High End Steak Place

mollyshark

Today is the last day of a good time vacation in Chicago with my son. We grabbed our parkas and enjoyed the place immensely. Last night, for our big blow out, we had dinner at Shula's Steak House in the Sheraton Downtown (where we are staying). I had a ribeye, he had the New York. Big, thick, prime Angus stuff. Waaay expensive. Like over $30 for each steak. The service was fabulous. The steaks were tender...but you know what? I didn't find them quite as "oh my god" flavorful as I thought. Unlike places like Outback, they don't rely on any salty seasonings...just a grilled hunk of meat. Again, it was very, very good. But for that kind of bucks, I expected a flavor hit that would knock me out. The New York was much more flavorful than the ribeye which was a surprise to me. Ribeye in Texas just blows you away even if it is chewy. I think I do better on the egg with some prime beef and a tiny amount of char crust or the mustard/salt rub....or even a pepper melange rubdown with a little bourbon and... [p]We blew about $170 for the two of us (ok, ok, the Remy, the wine, and the chocolate souffle took a little), but nevertheless. Anyway, anyone had steak at some of these high end places? What do you think? Am I just unrealistic?

Mark

mollyshark,
We have a Ruth Chris Steak House here in town and I have been there a few times. Everytime I've been there I was amazed at how $$Expensive$$ it is and the fact that I can do just as well on my Egg at home. I hate this place, $30 for a steak and then everything else is a-la-cart. You want a salad, $5, you want a Baked spud, $5. I've only paid once but have been back a number of times on business.[p]Maybe next time I'll invite the clients back to the house for some good steaks and save the company some cash![p]Mark

JJ

Mark,
Are talking about the Ruth Chris Steak House on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs? We have eaten there a couple of times and were not that impressed. At one visit, with some BGE friends, we had to send the steaks back as they were tough and over cooked.[p]BTW, Bones in Buckhead is VERY proud of their steaks too. Need no limit credit card while dining there. hehe

Shelby

mollyshark,
I've been fortunate to eat at Ruth's a few times, Morton's, Smith and Wollensky's and a locally-owned high-end steak house here New Orleans, all thanks to someone else's expense account. All were very good; of them, the local place, by owners of Commander's Palace, was the best. I'm not sure how other's like their steaks but for me, I like a good piece of meat cooked rare. If it's a good cut of meat, I feel no need to marinate or add anything other than a little onion/garlic/pepper before cooking. Let the true flavor of that meat come out and savor the natural juices. Face it, what most of us can and do to a prime piece of meat is not what the "average" person does in the backyard. The high-end steak houses are great and have a place, mainly for the business customer. But on a good night, I'll take the steak off my egg. And tonight is looking like a very good night!

bbqbeth

Shelby,
I whole-heartedly agree...but try telling Mop that..[p]ribeyes tonight!![p]Enjoy!
Beth[p]

The Naked Whiz

JJ,
No, Mark lives in the Raleigh area. The local Ruth's Chris is in Cary.[p]TNW

Wise One

mollyshark, last December we had dinner at Shula's in Tampa Bay. The next night we ate at Outback - to level out expenses. In all honesty, I thought the steak at Outback was better than what we got at Shula's. Of course, we didn't have the menu printed on a football or all the pictures of the football greats, but we did have the beer that Australia refuses to drink (so they export it).

Grate Grills

mollyshark, Best steakhouse steak I ever had was at Gene and Georgette's in Chicago. Have had the opportunity to eat at several high end ($) steakhouses. The advantage they have over our backyard is thay are able to get Prime beef and dry age it properly. I think the backyard cook, properly equiped, (egg) can outshine these steakhouses. We can season to our liking and since were not taking orders,we can prepare our steaks for the grill taking the require amount of time. IMHO

Unknown

mollyshark,
Highend steak houses are all about service and that is what set them apart. Top quality product and service makes spending that kind of money easier, and if they carry top of the line cigars all the better.
Jim

