03 December 2007

Artsy Fartsy

This evening was kind of interesting. Yesterday i left West TX and drove to Joplin MO. This morning i awoke, had a nice breakfast and drove across Missouri to St. Louis. I stopped in our office in St. Louis and then the manager of the St. Louis office drove me to the Holiday Inn in Collinsville Illinois.

This particular Holiday Inn was built about 20 years ago as a Sheraton. The owners managed to get a government loan with some sort of stipulation that they only had to pay it back if they were making money. The hotel was purchased by two gentlemen who apparently ran afoul of the law. In the last 10-15 years they have made the monthly payment of the loan twice. The hotel always seemed to lose money. The State of Illinois has been filling law suits against the hotel for several years and finally won. The State now has control of the Holiday Inn.

This Holiday Inn is probably the nicest Holiday Inn i have ever stayed in. It has a cigar bar and award winning steakhouse named Porters. Gary and I decided to try a steak in Porters and his niece happens to be the Hostess. Naturally we were seated with the best waitress and was treated kinda special.

I was flipping thru the menu and was startled by the prices. The waitress brings the meat cart out and started telling us about the cuts of meat they serve and why the cuts are so good. For example, a 16 oz Rib eye was $32.95, the KC Strip was $39.95. I couldn't believe the prices. Porter's also has a 2 pound lobster tail that goes for $135. For $149.99 you can get the colossal Lobster surf and turf. A bit pricey in my opinion.

The special is a Beef Pepper loin. It is marinated for 48 hours in Olive Oil and assorted spices. They cut the Pepper loin in 3oz medallions and you order 9, 12 or 16oz. I decided to try the Pepper loin and Gary went with the Fillet Mignon. The house spotted us an appetizer and dessert. We had a few beers and the meal was $98 before tip.

Here is the funny part. Living in Texas i am naturally a steak and potatoes kind of guy. My favorite cut is the Rib eye closely followed by the strip steak. I sprinkle the steak with a little Tony's seasoning and grill it. It has the taste and consistency you would expect from a steak. It seems to me that the more a steak cost in a restaurant, the less it taste like a steak. The consistency was pasty and it didn't taste like a real steak. Peculiar.

I think in the future i will stick with regular steak houses that i know turn out a good steak the way i like it.

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