Food: ALC Steaks Wagyu Ribeye

16oz Wagyu Ribeye, with Asparagus for Health

 

As you may know, the Formula 1 was in Austin last weekend.  I have two friends with whom I attend the race every year, and part of our race weekend tradition is a visit to ALC Steaks.  Last time I had been to ALC was in June, and whilst there I enjoyed the 16oz wagyu steak (from Beeman Ranch) from the specials menu.  It was fantastic (the marbling in wagyu is intense); I liked it even better than the bone-in, dry-aged, grass-fed strip from 44 Farms.  Thus I was pleasantly surprised last Friday when the 16oz wagyu was still in the specials section.  Again I ordered it (see photo above) and again I was highly impressed.  

I don't know what the long term availability of this steak is, but if you are at ALC Steaks anytime soon I highly recommend that you try it.  It is every cent worth the $65.  

Also, I have a rule-of-thumb for steak: if they name the farm/ranch of origin on the menu, it is probably going to be good.  

View from the Turn 9 Grandstand

Food: Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

 

I was recently in Fort Worth for the Texas Realtor's conference.  While in the DFW area, I decided to meet a steak-loving friend for dinner.  We chose Pappas Bros. Steakhouse and it was the right call.  

I'll say this upfront: being the steak enthusiast I am, I can't believe I waited until 2022 to visit this place.

Here's what I had:

• An excellent vodka martini, rivaling the one I had at the Four Seasons in New Orleans earlier this year.  I also had a local lager (unfortunately I can't recall the name, but I liked it).
• Poblano and corn chowder... with crab.  The ellipses capture how the waitress described it, with my interest spiking from low to high as the latter ingredient was mentioned.   The soup was delicious.
• Potatoes au gratin which were as excellent as the martini.
• An 18oz dry-aged prime ribeye served Oscar-style.  It was outstanding and probably the best steak I've had this year (a high bar, considering I've been to several excellent steakhouses in the past 12 months).  

Pappas Bros. Steakhouses have for years been featured in lists as a top places slinging high-end steaks in Texas and in my opinion the Dallas location lived up to the reputation.   Everything I had was great and the service matched the quality of the food.  The bill came out to around $270 for us both.  We were drinking lightly, though, so more cocktails and/or some good wine could easily have driven the bill north of $400.  The decor is is old-school (like Bob's or The Palm) as opposed to airy and trendy.  I prefer to eat expensive beef in a clubby setting so the setting was appreciated.   The verdict: if you like fine steaks then you should eat one at Pappas Bros.

Food: Grilling Steaks and Scallops

Grass-Fed Ribeyes and Scallops on the Grill

I'm sitting in my home office with a couple of prime T-bones (which I just picked up from Central Market) in the fridge.  Tonight I'm keeping it simple with just the steaks; however, last month I grilled up a 1/2 pound of scallops to go with my grass-fed ribeyes (also from Central Market) and the results were excellent.  

• For the steaks, I used a pretty basic Montreal seasoning with a little extra kosher salt and pepper.  If you haven't tried grass-fed yet, I highly recommend it.  It provides a different texture than grain-fed beef, but the flavor is rich and delicious.   While they rested, I melted some of the Lewis Road Creamery garlic and chive butter over them.  I highly recommend the seasoned butter as a finishing move for your beef.   

• For the scallops, I used a recipe from the grill manufacturer.    

• I served the steak and scallops with roasted asparagus.   

Separately and in the aggregate, all of the above were a hit.