Duke's Roadhouse — Restaurant in Maricopa

Visited Duke's on their opening night without a reservation, and we were able to find a seat in the upstairs bar area. Sam was our server, and she was phenomenal! My husband and I shared a meal, the sirloin ball steak with the parmesan mashed potatoes and the Mac n cheese as sides. I had an iced tea, and my husband had a lemonade. I will say that the wait for the food was quite long, but Sam kept checking on it for us and updating us with apologies without us even asking her to. We didn't expect perfection since it was their first night, and we weren't in a hurry. When the food finally arrived, the steak was delicious! It was perfectly cooked to order, and we both loved the flavor. It's definitely worth getting again. We liked the portion size of the steak and the mashed potatoes, which we also liked. The Mac n cheese, on the other hand, was lacking. It was a very small portion and tasted more like buttered pasta with some cheese sprinkled on top. It wasn't white, yellow, or creamy. We were glad we didn't order the brisket Mac n cheese if the same pasta is used. I also have to mention that the iced tea was very weak. At the end of our meal, Sam asked what we thought of the food, and we let her know, and she was very gracious in saying that's what they needed to know to make improvements. Before we left, she asked if we wanted a to go drink to take with us. I said no, but my husband still had a full lemonade left, so we took her up on the offer and got a cup to pour the lemonade into. Unfortunately as we headed out, thinking that we just had a nice night out, the bouncer guy at the exit confiscated my husband's lemonade and said we couldn't take any drinks out of the establishment because of the liquor control. We explained it was just lemonade, but he didn't care. We also told him that it was offered to us and we hadn't even asked. I can't imagine any server ever giving a customer a to go cup for an alcoholic drink. It's not like they served the drinks in to go cups. They serve in real glasses, so the only way to get a to go cup is if someone gives it to you. We've gotten to go cups from many restaurants, many times from restaurants that serve alcohol in multiple different states. Why would they even have to go cups if they can't ever be used? It just didn't make any sense and really ended an otherwise pleasant evening on a sour note. I get that the place probably needs some kind of security, but this guy came across very abruptly both upon entering when asking us if we had a reservation and as we left when he confiscated our lemonade. Made me feel like I was trying to break into the place and then that I was stealing lemonade. I'm still giving them 5 stars overall because our time inside was nice, but hopefully the bouncer can lighten up a bit during the...

Well sir, lemme bend your ear 'bout a curious little establishment sittin’ just across the railroad tracks in the frontier outpost known today as Maricopa — a place called Dukes Roadhouse. Now before I get to the grub, I gotta set the scene proper.

Loomin’ high above the joint, like some creaky sentry of the Old West, is that ancient water tower — y’know the one. She’s older than sin and twice as thirsty. Ain’t nobody left who recalls her raisin’, and rumor has it she predates the town itself. Some say the railroad built her. Others reckon she just grew there like a cactus made of iron and ghost stories. But there she stands, all rusted majesty, peerin’ right over Dukes like she’s silently judgin’ your biscuit-to-meat ratio.

Anyway, me and the missus rolled up to Dukes for lunch a couple days after their “soft opening,” which I took to mean the kitchen’s open but the floors ain’t bloody yet. Now I ain't exactly country — more desert-agnostic with a soft spot for smoked meat — but lemme tell ya, this place brought the thunder.

The lady ordered the Roadhouse Caesar Salad — romaine hearts so crisp they snapped like dry twigs under a desperado's boot, with garlic-herb croutons and shavings of Pecorino like snowflakes off Mount Cheese. She said it was the best salad she’d ever had, and brother, she’s seen things. That creamy Caesar dressing? Homemade. Tasted like it was churned by angels on probation.

Now me, I ordered the Dukes Smokehouse Burger — a brioche-saddled beast topped with smoked pulled pork, slaw, cheddar, and enough BBQ sauce to baptize a brisket. And damn if it didn’t taste like the wood fire it was grilled over. I ain’t lyin’, I could smell the hickory sins of a thousand smoked ancestors in every bite. Might be the best burger I’ve ever gnawed on in this dusty territory.

Service? Top-notch. Our server, Jilly Bean, was a delight — friendlier than a golden retriever with a whiskey chaser. Fixed our wobbly table quick as a lizard on a skillet and even gave us a better one, no fuss.

So here’s my final say: Even if you ain’t into country tunes and spurs, you’d be a fool not to cross them tracks and pay tribute to both the food and that forgotten water tower still standin’ watch. The tower’s got the history, Dukes has the flavor — together they make Maricopa feel like a town where the past ain’t gone, it just started servin’ lunch.

Yours in grease, ghosts, and grilled glory, Noah “Brioche Bandit” Logsdon 🏜️🤠🍔

Let me know if you wanna tone anything up or down — or add some wild lore about the tower (haunted? secret moonshine stash?...

We finally got out to try Duke's Roadhouse tonight. Overall I was going in with an open mind as I know that reviews have been very back and forth. First off, I'll say the atmosphere is spot on. We really enjoyed the custom made bar. The little designs throughout and objects hidden throughout it are fun and interesting. We got a kick out of the disco saddle hanging from the ceiling. The vibe is great even at dinner time without live music or anything. We came in on a Saturday night as a party of two and only waited 10 minutes for a table. Despite having large parties, we got our apps and entrees fairly quickly also. Our server, I can't remember her name unfortunately, was fantastic! She was so helpful and offered recommendations to my husband for drinks, she brought refills quickly, and went above and beyond to make sure we were enjoying our meal. For atmosphere and service definitely 5 stars. I wish the food was as enjoyable as the rest though. My husband got the armadillo eggs, I don't eat jalapenos so I just tried some of the stuffing part. They were ok, but seasoning was lacking and while the menu said there would be meat inside, we couldn't find any. For entrees he got the tomahawk pork with mashed potatoes and green chili Mac. The pork chop was very overcooked and lacking flavor. We both struggled to cut it with the steak knife. The mashed potatoes looked so gluey and thin, almost like polenta..the taste wasn't much better than the look. The green chili Mac was on, but still could use seasoning. I got the pulled pork dinner with side salad and baked potato. The pulled pork was not seasoned, but the bbq sauce helped quite a bit. The loaded baked potato had some chives, cheese, and bacon but after trying to figure out why it just wasn't good, I realized it had no butter or seasoning at all. The side salad with ranch was my favorite thing I had...I literally would love to have more of it. While I appreciate a new local place and it's a fun place, I definitely wouldn't eat food here again. Spending well over a hundred dollars I would expect at least Applebee's or Texas Roadhouse level food quality, but it was nowhere near even that level unfortunately. No hate to the chef, but please please please start to season..it would make a...