There's goes the waistline....
Before I'd retired from the USAF, I watched what I ate. Hell, I rarely ate out, rarely ate expensive meals. I hadn't acquired a taste for good wines, scotch or bourbons. Back in the day when I put in a lot of time at the gym, I remember joking " if I could take a magic food pill that replaced my meals .. i would" . Point being, I ate out of necessity, not .. .just because.
Since I got out of the USAF and into the world of 'suits', I've discovered a world of decadence. Sushi, Sashimi, all the different fish dishes, awesome cuts of red meat, and endless seafood options. Damned it, I love to eat! Last night I had a business meeting/dinner and got reminded just why, my damned belly is as big as it is.... Some of my OEM Partners were in town and I got the invite to dinner; these guys have become personal friends and I jump at the chance to connect up when possible. The dinner location option was given to me and I pointed us to Pappas Bros Steakhouse, where I'd eaten a few years ago with Rob Gregory and Jason Yount. I'd forgetten this was in an older, crappy part of NW Dallas, but once you enter the interior, the world changes. You're now in an upper scale Steakhouse.
We met up in the bar and after a few Irish Red Pints, we headed over to our booth; ummm..... no. WTF were they thinking? Well, 2-3 minutes later, she's got us seated at a 4 top table and the fun begins. We're asked if we'd like anything off the wine list and somehow I find myself in charge of the selection which .. is not a good thing. I like my wines, but I'm no connoisseur but they have one and Alex is soon at my side helping with the decision. What State do I want that Pino Noir from? Fuck I don't know .. ummm .. "California" .. What region? Grrr. Well, I give him an idea of my palate , he asks for our budget and with a shit eating grin and heads off for the wine. Turns out ( at least this was his story ) at this price point this wine was his all time favorite. And I can see why ; smooth and right down the middle. Was good and I'd buy again! Well, not at a restaurant, but from a store where it's closer to a third of that cost!
Appetizers? Man, I could do a whole meal off that appetizer list but we opted for Deviled Eggs with Lobster and Bacon. I can honestly say, they were the BEST deviled eggs I've had in my entire life. My wife makes some killer ones, but these just took the trophy. I'd have suggested we get a second appetizer but I was going all in on dinner so attempted to pace myself. The wine is flowing. The eggs are killer. Conversation is in full gear and the restaurant eating area is 100% full and packed. Dinner is almost in full swing..... When we were seated, we passed the glass case with all the meats in their glory begging us to pick them. Huge, thick, aged slabs of luscious red meat. I wasn't even that hungry but I was going for it. I'd selected the 22oz Bone In Ribeye , aged for almost a month here on site. It was calling my name. But, so was the lobster. Not the live Maine Lobster, but a tail from Australia; a huge tail. Sides? Special for the nice was mac n' cheese with Crab meat .. LOTS of crab meat. One of my buddies ordered sauteed mushrooms for the table as well; they came out huge and luscious. My buddies get their orders in ( one of them was a 26 oz Porterhouse .. yum!) and we' back to our conversation
Eventually, about the time we're into bottle of wine #2 ( these would be 1/2 the cost of the overall meal) the main course shows up. I'm trying not to be too obvious , but I get a couple of pics snapped. Pics didn't turn out well; didn't have time to check settings, lighting, flash. Just a quick snippet of the evidence. The Lobster tail was huge.. .sweet.... one of the best I've ever had. Steak had great flavor..... but... maybe slightly over seasoned with salt. And I've got to admit, I've cooked a better one at home. Lots of better ones at home. Hmmmmm... I mean this has great flavor, think, juicy and cooked correctly... but... I guess I expected that slab of meat to melt in my mouth like butter, for the aging they bragged about and the cost of it. Half way through the meal, our waittress asked how the meal was and .... I told her. I think that caught her off guard. I told her I didn't want to send it back for another, I was just a notch disappointed and expected a better cut of meat. That got the " oh my .. i'm sorry ... let me tell my manager ..." response. Okay I'm thinking .. this should be interesting. I want to hear what his excuse is, etc. .. but... he never makes it to our table. Huh...
"Do you all want desert?" Of course not! We're friggn' stuffed!!! But... we ordered anyways .... smh . My God that desert was decadent, along with Alex's recommendation for a desert wine to go with it ( I dont think there was more than an ounce or two in that glass). But damned, that desert was killer. Made me forget about the lack of perfection with the Ribeye.
Wine is gone. Dishes are cleared. We're asked the obligaory "anything else?" before they hit us with the huge check and I smile and reply "well.... do you all have a military discount?" She's never been asked that before; the look on her face was priceless. Few minutes later she's back with a smile, shows me the new price and we've got 10% off large bill and I'm smiling; it's a matter of principle! Well, we're still solving the problems of the world when I look around and realize we are one of three tables in the entire establishment left sitting there taking up space, chatting away oblivious to those around us. It's time. Time to someway, somehow push back from that table and stumble out to the car after our goodbyes. It's late. I'm tired. And .. feeling fat. And.. .I'm smiling.
