Section Hand Steakhouse — Restaurant in Brownwood

I honestly got to say I really love this place we have been going there for probably two decades. I normally would give it 5 Stars based on the salad bar which is about the best I've seen honestly in a restaurant and in the past the reason I would give it 5 stars as we've always stuck to the steak menu and will always get the Ribeyes or the Sirloin. When it comes to those they are absolutely phenomenally fantastic. Be sure and try the Fried Catfish for the lunch special. My criticism is coming for the plate I ordered this last weekend. For the first time we decided to order the chicken fried steak because we really wanted one. And I'm no amateur at this we've eaten all over the state of Texas and have found good chicken fried steak and many bad chicken fried steak. Myself am a seasoned absolutely fantastic cook which has raised men that cook for a living. The men in my family have yet to find a chicken fried steak that they Think beats mine so I do have high standards but at the same time I am fair with my opinions and this one deserves an absolutely thumbs-down harsh criticism. First off when I ordered the chicken fried steak dinner did I ever imagine I would have to request that the gravy be put on top of the steak...I mean seriously!! I don't know what the new trend is to slop some gravy on a plate and throw the steak on top of it, but this ain't California just saying. This is Texas you either get them smothered or you get the gravy on the side. So that immediately irritated me when I saw it set down in front of me, but then I cut into it and took a big bite andI could not believe it...I immediately looked at my husband and said oh my God this is horrid. Not only was the meat paper thin which by the way I AM A fan of thin mean, But I know the men aren't! My husband likes them big and thick, but even for me, this thing was wafer-thin and it had the thinnest stale crust I've ever tasted or seen in my life. The crust being thin was bad enough,but I had never in my years of travels or in my cooking ever put a chicken fried steak in my mouth that had a stale crust. How does that even happen seriously.!?! So the menu is 10.95 all I got was a wafer-thin small piece of meat with a stale crust thrown on top of some sloppy gravy on a plate and a tiny scoop of homemade mashed potatoes,which were good, but even a kid could have eaten that portion and I'm not a big eater. I was given one roll and other than my trip, which is only one trip to the salad bar with a small plate, that's all I got for 11 bucks plus tax. I just cannot figure out how a place that does so many things right could allow such a disgusting mess to be served to their customers! Someone seriously needs to talk to the cooks and to the owner and correct this!!!!! This is Texas after all and the one thing a restaurant should know how to do and do well it's chicken fried...

They have a poor policy for groups that want to eat there. On 3 occasions our group of 10-15 people come in on Sunday after church and today we were told we have to call first and let them know how many people are coming in. We were told this is to know which room to put people in. There were adequate numbers of tables and a lot of empty space in the room we we're in.

Last time the manager told us this was to make sure we do not use too many tables. When we left last time there were empty tables for 80-120 guests.

We never have had this issue as a group with any other restaurant in Brownwood. It almost appears that the restaurant doesn't want to cater to groups at 11am . Unfortunately as a group we do not know the exact number of people going out to eat after church.

The waitress today was nice about it but I explained that this should not be an issue as this was the third time showing up without letting them know was brought up to our group.

It's apparent that the owners should change the management policy so that the wait staff doesn't have to keep bringing this up. The principle owners should understand that other groups may not be meeting there due to this policy.

The bottom line is this causes them to lose profit. Many people do not or will not come back after such an incident. Most people who have a bad experience with a business tell 6-10 people and they do not come back.

The good things. The food is good and the waitress did a great job even after I interrupted her after she told us we were supposed to call with the number of people. One of the guys in our group told me that I was rude for interrupting and for that I am sorry for any rudeness. Afterwards I realized that she was only doing what she was told to do. I did complement her away from the table after the fact plus at the table several times.

I wish they would seat people and not make such a big deal about it like we are an inconvenience. Hopefully 3x is the charm and the owners of the restaurant will...

Unfortunately I never tried the food because they make staff pay full price(including beverages, rolls & crackers). I can share what a toxic atmosphere the owners have created and encouraged. Rusty ensures new staff are uncomfortable by not explaining any protocols but sitting at tables, staring down new servers and stalking them around corners waiting for moments to belittle them. Most find him creepy and believe he enjoys toying with the staff. He and his wife sit on the line gossiping about staff’s personal medical issues, not limiting to their fury over rehabilitation for substance abuse as they feel it affects them.

Staff would rather let food go bad on the line as opposed to helping each other out. They all speak so poorly about and to each other. The general consensus is to be prepared for at least month where your self esteem will be tested and challenged by staff and management. Kind costumers attempt to lift spirits when they see and hear staff belittling each other. I’ve personally never worked somewhere that customers inform the staff to make sure to keep comments over their coworkers perceieved stupidity, lack of common sense, medical records, gossip, etc, out of hearing range when they are trying to have lunch. If you’re wondering whether management cared, they didn’t even address it.

I encourage you to eat somewhere that supports and encourages its workers. Pouring money into a family owned company that employs workers in this manner, only allows Rusty, Misty, Ashtyn and Scott(allowing him to control the kitchen and be a part of the “family” portion of this restaurant created a blind spot to how cruelly he treated the staff) to continue with their current culture.

Find a healthy atmosphere to spend your hard earned money(at the minimum, not one that works behind the scenes in such a...