else pretty much beat me to the details about the fare, so I’ll just add my little two cents about how wonderful the food was. Like Annie C., I too had never really given Long Horn the fairest of shakes. I’d passed it several times and even popped into the Druid Hills location once to some «meh» lunch but actually getting to sit down and really enjoy them has changed my view.
I will say this, the service at Long Horn seems to be where they continue to shine across the board. This event just made it even more evident that they really value customer service. We were literally spoiled and waited on hand and foot, had all the stops pulled out… Like wow! I can’t think of a time in recent memory when I’ve been treated that well. As a bonus, they had a little photo contest and were generous enough to not only hand out gift cards to the winners but free-​appetizer coupons to everyone as we wrapped up. And to boot, the server for the section in which I was sitting was a cutie. I wonder if he would have let me bring him home in a to-​go box? LOL
Anywho, very lovely event. It certainly didn’t hurt that I had enough leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day. Thanks so much to Ben, Unilocal and especially the Long Horn team for this flawless execution of service and good times!

What an awesome event! Big ups to Ben and all of the Longhorn folks that hosted us. It was very nice-​sized group which made it easy to mingle and chit chat with many people.
The evening started off with some introductions and a preview of what to expect. We started off with some great appetizers: spicy chicken bites, Wild West shrimp, homemade potato chips and corn fritters. My favorite was the chicken although I really enjoyed all of them. I had to pace myself as there was way more to come.
Next was a delicious watermelon and kale salad. It’s the perfect dish for the summer. All of the flavors from the goat cheese, lemon vinaigrette, kale, and watermelon were really refreshing. I loved it. For my entrée I ordered the Hawaiian glazed ribeye and baked potato. Yeah boiiii! It was awesome and cooked to perfection. I wanted to eat it all, but I just couldn’t fit it. Plus I needed a small space
to sample the dessert.
Chocolate Stampede and a raspberry peach tart were the desserts. Both were served with ice cream and equally delicious. I’ll be getting the tart again.
Overall it was a wonderful evening. Way to go Unilocal Elite!

Kudos to Ben and the LongHorn Steakhouse staff and team for a memorable and delicious evening. LongHorn Steakhouse rolled out the red carpet to introduce us to their new seasonal menu items along with some of their favorites. I enjoyed the intimate evening with other Unilocal Elites; the size of group made conversation relaxing and easy — no yelling over loud music or the din of a crowd.
Now let’s talk about the food. Nom. Nom. and Yum. Yum.
I haven’t been to a Longhorn SteakHouse in several years — with so many food options in Atlanta… it got lost in my food rotation shuffle. I’ll be back.
Appetizers: Spicy chicken bites, corn fritters, kettle chips with two dipping sauces and wild west shrimp. I really enjoyed the complex spices and flavors of the spicy chicken bites in the spicy sweet ginger-​garlic sauce savory with just enough heat to be playful and prep your taste buds and appetite for the next course. The dipping sauce (with a playful kick) took the dish to the next level of heat and tang. Double YUM.
Also, of note were the not one but two dipping sauces that came with the housemade kettle chips — a smokey BBQ sauce and a divine horseradish aioli. Dip away!
The Grilled Watermelon Salad was a tour d’force — a must order! This Peak Season menu item item is designed to highlight the best of what’s seasonally available and the grilling expertise of LongHorn Steakhouse. It’s a winner. Out waiter explained that ripe seedless watermelon is grilled then brushed with honey and chilled. To serve they add romaine, kale, quinoa and goat cheese tossed in lemon vinaigrette and finished with a balsamic drizzle. Amazingly delicious.
For dinner, I went with the classic Flo’s Filet (medium) with a side of their Steakhouse Mac & Cheese (cheesy goodness). My steak was perfectly seared with a bit of crust for flavor, but TENDER and flavorful.
I eyed the Firegrilled Hawaiin Ribeye (several folks at the table ordered that and it looked terrific) — next time!
Dessert was served family style with generous portions of the Chocolate Stampede (an eye-​popping confection that was a huge slice of chocolate layer cake surrounded by mousse, whipped cream and vanilla ice cream with chocolate drizzle). This is a party on a plate. I can imagine family and friends diving into this with wild abandon.
We also shared the Peak Season Peach Raspberry Tart. This was my favorite dessert — the rustic tart featured a perfect crust that contained fresh fruit and a dusting of powdered sugar. A nice «light» dessert to top off a delicious meal.
With my meal I ordered a White Peach Sangria to pair with the Peak Season theme of the evening. Refreshing!
Thank you Ben and LongHorn Steakhouse. Can’t wait to return with family and friends for a night at the steakhouse.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, since it was my very first Elite event. Upon walking in, I introduced myself to Ben, who was very welcoming and helped me find my seat. The event began with Ben providing us with a brief introduction on what to expect from the evening, ongoing contest throughout the evening and then a spiel from Longhorn’s managers. We were warned to pace ourselves for the feast, lol. And he wasn’t kidding, it was food galore!
DECOR: Loved how we had assigned seats with our name tag sticker and Unilocal décor everywhere. There were Unilocal pins of different sizes and Unilocal chapstick. There was also a menu of the evening’s 4 course meal and the options that we can choose from — classy touch. Ben later came around with a Unilocal logo branding grill with a steak that was also branded with the logo grill! I appreciate the effort in décor and memorabilia.
FOOD: We were allowed complimentary non-​alcoholic drinks. We were immediately bombarded with an array of scrumptious appetizers — 4 different kinds to be exact. As soon as we were done with one appetizer, they were already bringing in the second. It felt bottomless! Afterwards, we had an amazing, full-​size watermelon roasted salad, one of their new creations. There were 3 – 4 options for the main entrée steak. Followed by shared dessert of 2 different kinds: a chocolate dessert and a fruity one.
SERVICE: exemplary. The servers were very knowledgeable, courteous, and professional. A+++. They explained in detail how they make their signature steak sauce followed by a table-​side demonstration. The servers also were gracious enough to give us to-​go boxes and sharpies for our left-​overs. The managers also made their rounds to answer any questions and for feedback on their new dishes.
FUN: $ 25 gift cards were given away at random based on hashtag posts on instagram/​twitter. For the rest of us that didn’t win, we were also given a free appetizer gift card for that specific location. Ben also gave us Unilocal Elite beach towel.
OVERALL: Organized, fun, and delightful evening! It was a perfect 1^st Elite event for me and I’m super excited for future Elite events. Not just for the food, but also to meet other awesome Elite Unilocalers!

