LongHorn Steakhouse - Whitehall Township

I want to start by saying that the service provided by our server was absolutely incredible. They were attentive, kind, and quick. The restaurant itself was clean, we were seated promptly, and most of the food was delicious. However, my experience was overshadowed by how my dietary needs were handled. I have specific dietary restrictions (no gluten or dairy) and made it clear that I needed my steak cooked in olive oil and my sides prepared plain. Unfortunately, the steak came out completely burned. I politely asked for it to be remade, and while the server promptly went back to the kitchen with the issue. A manager then came to my table and tried to explain that due to cooking my steak in olive oil it would come out “Pittsburgh style,” resulting in the charred appearance. My steak was not charred. It was completely inedible. Please see images of my steak vs. a “Pittsburgh style” steak. I was shocked by this explanation and explained that I’ve had steaks at LongHorn and other restaurants cooked in olive oil before, and they’ve never been served burned or tasted that way. It felt dismissive of my concerns, and frankly, it seemed like an excuse rather than a genuine explanation. The manager then had the steak remade and it came out perfect. They offered to let me take home the burnt steak and possibly feed it to my dog. I took it home and didn’t even feel comfortable feeding my dog portions of the steak. While I appreciate the quick service and the efforts of the staff, I hope management takes this as an opportunity to revisit how dietary requests are handled and also not try and combat the customer. This situation could have been handled better.