Trout Bum

Grate Grills,
I've eaten there many times also as well as Hy's (not sure of the spelling) in Chicago, The Precinct in Cincinnati and many others, who's names I can't remember.
Most had excellent pieces of meat but were usually lacking in flavor.
However, none have beaten Egged steaks and only a few even came close.
B D

Mark

Jim Minion,
The service that I have gotten at Ruth Chris in the past was aweful. They treat you like you should be honored that they let you in the restuarant.
I've had great service at Jimmy V's Steak House and go there often. A few bucks cheaper and it includes sides.
Mark

Unknown

I live in Cary and have been to Ruth's Chris once - I was NOT impressed. Steak was OK at best. Same with the other big-name steak place in town - Angus Barn.[p]Capitol City Chop House, Stonewood Grill and J Gilbert's are all better as far as I'm concerned. Not sure how "local" these places are though.....[p]But I tell ya - I good hunk of meat, some CharCrust, and my hubby cooking on the Egg --- - - - - it don't get no better than that!

Cornfed

Jim Minion,[p]I enjoyed a bachelor party meal at Spark's in NYC. I think it is the second highest Zagat rated steakhouse in NY behind Peter Lugers. The beef was out of this world. The service was outstanding. I'm not really into scotch, but I tried to navigate their huge list and ended up ordering a round of nine drinks of Johnny Walker Blue Label for the table (at $270, the most expensive round of drinks I've ever bought).[p]I wish I were into cigars at the time since I'm curious as to what they had to offer. All in all, I think our meal for 9 hungry bachelor party attendees was about $1000 and I gave a $200 tip.[p]Yes, my credit card has never been the same since, but it truly was a meal to remember...and I'll only be best man to my older brother once...[p]Beef is good,
Cornfed

Mark

cathy harmon,
Jimmy V's is my favorite of all the local places.
When we lived in Durham we went to this little tucked away place call The Farmhouse that was very good. But I agree, I would rather go to store and get a couple of good 2" steaks and cook it at home. With a 4-pack of Guiness and a nice bottle of wine I come out way ahead in terms of cash and quality.
Mark

Peggy

mollyshark,
sounds like a great dinner. My job allows me to eat at really fine places. I've had the privilege to dine at Smith & Wollensky's*, Ruth Chris, Harris steakhouse*, Del Frisco's*, Gene & Georgettis*, Flemings Prime Steakhouse etc. I'm going to Mortons next month. Some are better than others as indicated by the *. I agree with Grate Grill the advantage and taste difference versus at home steaks is the prime aged beef up to 21 days. At one steakhouse, we did an experiment (Harris's). One diner ordered filet minion that was not aged. The other ordered aged rib eye. The taste difference was phenomenal! I have not cooked steaks on my BGE yet, but look forward to it some day. [p][p][p][p][p][p][p][p]; Flemings and Mortons next month. Some are better than others as indicated by the *

Unknown

Mark,
If the service isn't there, then it's just a high priced steak. We can all cook a good steak, so they have to offer something that sets them apart from the rest.
Jim

Peggy

mollyshark,
sounds like a great dinner. My job allows me to eat at really fine places. I've had the privilege to dine at Smith & Wollensky's*, Ruth Chris, Harris steakhouse*, Del Frisco's*, Gene & Georgettis*, Flemings Prime Steakhouse etc. I'm going to Mortons next month. Some are better than others as indicated by the *. I agree with Grate Grill the advantage and taste difference versus at home steaks is the prime aged beef up to 21 days. At one steakhouse, we did an experiment (Harris's). One diner ordered filet minion that was not aged. The other ordered aged rib eye. The taste difference was phenomenal! I have not cooked steaks on my BGE yet, but look forward to it some day. [p][p][p][p][p][p][p][p]; Flemings and Mortons next month. Some are better than others as indicated by the *

