Amarillo Mesquite Grill Proves Enjoyable (Business Lunch)

2119 W. Walnut

Rogers

Our latest lunch outing was a family affair.

We took a local health care professional, a spouse and an infant along to sample the Texas-style taste of the Amarillo Mesquite Grill in Rogers. We have eaten there many times before and again enjoyed the friendly treatment and home cooking that keeps us coming back.

We normally don’t take children along for a business lunch, but a unique circumstance landed us in each other’s company, so we partnered for a lip-smacking ride through the great Southwest. If you’re between appointments and have the luxury of taking your child to lunch, the Amarillo Mesquite Grill offers an excellent family atmosphere.

High chairs and car seat stands are readily available, and the staff politely seated us away from other diners so the little lady in our company wouldn’t be too disruptive. As it turned out, she was so enthralled with Amarillo’s homemade bread that she scarcely made a sound.

The rest of us liked it, too. But our favorite dishes were the steaks and chicken fajitas that have the richest smoked flavor north of the Red River.

One of the adult diners ordered the Amarillo Strip ($15), a beefy 12-ounce steak cooked perfectly with a warm pink center. The meal comes with a choice of two side dishes, and he chose a loaded baked potato and mushrooms sautéed well enough to turn a tiger vegetarian.

He has enjoyed Amarillo’s baby back ribs, barbecued salmon and smoked brisket platter on a regular basis. He still says the restaurant’s slow-smoked brisket ($9), basted with Curley’s Famous Barbecue Sauce, is as close as you can get to tasting Texas without kissing Darrell Royal on the mouth.

Another reviewer opted for the mushroom steak ($9) and a spud. She said her dinner was “really, really good.” She even made a mischievous face when reminded how much she enjoyed the queso and chili Mexi skins in Amarillo’s appetizer combo ($8).

Our final critic said she enjoyed the southwest chicken fajitas ($11), which come mesquite-grilled with onions, peppers, guacamole, cheese, pico de gallo and warm tortillas. She also liked her iced tea, but she didn’t get a crack at the salad that came with our two other entrees.

The salads were fair but fresh. The apple cobbler a la mode ($3) was delicious enough to prompt a scramble for spoons, and by the time we staggered outside, our bellies were as big as, well, Texas.