Claim Jumper

Potato Cheddar soup is a flavorful soup with fresh baked potatoes and simmered with aged cheddar. The first spoonful was wonderful. It was creamy with strong cheddar and potato flavors. Upon closer examination, I noticed that it used carrots for color. Since I’m allergic to carrots, I had to send it back. This should be noted on the menu as I otherwise would not have ordered it. If it didn’t have carrots in it, I would have feverishly devoured it.

In place of the Potato Cheddar soup, I got the New England Clam Chowder which has premium clams, potatoes, onions and celery. It wasn’t nearly as creamy as the Potato Cheddar soup and it was a mediocre chowder at best.

Southwest Eggrolls are filled with fresh chicken, cilantro, black beans, pasilla & bell peppers, fried to a golden brown, and served with sweet & spicy and salsa ranch dipping sauces. We have seen this before at other restaurants and its mediocre just like the rest. Stick to the basics with homemade favorites that fit with the Claim Jumper theme.

Hill Country Salad is chunks of lightly fried chicken & grated mixed cheese on a bed of crisp greens with tomatoes, bacon, eggs & croutons tossed with ranch or honey mustard dressing. It is a fairly simple dish that you could make at home except for maybe popcorn-style chicken and cornbread croutons. Chicken was very tasty and croutons were very nice surprise. Unfortunately, the rest of the salad was decidedly mediocre.

Frisco Burger is Swiss cheese and 1000 island dressing on grilled parmesan sourdough. This burger was good, but if it had some avocado and you have a real winner. The sourdough has a great grilled parmesan crust on it. The burger was cooked perfectly – juicy and flavorful. The avocado paired well with the Swiss adding a creamy flavor to the slightly bitter Swiss. The steak fries were perfectly cooked, tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Ask for some ranch dressing for dipping! Thumbs up!

Fish & Chips is hand-dipped in beer-batter, served with homemade tartar sauce and salt & pepper shoestring fries. These were way too greasy and made the fish soggy inside. The fish needed to rest and drain a bit before plating. On the upside, the chips were perfectly cooked and were especially tasty paired with their ranch dressing.

Rotisserie Chicken is a half chicken seasoned, slow-cooked over open flames and roasted to perfection. It’s their original recipe they have been using since 1977. The chicken was roasted to perfection. It was tender, juicy, and succulent. It comes with a side of barbeque sauce, but the chicken is fine just the way it is. This entrée is served with roasted vegetables, one side, and one bread choice. In this case, a salad was substituted for the vegetables and mashed potatoes with country gravy and garlic cheese toast were chosen. The salad greens were very fresh and did I mention their ranch dressing is awesome?! The mashed potatoes were made with red potatoes which makes a silkier mash. The country gravy is creamy and flavorful. Their garlic cheese toast is ‘da bomb’, just like the old days at Sizzler. Thumbs up, way up!

Porterhouse Steak is two steaks in one – 20 oz. USDA Choice bone-in NY strip and filet. The first one was overcooked, medium to medium well when it was supposed to be medium rare so it was sent back. The second one was still overcooked to a medium, but it was determined to be edible. For almost $30, it should really be cooked to the guest’s specification. This cut gets rubbery, tough, and chewy the longer it is cooked. Due to these preparation issues, the manager ended up comping this meal, but I really don’t feel I can accurately rate the steak at this point. The roasted vegetables were perfectly cooked and seasoned, firm and sweet. The Three Cheese Potatocakes were interesting. They are prepared like a crab cakes, but the inside is made of tender potatoes and cheese. They are good, but really filling with all the potatoes and breaded coating. It might be better as a loaded mashed potato instead. It was an interesting concept though.

Ribeye Steak is hand-cut, boneless USDA Choice. This steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare. The seasoning was just right. The meat was juicy and succulent like a steak should be. It comes with your choice of salad. The caesar salad dressing still needs some work. It was way too bland – needs more garlic, anchovies, and salt. But thumbs up overall!

Roasted Tri-Tip is certified Angus Beef® slow roasted and sliced over herb demi-glace. It is served Medium Rare to Medium only. OMG, this is the best beef cut they have! The meat was cooked to a perfect medium rare and tender as can be. You don’t even need a knife! It was super-flavorful and juicy. I would definitely get this again. Thumbs up, way up!

Original Scratch Carrot Cake is three layers of subtly spiced carrot cake, generously covered with cream cheese frosting. This carrot cake is okay, not the best I’ve ever had but certainly not the worst. The cream cheese frosting is creamy and decadent. The cake itself was okay, but just didn’t have enough flavor to put it over the top.