Unknown

Cornfed, Johnny Walker Blue Label? I know the Black Label is 12 year-old Scotch. I cannot recall ever seeing a bottle of Blue Label. How many years is it aged?[p]The few times I have indulged in single malt Scotches that are aged more than 15 years, I felt guilty just putting one cube of ice in the glass as I felt I was diluting the full flavor as it was meant to be tasted and savored.[p]Scotch to you,[p]Juggy

char buddy

mollyshark,[p]Hi there Mollyshark. As soon as we got the BGE two years ago - or was it three - I wanted to find out how close I could come to reproducing restaurant steak. A Foodtv guy - David Rosengarten - did a show on how to make steak like they do in steak houses. He mentioned places you could order high quality, dry aged, prime grade steaks (if you want the list, I can send it to you) and the rest was just an indoor version of sear - sear - dwell. After trying a few of those, i went out to steak houses - the Palm in Philly a couple of times - and Michael Jordan's in NYC in the Grand Central Terminal. I haven't been to Peter Lugar's in Brooklyn yet, but that's on my list. With two exceptions I now firmly believe that I can make steak as good as, and usually better than, the high end steak houses I have been to. The two exceptions were once at the local Palm, the chef made a mistake and put a really great rib eye on my plate. The other exception is a wierd little restaurant in Philly called Fork. I can't figure out how they do it, but they make a steak I can not duplicate.

Lately, I have been playing with steak tricks I learned on the forum and elsewhere for making choice grade, not so aged steaks cook up good. I'm doing one of those on Monday.[p]CB

Unknown

Peggy,
Filet Minion, we don't want to go there. :>
Jim

Unknown

JDB,
Blue is still a blend but I haven't found how long it is aged.
I really do prefer single malts (neat of course) and good medium to full flavored cigar after a great steak.

Peggy

Jim Minion,
Oops, you are right!

WooDoggies

Hey char buddy,[p]3 questions:
What kind of steak do you order and how do you have them cook it at Fork in Philly?
What trick are you using on your not-so-aged steak?
And wasn't there a post a while back on how to dry age your own steaks using the fridge?[p]Sorry for the barrage... inquiring minds and all. :~)[p]WD

Cornfed

JDB,[p]I think I read somewhere that it is aged for 25 years. My brother actually bought me a bottle of it as a present for being best man at the rehearsal dinner a week after the bachelor party. I don't think it says how old it is on the bottle or in the included literature (yes, it comes with its own pamphlet extolling its virtue). All 9 drinks at the bachelor party were "neat" so as not to intrude with the Scotch flavor.[p][p]
Later,
Cornfed

char buddy

WooDoggies,[p]Happy to try to help. [p]1. Fork. They only have one kind of steak on the menu - I think it is sirloin, but I am not sure. They don't give you a choice other than the usual - rare, medium-rare. I once tried to bribe a waiter to tell me where they got their meat and what were they doing to do it in the kitchen. All I got was something about we cook it in a skillet and we get from a wholesaler. [p]2. tricks for not so old steaks. I have forgotten who posted this - Dr. Chicken, maybe, - but somebody put their steaks in a zipped locked bag with olive oil for several hours or several days. I like to add crushed garlic, crushed pepper, a little thyme - whatever's handy. I usually just marinate the thing for a day. I'm trying to figure out whether there's a percentage in doing it longer. I wouldn't do this with a good prime aged steak. Second trick - for any really good steak. Cook it at low heat until it comes to the desired internal temp and forget about the char. Alain Ducasse had a stove top version a few weeks ago for doing this. I think Cornfed posted it. I'll re-post it shortly.