I’ll admit I’ve never really given Longhorn Steakhouse much thought, but tonight’s event showed me! I am blown away not only by their generosity (so. much food), but by the quality of production and service! Ben, you’ve outdone yourself again!
Here’s a quick rundown of alllll the food we were lucky enough to sample:
Appetizers:
Spicy Chicken Bites — Tender and flavorful, and not spicy (yay!) without the sauce.
Wild West Shrimp — YUM. A big hit at the table — and I love that they are served with ranch.
Sweet Corn Fritters — Mmmmm, my favorite!
Kettle Chips — Seemingly ordinary, but they were some of the best chips I’ve had to date!
Grilled Watermelon Wedge Salad — Genius. And life changing. The watermelon wasn’t grilled-​grilled, it was served fresh and juicy, but it had the additional flavors of something grilled — and the juxtaposition is heavenly; Especially in combination with the other components of the salad: romaine, quinoa, and feta.
For the main event, we each had the choice of one of three steak entrees and one of four side options; I went for the Fire Grilled Hawaiian Ribeye and a side of grilled asparagus, which is also the recommended combination. The Ribeye was so, so, SO good. I’m talking grade a Ribeye, perfectly cooked, perfectly conceived and executed. I drool just thinking about it. It’s topped with caramelized pineapples for an amazing flavor profile.
…And we got two desserts. At this point everyone was pretty full and there was even talk of skipping dessert but as soon as they arrived at the table we knew that option was no longer on the table. The first dessert served was the ‘Chocolate Stampede’, and it is the essence of decadence and richness — there were four aspects to the stampede — a chocolate cake with a molten-​esque center, whipped cream, ice cream, and a chocolate mousse. Yup, all on one plate. The following dessert was quite different, the Peach & Raspberry Tart; it’s just as good, but it’s much lighter and had a sweet tartness to it, which I loved.
Suffice to say, we left with our bellies full — and then some. The staff was sweet enough to bring out and offer to-​go boxes! Speaking of the staff, they were absolutely phenomenal — incredibly professional and polite, yet warm and friendly. By far the best restaurant customer service I’ve experienced!
Thank you again to Ben and Keaton for putting together yet another amazing event — and for reintroducing me to such an amazing restaurant!

