Buckhorn BBQ + Grill — Restaurant in Sacramento

My mom wanted tri-tip from Buckhorn Grill to celebrate her birthday. It was delicious. :)

It's a little expensive (for people who don't go out much), but good prices for a steakhouse.

We ordered the whole tri-tip ($25), and 2 large sides each of: roasted seasonal vegetables, mac and cheese, and french fries. The total was about $65.

Plus, we got an order of the 'tri-tip bites' (normally $9) which comes with 'RH onions' (thin deep-fried onions), because it was free when joining the rewards program.

We got take-out for four adults, and have plenty of meat left over for sandwiches or planned-overs, maybe a small side serving of mac & cheese left, a whole order of fries :(, and some onions that would be great on a sandwich or used in a meal.

The fries were only ok--standard fast food fries. I knew fries might not travel that well anyway, but I hadn't had fries in a long time. I think we only ate one order's worth, so I don't think I'd get them next time. It's too bad they don't have potato wedges on the menu--they work a lot better for take-out.

The meat was cooked and seasoned perfectly for our tastes, and served au jus! The roasted veggies (which included small sections of corn on the cob, zucchini, red bell pepper, & asparagus) were very good as well. My brother especially liked the grilled red pepper. If we didn't have so many sides, I'd say get a large serving of the veggies for a single person (as it was, each of us got about one or two pieces of each veggie).

The food included a couple of side sauces in addition to the au jus. I didn't try the barbeque sauce. The creamy garlic sauce that came with the 'tri-tip bites' was quite strong, but delicious. It didn't have the astringent taste of raw garlic, but it was far from a mellow roasted garlic. I found it pleasant in small amounts. (It could probably be calmed down with some sour cream or mayo if you don't want such a strong kick of garlic.) It would have been nice to see the sauces described on the menu, but I didn't see them mentioned other than appearing in some of the photos.

I had been hesitant to get the mac and cheese (which is made with corkscrew macaroni aka cavatappi), since everyone makes it differently. I didn't know if we'd like it--especially since it looked very pale in color. It's definitely different from my Mom's hearty version. We all agreed that it was a good creamy type of mac & cheese, and more than one of us found it tasty enough to reach for more.

We really enjoyed our meal and it'd be great...

Excuse my language but I am bleeping MAD! Just when I have faith in a restaurant again they take 5 steps back. The last time I ordered the tri tip sandwich it was so good. The only issue was the bread was a little burnt. I was craving the sandwich again and ordered the Roadhouse Buck Tri Tip Sandwich and added garlic mushrooms and caramelized onions to make it "pop" and add some delish but I don't see the onions and the mushrooms are sparse. What happened to receiving your food and it being visually stunning where you just dive in and after those first few bites you smile because it's amazing! Yeah that didn't happen. Don't get me wrong the sandwich is good but no caramelized onions and I had to spread the 4 mushrooms I got so I could taste a little with each bite. I like when a cook enjoys making food and prepares it with pride and some heart as if they're cooking for family. This meal seemed thrown together and no one looked at the ticket apparently because you can see I added the caramelized onions, mushroom, I requested horseradish, smokehouse bbq sauce and utensils and I did not get any of them. It was my Buck'n anniversary for signing up for the rewards so my reward was free burnt ends. I received them but the au jus container was sealed inside the container so the top was sharped and the su jus barely covered the bottom of the container, maybe a tablespoon was in there give or take. I ordered a side of garlic mashed potatoes and those were good, they didn't mess up on that. My last order was handled with care because I got all the extras I ordered and the au jus they gave me was delicious I even added some to my mashed potatoes. This time was such a disappointment. It goes to show no one did a quality control check to match items with what's on the ticket before letting it leave...

Angela took me to an early dinner at Buckhorn Grill. Very welcoming as we drove up and parked. Outdoor tables with lots of room and big shady umbrellas! Indoors, the room was light and airy in feeling. It felt welcoming walking in the door.

You go up to the counter to place your order. I ordered the combo plate with 3 meats. Ribs, beef and chicken. They have big salads here. Fresh and very tasty. A salad alone could fill you up easily.

They have a self serve bar, where you can get condiments and your drinks. I'd rather have condiments at table, but that's just my thing. Our plates were on the table within 10 minutes of being seated. Everything was hot and played attractively.

The ribs were tender, moist and well seasoned. The slices of beef were a bit too dry and lacked the flavor the ribs had. The chicken was perfectly done and flavourful. We both had the cheddar mash which I really enjoyed.

Seating is at long tables almost communal styled. Yet we never felt cramped or felt we had to be careful about what we were discussing. The place is immaculate, another thing I truly appreciated.

Would I go back again? Sure I would. However, I would want to be seated first and take my time deciding on what I wanted. A good place to come for good old fashioned grilled meats. Prices are moderate. I recommend Buckhorn...