3. home dry aging. here is a re-post from Mark "Alton Brown did an episode on Good Eats on FoodTV where he aged a rib roast in the fridge for 3-4 days. We put in in a plastic container with some holes or other opening at the bottom. I did the same thing with Prime Rib roast for new years and it was fantastic. I guess the idea is to concentrate the flavor because you get quite a bit of liquid out even int he 48 hours I aged it. More info can be found at the FoodTV site I'm sure." I wonder if it makes sense to dry age at home, then put the steak in olive oil bath?[p]CB

RhumAndJerk

mollyshark,
Just to my opinion to the mix. Sometimes I feel that you can a better steak at a high-end Steak house. The main reason is that they have access to top quality beef that I may not. Also, they could have an aging process that I cannot duplicate.[p]Now that is not saying that I cannot cook a steak and get better results than a high-end Chophouse. I feel that it is gamble regardless. Sometimes you get a great steak and sometimes you do not. To explain this we merely have to thank or blame the beast that the steak came from. Simply put, depending on where you start determines where you finish.[p]Happy Grilling,
RhumAndJerk

Ellen aka Gormay

WooDoggies,[p]I believe I have read that "ageing" or simply just leaving beef in the refrigerator for several days prior to using will improve the flavor and texture. My Dad was a butcher in Bklyn.He said that the longer meat was hung, the more tender it became as the tough fibers were broken down. He also said the best meat in the world would be one left until it was practically moldy. Once the almost rotten outside was cut away, the meat inside, he said was the best. I have never tried this as I have simple tastes and a piece of meat seasoned with a brief marinade is good enough for me.[p]BTW We have one highly praised, very expensive steak house in town. With a gift certificate of $100 we had to pay an additional $150 to pay for dinner for 4. We shared one moderately priced bottle of wine, had 1 appetizer, each ordered a steak, shared 2 or 3 a la carte vegetables and had 1 dessert. It was an entirely overpriced and overrated meal. My filet mignon was tender, but tasteless even with it's claim to being aged prime. IMHO, the Egg is my "favorite" steakhouse.

WooDoggies

char buddy,[p]Thanks. Good Stuff on this topic today.
Have printed out your thoughts and the two other links.
Might have to give Fork a try... sounds worthwhile.
This forum iz gooooooood.[p]WD

Spring Chicken

Jim Minion,
I read where it is among those rare scotches that age 50 to 60 years. I like scotch and would love to try some Blue but not on my budget. I will add it to my wish list right under the motor coach and Harley.[p]Spring Chicken

Unknown

Cornfed and Jim, I went searching on the internet for more information Johnny Walker Blue Label. As in any internet search, I found conflicting information as everyone on the internet is an expert. (At least they are according to themselves.) :-)[p]So what I did find is this. First of all the blue label is expensive. I found prices ranging from $180.oo to $250.oo per 750 ml bottle. I also discovered why I had not seen this in a liquor store or bar. The availibility of the blue label is very limited in the U.S. and I don't frequent the high dollar establishments where the blue label is served.[p]As to the age of the blended Blue Label Scotch, one source said it was a blend of Scotches that were aged a minimum of 20 years. Several other sources said the blends were aged 25 years. And there were quite a few sources that said the blends were aged 50 to 60 years.[p]So I am just as confused now as when I started my search. I do know I would like to sample some of this Scotch as one thing all these sources did agree on is it is one of the best blended Scotches that you can buy.[p]In my search, I also found a forum for Scotch connoiseurs if anyone is interested.[p]Single blends to you,[p]Juggy[p]

[ul][li]Scotch Forum[/ul]

mollyshark

Thanks for the responses, all of you. I was wondering if I was just a little off. Here in Fort Worth we have a couple places that carry prime beef. One is a tiny little grocery called Roy Pope's. They can get you anything and about 99% of their meat is prime. Their prime ribeyes are as good as anything I've ever had and they cut them there to the thickness you want. I never say "give me 12 ounces." I hold up my fingers about <

---

> and say cut it like that. It's superlative. Central Market here also carries prime. So I'm pretty spoiled. Prime ribeye goes for about $12.99 a pound at Pope's and after paying $30 and more for a 12oz Friday night, I'm feeling pretty serene about $12.99. Not that you want to blow that much every day...but sometimes. I dunno...I'll try a few more high end places. I've done Del Frisco's and found it VERY good, but not unbelievable. The egg does spoil one, ya know?