Well, Ben did it again! I never would’ve thought that an Elite event at a restaurant chain would be so… ELITE! Longhorn Steakhouse pulled out all of the stops by introducing us to some of their cool new menu items. We started with some delicious appetizers, including Spicy chicken bites, corn fritters, kettle chips, and Wild West Shrimp (my favorite). We the moved on to the grilled watermelon salad which was very unique and tasty. For the entrée, I chose 8 oz. Renegade Sirloin with the steakhouse Mac & Cheese. The Mac & Cheese was great but I actually preferred my BF’s filet over my sirloin. His baked sweet potato with cinnamon butter was really good too. For dessert, we all shared selections of Chocolate Stampede and a Peach & Raspberry Tart. Both were really delicious! Great food mixed with cool fellow Unilocalers made for another awesome event! Thanks again, Ben and Longhorn!

4 years as an Elite and Unilocal still amazes me!
I really enjoyed this event. The food was fabulous and every person involved was awesome. The servers rocked! Ben did an excellent job.
I saw Long Horn in a different way tonight. I’ll visit more frequently for sure!

What can I say about Ben and his staff– I know Frickin Incredible!!! Tonight’s Unilocal Event was hosted by an Atl restaurant Original– Longhorn Steakhouse! Longhorn was in the process of making some changes to their menu and they invited Ben and his crew to get a sample of what’s to come.
The meal started with several apps that were out of this world– my personal favorite was the Corn Fritter! Next was the salad course in which Longhorn really went into their bag of tricks and pulled a grilled watermelon salad– all I can say is OH My. For my meal I had the filet with the sweet potato and for dessert we shared the chocolate stampede.
All and all this was a great experience– the longhorn staff was amazing– they were Johnny on the spot with everything and extremely great customer service. As for my Man Ben (The Elite Squad Captain) thank you for allow me to be apart of your team. You are always so thoughtful and extremely friendly. Thank you again Brother!

My first event as an Elite sure was a good one! So impressed. Longhorn Steakhouse went all out with their summer and prime time menu offerings and lovely talks and presentations from the GM and other corporate staff who also gave out 4 $ 25 gift cards to those Tweeting and Instagraming along with a free appetizer card for the entire table!
We had assigned seats and I just loved everyone I sat with. Everyone was so friendly and I’m so excited to be apart of the elite squad!
We shared appetizers of chicken bites, corn fritters, shrimp, and chips. (Please see menu photo attached) The chicken was my favorite of the appetizers.
Second we got to try the summer grilled watermelon salad which was not only huge but so good! Grilled watermelon? Genius.
For the main course we had a long list of sides to pick from with 3 steak options– filet, ribeye and sirloin. I always get the filet so I stuck to what I know but everyone who got the summer ribeye that was topped with a pineapple salsa seemed to really love it! finally for dessert we shared a mound of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a fruit tart also accompanied by ice cream!
The whole table got a little surprise from Ben, this years special Elite swag– a beach towel!!!
So excited for my first event as a Unilocal Elite for just a few weeks. Looking forward to more in the future. BIG thank you to Ben, Unilocal Atlanta, and Longhorn’s and the amazing staff that treated us like royalty!!!

Steak steak steak!
This was a pretty intimate event as far as Elite events go. Assigned seating at a long table, we all got to make new Unilocal friends!
Our meal was four courses: appetizers, salad, steak entrée, and dessert. Everything was delicious!
Appetizer: spicy chicken bites — my favorite app, zesty and flavorful chicken pieces with just the right amount of kick.
Appetizer: Wild West shrimp — served with sauteed papers and a ranch-​type dipping sauce… yum!
Appetizer: corn fritters — sooo good, sweet corn perfectly fried.
Appetizer: chips — crispy and well-​seasoned.
Salad: watermelon wedge — big, juicy chunk of watermelon alongside greens, feta, quinoa, and balsamic (I don’t even like balsamic, but this was good).
Entrée: I chose the 7 oz. Flo’s Filet and ordered it rare. It was tender with a decent crust on the outside. I wasn’t disappointed.
Side: Grilled asparagus — I love asparagus. I love it even more when it’s grilled and full of that charred, smokey grill flavor.
Dessert: Chocolate Stampede — Holy cow this was a giant mountain of layered chocolate cake and mousse, alongside vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. I had to take some home with me.
Dessert: Peach and raspberry tart — I’m definitely a chocolate over fruit person, but this my chocoholism a run for its money. Fruit flavor bursts in your mouth. Also served with vanilla ice cream.
Service was phenomenal, with friendly servers, a demonstration of the table-​side steak sauce perparation (yum, btw), and plenty of to-​go boxes!
Huge thanks to the Longhorn folks for sharing their menu with us. I had no idea that Longhorn is an Atlanta-​based chain! Also, thanks go Ben G. for organizing the event!
P. S. I almost forgot to mention the Unilocal brand (like a cattle brand, not a company brand)! Please refer to picture. Idk where the heck Ben got that thing, but I want one! Where can I buy it?