Have your steak and eat it too

When the selections are wide and varied, people will think far beyond the run-of-the-mill baked potato in choosing a side dish for a juicy flame-grilled steak. And with its new GrillSide Dinner Buffet, Ponderosa Steakhouse is making that choice an exciting one, challenging guests to decide for themselves how to turn a great steak into a great steak dinner.

With the purchase of a Double T Steak, Ponderosa guests can now round out their meal with a weekly rotation of up to 15 new, freshly prepared items (depending upon location) that comprise GrillSide Dinner Buffet, available nightly from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Prices for Double T Steaks, including the buffet, range from about $7.29 for a six-ounce sirloin to $13.99 for a one-pound T-bone.

"Our Double T Steaks are the focal point of dinnertime at Ponderosa, and GrillSide Dinner Buffet was created to complement our steaks with a wide range of tasty foods that give guests the power to turn a great steak into a great steak dinner," said Terri Snyder, senior vice president of marketing for Ponderosa.

Among the intriguing GrillSide offerings: stuffed jalapeno Poppers; Greek romaine, Waldorf and Caesar Salads; cheddar mashed potatoes; barbecue beef ribs; pepperoni and cheese pizza; baked chicken; garlic toast; baked lasagna; herbed baked fish; and an expanded variety of vegetables and desserts.

"The buffet items certainly aren't what you'd consider 'traditional steak accompaniments,' but we've found that our guests would just as soon reach for a slice of pizza and a few Poppers to go with their steak as they would a baked potato which, of course, is also offered.

Snyder pointed out that in an eight-month test run of GrillSide Dinner Buffet, Ponderosa experienced double-digit sales increases in all three test markets.

"This shows us that guests are responding extremely favorably to the variety of tasty foods we have to offer with our steaks at dinner, as well as the unprecedented value," she continued. "Our guests aren't faced with an either-or proposition when coming into our restaurants; for one attractive price they can have the best of both worlds -- a flame-grilled steak that rates higher in taste tests than any other steak in our segment, and a buffet of hearty and tasty foods that help complete the Ponderosa dinner experience."

GrillSide Dinner Buffet is the culmination of Ponderosa's branded buffet development, which began with the creation of the Rancher's Skillet Breakfast Buffet in 1996 and continued with the roll-out of the Ponderosa Hearty Homestyle Lunch Buffet® the following year. And earlier this year, Ponderosa introduced Double T, a revamped "Tasty and Tender" steak menu with six cuts, including six- and eight-ounce sirloins, seven- and 10-ounce ribeyes, and ¾ lb. and 1 lb. T- bones. Since the introduction of Double T, Ponderosa's system-wide steak sales are up approximately four percent.

Also see: philly cheese steak

About The Author:

Taylor Kent is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-steaks.com. Great tips on buying top quality meats, steaks and seafood from the finest ranchers and butchers.