NYC and Vermont Beer Fest 2018

Seriously, moment for moment, one of the best trips I’ve ever taken.  I got to eat at not one but two iconic NYC eateries; Katz’s Deli and Peter Luger’s.  And I got to bask in the beauty of Vermont while drinking some of the best beer the world has to offer.

Recently in my Face: The Big Texan Steakhouse

Contrary to popular opinion, I’m not always just looking for a fine dining experience.  Sometimes I just want to get some local flavor or check off a famous landmark or maybe there just aren’t that many options available beyond Applebee’s. 

The Big Texan fulfills the latter two criteria.

Stuck in Canyon, where the culinary spectrum ranges from Applebee’s to Quizno’s, I headed up to Amarillo to soak in some panhandle touristy kitsch.  I was not disappointed except for everything I put in my mouth.

As some will recognize, this is the restaurant featured on many shows on Food or Travel channels where, if you can eat their 72oz steak dinner, you can get it for free.  Well, I wasn’t going to do that. I had hiking to do the next day and the last thing I need was a meat coma.
The food was exactly as expected.  A steak that you could make at home for half the price.  Even more disappointing was their own brew-pub beer.  The pale ale I had possessed only the tiniest hint of flavor one normally associates with the mega-brewers.

What I Had

• Drink – Palo Dura Pale Ale (blech)
• App – Prime Skins (meh)
• Main – 18oz Ribeye, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad
• Zert – none

C-

 

Recently in My Face: Knife

Bone in rib eye for two, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, hollandaise and bordelaise sauces with Barolo.

Deconstructed banana pudding (bottom)** Caramel pretzel (top) with Sauternes.

Post dessert of cookies.

Don’t get me wrong, this was a very good meal.  But compared to the meal we had last year at  John Tesar’s other, now closed restaurant, Spoon, this was fairly meh.  There are literally a trillion other fine steakhouses in Dallas and, unless I am willing to buy an once or two of their 240 day dry aged beef*, there was little here to compel a return visit.

 

*I was not.

**Bottom

Eating Grapevine: The Silver Fox

First off, Happy Birthday Peach!

I didn't know what to expect from The Silver Fox. I had heard their commercials on The Hardline. I had seen that they had multiple locations. This is usually not a good sign. Except for Ruth's Chris, steakhouse chains tend to be on the order of Texas Land and Cattle. However, what I didn't know was this was an offshoot of III Forks -- my all-time favorite steakhouse.

So, simply put, this meal was fantastic!! There are certain things I must order when I go to any fine restaurant/steakhouse. So let's see how The Silver Fox did on Steve's Steakhouse Checklist.

1. Saphire Martini -- It's hard to screw this up. And they didn't. It was big and tasty.
2. Crabcakes -- I have to order them wherever I go. And these were the best I've had all year. Better than Truluck's even.
3. Porterhouse, medium rare -- I always get a porterhouse for the fillet side and the strip side and the bone for Alex. Perfectly cooked with my preferred topping, Oscar -- asparagus, lump crab with Béarnaise.

I was too stuffed for dessert, although I had a bit of the creme brulee. It was OK. I'm not a huge fan of creme brulee, though.

I wish I had more to say. This place is great. Is it the greatest steakhouse ever? Probably not. And I will still go to my preferred Truluck's. But it does the job and serves up a tasty steak and a very nice scallop. And the service was great. Everything you can ask for in a steakhouse.

A

1235 William D. Tate Grapevine, TX