Since I got out of the USAF and into the world of 'suits', I've discovered a world of decadence. Sushi, Sashimi, all the different fish dishes, awesome cuts of red meat, and endless seafood options. Damned it, I love to eat! Last night I had a business meeting/dinner and got reminded just why, my damned belly is as big as it is.... Some of my OEM Partners were in town and I got the invite to dinner; these guys have become personal friends and I jump at the chance to connect up when possible. The dinner location option was given to me and I pointed us to Pappas Bros Steakhouse, where I'd eaten a few years ago with Rob Gregory and Jason Yount. I'd forgetten this was in an older, crappy part of NW Dallas, but once you enter the interior, the world changes. You're now in an upper scale Steakhouse.
We met up in the bar and after a few Irish Red Pints, we headed over to our booth; ummm..... no. WTF were they thinking? Well, 2-3 minutes later, she's got us seated at a 4 top table and the fun begins. We're asked if we'd like anything off the wine list and somehow I find myself in charge of the selection which .. is not a good thing. I like my wines, but I'm no connoisseur but they have one and Alex is soon at my side helping with the decision. What State do I want that Pino Noir from? Fuck I don't know .. ummm .. "California" .. What region? Grrr. Well, I give him an idea of my palate , he asks for our budget and with a shit eating grin and heads off for the wine. Turns out ( at least this was his story ) at this price point this wine was his all time favorite. And I can see why ; smooth and right down the middle. Was good and I'd buy again! Well, not at a restaurant, but from a store where it's closer to a third of that cost!
Appetizers? Man, I could do a whole meal off that appetizer list but we opted for Deviled Eggs with Lobster and Bacon. I can honestly say, they were the BEST deviled eggs I've had in my entire life. My wife makes some killer ones, but these just took the trophy. I'd have suggested we get a second appetizer but I was going all in on dinner so attempted to pace myself. The wine is flowing. The eggs are killer. Conversation is in full gear and the restaurant eating area is 100% full and packed. Dinner is almost in full swing..... When we were seated, we passed the glass case with all the meats in their glory begging us to pick them. Huge, thick, aged slabs of luscious red meat. I wasn't even that hungry but I was going for it. I'd selected the 22oz Bone In Ribeye , aged for almost a month here on site. It was calling my name. But, so was the lobster. Not the live Maine Lobster, but a tail from Australia; a huge tail. Sides? Special for the nice was mac n' cheese with Crab meat .. LOTS of crab meat. One of my buddies ordered sauteed mushrooms for the table as well; they came out huge and luscious. My buddies get their orders in ( one of them was a 26 oz Porterhouse .. yum!) and we' back to our conversation
Eventually, about the time we're into bottle of wine #2 ( these would be 1/2 the cost of the overall meal) the main course shows up. I'm trying not to be too obvious , but I get a couple of pics snapped. Pics didn't turn out well; didn't have time to check settings, lighting, flash. Just a quick snippet of the evidence. The Lobster tail was huge.. .sweet.... one of the best I've ever had. Steak had great flavor..... but... maybe slightly over seasoned with salt. And I've got to admit, I've cooked a better one at home. Lots of better ones at home. Hmmmmm... I mean this has great flavor, think, juicy and cooked correctly... but... I guess I expected that slab of meat to melt in my mouth like butter, for the aging they bragged about and the cost of it. Half way through the meal, our waittress asked how the meal was and .... I told her. I think that caught her off guard. I told her I didn't want to send it back for another, I was just a notch disappointed and expected a better cut of meat. That got the " oh my .. i'm sorry ... let me tell my manager ..." response. Okay I'm thinking .. this should be interesting. I want to hear what his excuse is, etc. .. but... he never makes it to our table. Huh...
"Do you all want desert?" Of course not! We're friggn' stuffed!!! But... we ordered anyways .... smh . My God that desert was decadent, along with Alex's recommendation for a desert wine to go with it ( I dont think there was more than an ounce or two in that glass). But damned, that desert was killer. Made me forget about the lack of perfection with the Ribeye.Wine is gone. Dishes are cleared. We're asked the obligaory "anything else?" before they hit us with the huge check and I smile and reply "well.... do you all have a military discount?" She's never been asked that before; the look on her face was priceless. Few minutes later she's back with a smile, shows me the new price and we've got 10% off large bill and I'm smiling; it's a matter of principle! Well, we're still solving the problems of the world when I look around and realize we are one of three tables in the entire establishment left sitting there taking up space, chatting away oblivious to those around us. It's time. Time to someway, somehow push back from that table and stumble out to the car after our goodbyes. It's late. I'm tired. And .. feeling fat. And.. .I'm smiling.
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