While this up-and-coming vegan fad keeps its dairy-free Silk and cookie party raging on into the wee hours the primitive and manliest of men will continue to carry on the tradition of their cavemen forefathers: “killin’ and grillin’.” Steak is a delicate flower. Its flavors taste and texture can wilt away at the hand of mere amateurs attempting the art of tending to a well-deserved meal. It can be consumed anywhere and any time from a romantic dinner for two to the parking lot of Firestone Fieldhouse before a big game. Steak just downright brings people together. It combines a love for grilling outdoors and eating fancy indoors. While “meat” is what one stores in their ice box steak is the finished product. And from supermarkets to steakhouses the perfect piece of steak has many variations depending if one prefers for the classy (Filet mignon) or the the larger cut (18 oz. or larger Porterhouse). Here is a quick guide on taking the steakhouse masterpiece to the home grill.
Steakhouse Steakhouses are anything but minimalist. With large ceilings thick heavy wooden chairs dimly light rooms and the smell of rich mahogany one would think he or she just woke up in Ron Burgundy’s library. It is more than meets the eye at steakhouses though where the meals are mere backdrops to everything else going on. “Everyone at our restaurant has a passion said Amanda Westerhide, the executive manager of Phillips Steakhouse in Kansas City. Whether it’s service aesthetics or the food we all bring our passions together and try and create the best experience possible.” Kansas City boasts some of the greatest steakhouses in the world and Phillips Steakhouse is considered the best of the best. “Nothing changes on our menu besides seasonal things.” Westerhide said. “But you make up your own meal every time you step in the door to a great steakhouse and always have a different experience.” With a short menu steakhouses make sure they cater to the crowd. Steak is the celebrity here but only in a few choice cuts. Filets strips porterhouses and prime rib are the mainstays on every steakhouse menu including Phillip’s which has its own special “city” cut. “The Kansas City strip is much like a New York except the bone is kept on for additional flavor said Westerhide. We also offer Kobe beef in which the cow is fed a diet of beer and Japanese sake to enrich the flavor and marbling (the pure meat on the cut) to make it the best possible steak in the world.” Because steak is what’s for dinner the complimenting dishes are often portrayed as anything but supporting acts. Usually a starchy-side (mainly potatoes) combines with an appetizer salad a side of vegetables and something cheesy (macaroni) or fried (onions or potatoes). The meal as a whole spans the entire food pyramid and leaves room for little else. But what little room is left for desert for those who are over 21 the steakhouses make up in their selections of wines. A trained wine professional (sommelier) is always on hand to quench one’s thirst. “It is usually pretty easy to compliment wine with steak said Sheri Osborn, the sommelier at 801 Chophouse. You want a big bold red wine. And being a sommelier it is important to get to know the guest and their feel for good wine.”
The Average Joe Now back to reality. For college students the steakhouse can be a pricey once-a-semester option usually paid for by someone else. And with the economy ever so in the tank the chances of being able to afford a steakhouse trip after graduation are as likely as Michael Jackson performing at a brother’s 6-year-old boy’s birthday party. Que the cash register at the local supermarket and get to the red meat. At most grocery stores there can be more than 15 different varieties from markets will give off the quality tenderness and flavor of the meat but never be fooled by the tag. “Vons (through the canyon off Kanan Road) is just all about beef said senior Matt Poland. Every Tuesday their beef poultry and pork is half-off the regular price. The price cut is well worth the drive.” Throughout his tenure at Pepperdine Poland has taken pride in teaching others to grill in the way his dad did in high school. “I usually fire up the charcoal grill a couple times a week said Poland. My favorite cut of steak would be a New York strip with grilled onions and a large baked potato.” Like the steakhouses of Kansas City Poland said he believes a good meal not only involves the right ingredients but a little elbow grease. “The steak is only going to be as good as the effort you put into it he said. Don’t just throw it in a pan. Marinate the night before get dry rub on it flash-sear it real quick so the flavor is saved because the outside is already cooked and it won’t lose flavor on the grill.”
