At the weekend I was in Kansas City (Missouri, not Kansas) and I had dinner at the steakhouse called Pierpont's in the renovated Union Station. The decor was great and enhanced the old, magnificent train station. I ordered a filet mignon with a blue cheese cream sauce and a balsamic reduction. I could have licked the plate!
The delicious dinner inspired me to share this recipe for a Roquefort sauce that my mother picked up from a restaurant called Miss Aimee B's Tea Room in St. Charles, Missouri. It's a recipe that you should only fix for someone you really love because it is really expensive to make. The sauce could go with any steak, I suppose, but the flavors go well with filet. I also like that it is made with Roquefort and not just any old blue cheese. Roquefort is smooth, creamy, and pungent without being too sharp or bitter. It's perfect for this dish although it does kill me to cook such a fine cheese instead of putting it on a cracker!
To find a good wine to go with this dish, head down to the Wine Authorities on University Drive and ask them to suggest a Bordeaux. I like to serve skin-on mashed potatoes because the potatoes pick up some of the yummy sauce on the plate.
1. Preheat your broiler or grill.
2. Rub 3 or 4 filet mignon with minced fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on grill (or broil) until the steak is done to your liking.
3. While the steaks are cooking, combine the following in a medium saucepan:
4 oz. Roquefort crumbled
1 stick unsalted butter
2 cloves minced garlic
2 T Worchestershire sauce
1/2 t. caraway seeds
Stir until cheese and butter melt.
4. Add to the sauce 1/2c. sliced green onions and 8oz mushrooms thinly sliced. Continue cooking 2 or 3 more minutes.
5. Pour over steaks.
Showing posts with label steak. Show all posts
Showing posts with label steak. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Metro 8 Steakhouse
Wednesday night a friend and I went to Metro 8 Steakhouse on 9th Street. The restaurant has been opened a couple of years but I'd not been. The space where it is located has been home to numerous unsuccessful businesses so I'm glad Metro 8 has managed to do well there. It's a great location. I have heard that the rent there is outrageous, hence the high turnover in businesses in the past. Or it could be that the place had strange feng shui. Who knows. The space itself is a little awkward in shape but the owner has fixed it up nicely.
My friend and I shared a starter of provolone topped with sliced tomato and dried herbs (maybe thyme, basil, and oregano) and baked under a broiler until it was a hot, oozing, cheesy mess. I love melted cheese, but it was kind of messy. Don't share this with anyone you don't know really well!
Since Metro 8 is a steakhouse it was only fitting that one of us ordered steak. My friend ordered the churrasco which is a thinly cut skirt steak. It was delicious and I would order the 8oz steak the next time I go. The skirt steaks are the least expensive cuts on the steak menu. The filet mignon is $28. I am curious to try it, but if I am going to eat an expensive steak, I will either cook it myself or go somewhere like Nana's or Magnolia Grill where I would get excellent service (usually) and a knowledgeable recommendation on the wine list (always). I'm sure that is entirely unfair on my part, but that's my preference. If I had an unlimited budget and a zero cholesterol in my arteries, I'd love to try filet mignon at all the top restaurants and steakhouses. Wouldn't that be fun? I can hear my arteries clog just thinking about it.
I ordered the herb encrusted, sushi-grade tuna. The herbs included a very healthy dose of rosemary, and it was topped with a balsamic reduction. I enjoyed it but the rosemary and balsamic reduction perhaps overpowered the tuna. Tuna doesn't need much to be fabulous.
For dessert we shared what was called a chocolate soufflé, but it wasn't really a soufflé. Soufflés are light and puffy and look like this picture. What we had was what I would call a chocolate lava cake, and it looks like this picture. Gooey, molten, chocolate lava cakes are really easy to make and taste better than just about anything. Chocolate soufflé is wonderful too but it's difficult to do correctly. So I'm not complaining here because it was yummy. It was, however, not what I was expecting based on the menu.
The service was decent and charming though not top-notch.
Other things on the menu looked interesting like the pork chop, the crab-stuffed shrimp, and the lobster ravioli. I will definitely go back to try those items.
My friend and I shared a starter of provolone topped with sliced tomato and dried herbs (maybe thyme, basil, and oregano) and baked under a broiler until it was a hot, oozing, cheesy mess. I love melted cheese, but it was kind of messy. Don't share this with anyone you don't know really well!
