ROUND THE BEND
STEAKHOUSE
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Ashland
Steaks & Bull Fries
Perfect For: Casual Dining; Upscale Dining; Happy Hour; Drinks
Standout Dishes: Prime Rib
I do my best to not judge a restaurant by its outdoor appearance. Some of my finest eating experiences have come from joints with questionable or modest appearance.
But I have to admit, the first time I pulled into the parking lot for Round the Bend Steakhouse and was greeted by a sign declaring the Ashland restaurant as the “Home of the Testicle Festival,” I felt a bit of unease. Could a location with such a crass boast really serve up legit steak?
Yes. Yes it can.
First off, an explanation. Round the Bend is well-known for its Rocky Mountain oysters: deep-fried bull testicles.
And there’s a weekend each summer where the restaurant hosts a giant party with lots of beer, live music, games and—you guessed it—a copious amount of “oysters.”
Round the Bend has a massive dining room alongside a smaller bar area. There are only a few beers on tap, though there are a number of bottles and cans available.
The service is not great. On that first visit, we waited over five minutes before our waitress first visited our table. After taking drink orders, it was another 10 minutes before the menus arrived. And when our appetizers and dinner salads appeared, we had to go over to the counter to ask for silverware.
Steaks are the restaurant’s calling card, but when it makes such a big deal out of the oysters, one has to try them, right? RTB offers bull and turkey “fries.”
The Bull Fries are the better option, especially when dipped in ranch or barbecue sauce. The Turkey Fries are kind of squishy and have a weird consistency.
Neither have much taste outside of the deep fry. You could tell me it’s any kind of meat masked beneath the batter and I wouldn’t be able to tell the distance. The biggest obstacle is just getting over the mental hurdle of exactly what you’re putting in your mouth. These offerings aren’t bad, but they’re nothing special.
Luckily, that’s not the case with the steaks.
Round the Bend offers the full gamut of steaks: ribeye, sirloin, New York strip, filet mignon, etc. The Saturday speciality is the prime rib, which is available only on Saturdays. Each steak comes with two sides and are all around $25.
The menu claims each Prime Rib (pictured in the header photo) is 16 ounces, and it’s not kidding. This is a massive cut of meat.
Prime rib tends to be a fatty cut, so a little gristle is to be expected. RTB’s offering is fatty even by these standards, however. I’d guess about 5-6 ounces are pure fat.
The steaks are cooked to the requested doneness and are quite juicy. The crust on the edges is salty, crunchy brilliance, and the tender inside meat is only helped by the delicious au jus sauce. The mushrooms pair well with the steak.
The sides are fantastic. The asparagus is plentiful and cooked enough to soften the stalks but still provide that pleasing crunch. The rolls are absolutely perfect: soft enough to cut easily but sturdy enough to hold up to the butter application. And the onions rings aren’t spectacular, but the batter had a nice crunch to it.
Considering the quality of the steak and the amount of food, $25 feels like a steal. Steaks of that quality typically cost around twice that at an upscale Omaha steakhouse, and that’s not including the sides.
The poor service is an issue, and the famous appetizer is nothing worth writing home about.
So don’t be scared off by the giant sign with the slogan about male anatomy out front. I just wish Round the Bend chose to focus on its awesome steaks instead.