American Steakhouse

I am working in Sarasota, Florida, for a couple of weeks, where it is sunny and 25 C – it’s a tough life! Although we do have to do some work we should get the weekend on the beach, weather permitting. But one of the best things about being here is eating out. Our hotel doesn’t do breakfast, so we have to eat out for every meal. I’ll cover breakfast another time, but first the steakhouse.

One of the things I really love about the States is the steaks. As much as it pains me to say it, this is one area where they truly do things much better than us. We had spotted this rather smart looking steakhouse in the centre of town, and decided we needed to try it on out first proper night.

Having been given really lovely warm bread, we ignored the appetizers, as we knew we weren’t going to be able to manage everything anyway. My colleague and I then shared a New York Strip, medium rare, with béarnaise sauce. It came with crispy onions and we shared creamed spinach and an enormous baked potato with sour cream.

What arrived must have been over an inch thick, with a blackened exterior and the tenderest red meat in the centre, which barely even needed the steak knife to cut it. It was perfect, but even with only half each we couldn’t manage to finish it! We barely touched the potato either. The meat had been dry aged for 28 days, and I think it is well up there with the best steak I have ever eaten. I’m going to have to go running every day so I don’t come back the size of a house!