Since Metro 8 is a steakhouse it was only fitting that one of us ordered steak. My friend ordered the churrasco which is a thinly cut skirt steak. It was delicious and I would order the 8oz steak the next time I go. The skirt steaks are the least expensive cuts on the steak menu. The filet mignon is $28. I am curious to try it, but if I am going to eat an expensive steak, I will either cook it myself or go somewhere like Nana's or Magnolia Grill where I would get excellent service (usually) and a knowledgeable recommendation on the wine list (always). I'm sure that is entirely unfair on my part, but that's my preference. If I had an unlimited budget and a zero cholesterol in my arteries, I'd love to try filet mignon at all the top restaurants and steakhouses. Wouldn't that be fun? I can hear my arteries clog just thinking about it.
I ordered the herb encrusted, sushi-grade tuna. The herbs included a very healthy dose of rosemary, and it was topped with a balsamic reduction. I enjoyed it but the rosemary and balsamic reduction perhaps overpowered the tuna. Tuna doesn't need much to be fabulous.
For dessert we shared what was called a chocolate soufflé, but it wasn't really a soufflé. Soufflés are light and puffy and look like this picture. What we had was what I would call a chocolate lava cake, and it looks like this picture. Gooey, molten, chocolate lava cakes are really easy to make and taste better than just about anything. Chocolate soufflé is wonderful too but it's difficult to do correctly. So I'm not complaining here because it was yummy. It was, however, not what I was expecting based on the menu.
The service was decent and charming though not top-notch.
Other things on the menu looked interesting like the pork chop, the crab-stuffed shrimp, and the lobster ravioli. I will definitely go back to try those items.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Brazilian steakhouses: Brasa and Chamas
On Saturday I took my dive buddy to lunch for his birthday. He chose Brasa, the Brazilian steakhouse in Briar Creek. For those of you who have not been to one of these so-called Brazilian steakhouses, they are basically heaven for red-meat carnivores. Chicken and fish might appear on the extensive salad bar, but that's about it. Everything else is red, bleeding meat brought to the table on giant spears. They don't have menus. At Brasa there are three levels: $10 for the salad bar only, $18 for salad bar plus 5 types of meat, $23 for salad bar plus 9 types of meat.
Now, I'm as much of a carnivore as the next girl, but I am not such a fan of these places. I'd much rather have one steak that is done perfectly than all-you-can-eat piles of flesh. Might be a good place for people doing South Beach though, except all of the meat at Brasa was really fatty. I love a nicely marbled steak but I don't really want to see it dripping puddles of grease.
Chamas, at Brightleaf Square in Durham, offers higher quality meats that taste a lot better and don't have as much fat dripping off of them. Chamas also serves these yummy, cheesy popovers. Another good thing about Chamas is that they are easy to work with for event planning. I believe Chamas is locally owned, although I could be mistaken.
We had a good time at Brasa, but we were underwhelmed by the quality of food for the price of it. The best thing we had was yellow rice and black beans which my dive buddy does superbly in his own kitchen for a couple of bucks.
So the next time you want to please a meat and potatoes kind of person who does not like "frou frou food" as my dive buddy would say, take them to Chamas. But be warned, it will leave your wallet a lot lighter. For dinner the fixed menus is around $30/person. For the price, you could go to Rue Cler and order two steaks frites.
Now, I'm as much of a carnivore as the next girl, but I am not such a fan of these places. I'd much rather have one steak that is done perfectly than all-you-can-eat piles of flesh. Might be a good place for people doing South Beach though, except all of the meat at Brasa was really fatty. I love a nicely marbled steak but I don't really want to see it dripping puddles of grease.
Chamas, at Brightleaf Square in Durham, offers higher quality meats that taste a lot better and don't have as much fat dripping off of them. Chamas also serves these yummy, cheesy popovers. Another good thing about Chamas is that they are easy to work with for event planning. I believe Chamas is locally owned, although I could be mistaken.
We had a good time at Brasa, but we were underwhelmed by the quality of food for the price of it. The best thing we had was yellow rice and black beans which my dive buddy does superbly in his own kitchen for a couple of bucks.
So the next time you want to please a meat and potatoes kind of person who does not like "frou frou food" as my dive buddy would say, take them to Chamas. But be warned, it will leave your wallet a lot lighter. For dinner the fixed menus is around $30/person. For the price, you could go to Rue Cler and order two steaks frites.
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