A Florida woman zoomed in on the fine print of a Texas Roadhouse menu, and it says the baked potatoes are ‘thinly coated with bacon fat’

A Florida woman’s TikTok video has gone viral after she zoomed in on the fine print of a Texas Roadhouse menu. The text states that the chain’s baked and sweet potatoes are coated with bacon fat, a detail many customers might not know about.

TikTok creator Debbie, known as @deb.r17, said in the clip that it was her first time back at the chain since learning the potatoes are coated in bacon fat. She pointed out that the detail appears “in the finest print at the bottom of the menu.”

As first highlighted by BroBible, Debbie zooms in on the menu, which says the “baked and sweet potatoes are thinly coated with bacon fat which burns off during cooking.” The same note asks guests to tell their server about any food allergies in their party. Disappointed, she skipped her usual baked potato and ordered steak fries instead.

Debbie thinks the warning belongs somewhere easier to spot

In her caption, Debbie wrote, “Texas Roadhouse, love your restaurant, me no likey your bacon fat potato idea.” She first learned about the coating from a commenter on another of her TikTok videos, in which she asked whether the restaurant’s potatoes get washed. She told BroBible in a direct message that the commenter said they do, but are then coated in bacon grease.

While she learned that she could request a baked potato without the bacon fat, Debbie said she would probably just choose another side. She also believes the restaurant could make the detail easier to notice, suggesting it be listed in parentheses next to the baked potato on the menu’s list of sides.

The video has drawn tens of thousands of views, and many commenters offered ways to enjoy the chain’s potatoes without the pork fat. One person suggested telling the server “you’d like to have a potato with no bacon fat!” Another wrote, “Get the mashed potatoes instead. No bacon in those unless you ask for bacon.”

A third viewer claimed, “My location does NOT coat them in bacon fat, despite the fine print.” A fourth commenter advised, “Just tell your server your dietary restrictions or needs.”

The way Texas Roadhouse prepares its potatoes has sparked questions online before, including over a baked potato’s heavy salt coating. The bacon fat detail matters most to diners who avoid pork for religious or dietary reasons, and many say they learned about it only through word of mouth.

In the r/restaurant subreddit, one Redditor said a waiter had mentioned that the baked and sweet potatoes are rubbed in bacon fat before cooking. “Had he not informed us of this, we’d never have known,” the Redditor wrote. An employee responded that it can vary by location, saying some restaurants, “like the one I worked for, don’t rub the potatoes in bacon fat.”

Under federal rules, restaurant chains with 20 or more locations must post calorie counts on menus and provide additional nutrition information on request, but they aren’t required to list every ingredient. California has passed a law requiring chain restaurants to disclose the nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify Texas Roadhouse’s response, as this account comes solely from a TikTok video and online comments.