The late 1970s. I was 5. I was not impressed. But my wife recalls being dragged there on a couple of co-worker birthday requests and has fond memories of the cheddar biscuits, as I assume do most. But my sensory memory doesn't recall what I had at the so-called Dirty Lob or whether I liked it much. So I haven't a hankering or a sadness in response to this news. I also know that I have said for years that our local RL could have another RL across the street from it, and they'd both be packed.
As for Steak & Ale, yes to all of the above. In Houston, we also had Steak and Egg, which was more late night steak at the diner-bar type of place. As a kid, I remember going to one-offs like Circus Restaurant on Westheimer, Mama's, Papa's, The Strawberry Patch, and Houston's. For Tex-Mex, it was Molina's. As for anything fancier, they didn't waste it on the kids until we were old enough to appreciate it.
Edit to add, Cliff's for burgers (still) or JCI for a large-group burger scenario or Hamburgers by Gourmet for the best burger of all time.