What’s Your Beef?

Beef. According to the Cattlemen's Beef Board and National Cattlemen's Beef Association, it’s what’s for dinner and I agree with them on a regular basis. I love beef. I also love butter. Even with the high fat, I love the creamy deliciousness of butter. I do not, however, love beef and butter together.

As I mentioned in Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday, I should know better. Unless I order it specifically without, my steak will arrive swimming in a sea of faux butter. Even I, naïve as I am, don’t think that it’s real butter. I understand. I get it. They’re always going to dump butter on my steak. So, this post will be the last time you’ll see my butter rant unless I’ve ordered it specifically without it. Maybe by writing about it instead of just whining about it, I’ll learn to request my beef minus the butter. I hope so.

We recently went away for the weekend and found ourselves craving cow flesh for dinner. We stopped at the Lone Star Steakhouse in Tuscaloosa, AL. Again, we hit a casual dining place for all the right reasons – reasonable prices, decent service, clean surroundings and consistent (we hoped) food quality. THUD! BANG! THWACK! Don’t mind the noise, it’s just my optimism taking another beating.

Am I so wrong? Am I so mistaken in my expectations about casual dining? Is it foolish of me to expect decent food at a decent price in a timely manner in a moderately pleasant environment?

Our orders were simple: filets (medium-rare and medium), potatoes (butter and sour cream on the side), salads (no onion, dressing on the side), and unsweetened tea.

It seems an uncomplicated order for a steak house, does it not? They were not at all busy. We’d had a late breakfast and this was an early dinner. It was before 5 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon and the staff seemed more than adequate.


The salads were disappointing. This picture doesn’t do them justice. I’d like to know if the salads come pre-cut and bagged or if most restaurants prepare them in their kitchens. Even if they come bagged, isn’t the nasty, browned core (1) pretty darned obvious? Ick. And the crusty brown stuff (2) on the purple cabbage? No one noticed that? That the server spilled dressing on the table and didn’t notice was disappointing but there were several dishes so maybe it wasn’t obvious.

The rest of the food arrived promptly. The drinks stayed empty only a short time. DO did have to re-request his butter and sour cream. The steaks? They were cooked properly but in need of rescue from Lake Faux Butter. Need proof? Ick.


We were polite and friendly with our server who seemed to have very little time for us, despite the limited customers. I think we might have been her only table. Before we’d finished our meal, she arrived with the check.

We did decide to have dessert so we placed that order. With the other dishes gone, the state of the table was obvious. This is casual dining, so we didn’t expect someone to come out and scrape the breadcrumbs carefully off the tablecloth. However, since the table was dirty, I kind of expected that she’d wipe down the table before bringing our dessert. THUD! BANG! THWACK!

The evidence?
I’ve wonder if maybe I’m too picky. I don’t think so but I’m willing to entertain the thought. All I expected was reasonable prices, decent service, clean surroundings and consistent food quality. I got a reasonable price, so-so service, not-so-clean surroundings and a salad that was lacking. I’ve had better experiences with clown’s mouth dining.

I can't believe I Paid For That.