Our Least Favorite Texas Roadhouse Menu Item Is Also One Of The Most Popular

We'll be the first to hype Texas Roadhouse for its high-quality steaks and groundbreaking Rattlesnake Bites, but we can't bring ourselves to do the same for its Cactus Blossom appetizer. This signature starter should be crispy, heavenly petals of beer-battered onion, yet of the 12 popular Texas Roadhouse menu items we ranked, it's the least impressive. The issues begin with the dish's striking similarity to Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion — from the deep-fried bulb to the dipping sauce — and we're sorry to say, Outback Steakhouse does it better. While the roadhouse's onion slivers were pleasantly sweet, our Tasting Table taste tester, Crawford Smith, experienced a greasy sensation from the moment he bit into the breading, and he's not alone in this sentiment.

Other diners have raised concerns about the coated onion being drenched in odd-tasting oil. However, that's minor compared to the appetizer's reportedly uncooked center. One diner noted that the inner coating at the bottom of the Cactus Blossom was wet, adding insult to the injury of its excessively salty taste. But that's not all. Our taste tester actually found it to be the complete opposite: tasteless. This starter contains a staggering 5,000 milligrams of sodium, yet it could still benefit from more salt and seasoning. Worse still, even the horseradish sauce that accompanies it couldn't rescue the dish, as it lacked the necessary pizzazz to do so.

For a reimagined cactus blossom, we'll explore a few simple techniques you can employ while seated at your table. The first is to request pulled pork along with your starter. The server will top your Cactus Blossom with the meat and some BBQ sauce upon request, instantly giving your Texas Roadhouse Cactus Blossom a hearty upgrade. This transformed dish, better known as a Pulled Pork Blossom, elevates your appetizer to a main course with the added protein. The real highlight, however, is the combination of a crispy breaded bottom and a meaty top — a dynamic duo of textures guaranteed to delight your palate.

The options for upgrading Texas Roadhouse's Cactus Blossom don't stop there. Thankfully, there's a variety of toppings you can add if you're not quite into pork, including Jack cheese. This melted addition elevates your original starter to a zestful Jack Cheese Smothered Cactus Blossom, with the option to enhance it even further with mushrooms, onions, or jalapeños. Each of these toppings adds unique texture to the crispy Cactus Blossom, and since they are all flavorful standalone additions that pack a powerful punch, you can be sure that any of them will improve the often bland blossom and its accompanying sauce.