If you’re the type of person who knows exactly what they want to order from their favorite restaurant before you even walk out the door of your house, then the #blindorderchallenge that’s currently trending on TikTok may give you a tinge of anxiety. The name of the trend pretty much sums it up: You walk into a restaurant and when your server asks you what you’ll have, you ask them to order for you. Sometimes, these orders don’t always go as planned, like this Starbucks customer who asked a barista to “surprise” her, and the employee quipped that they’re just going to pour them a cup of water.
Some content creators head into the drive-thru, give employees a budget, and ask them to place an order within those financial constraints as well.
The TikTok account @snaxsonville headed to a Texas Roadhouse restaurant to sit down and grab some grub to see what a server would order for them as part of the challenge and while some users on the platform said that the employee was clearly placing an order that would more than likely earn them the highest tip on a percentage-based gratuity, many said that the selections they made were some of the chain’s finest offerings.
@snaxsonville How dod our boy Waylon do? #fup #blindorderchallenge #restaurantreview ♬ God Blessed Texas (Special Version) – Little Texas
The TikTok then transitions to a shot of the restaurant’s trademark rolls and butter that are served up before every meal, before cutting to an appetizer, “He started us off with some chili-cheese fries and if that was not heavy enough for you he brought this gravy and told us it goes great with it.” @Snaxsonville shows himself spooning up the gravy and pouring it on some of the fries before chomping down on Waylon’s recommendation.
“He wasn’t wrong. For our entrees he got us the bone-in ribeye with mushrooms and onions which was an incredible pick.” The TikToker shows off the steak, both when it was first plated along with a shot of the inside of the meat, showing a pink center. “Also the staff seems like it favors a couple of things: The filet medallions and the sweet potato.” He adds with additional on-screen text that the last time he tried the blind order challenge at a Texas Roadhouse location, he also was served up a sweet potato and filet medallions.
So how much did the meal cost? “In total it was $80 and I’d give it an 8.8.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @snaxsonville and Texas Roadhouse via email.
One user quipped that the order was strategically placed so the server could secure themselves a nice gratuity: “Bro just ordering to get the biggest check as he should! He picked good stuff though.”
Another commenter remarked that they too were big fans of some of the menu items: “The filet medallions are so gas,” which was reiterated by someone else who saw @snaxsonville’s clip: “The Filet Medallions are the secret deal! You get more for your $$ vs ordering the Filet itself.”
The social media challenge does bring labor concerns, here asking the waiter to guess what the creator likes as part of his tip-earning dance. And what if the creator didn’t like the food or had an allergy? For now though, the challenge is mostly clean fun with mutually beneficial results for those involved.
There were folks who had some favorite recommendations of their own, which happened to be one of the items that Waylon hooked the TikToker up with: “I order the bone in ribeye every time it does not disappoint.”
