after dinner sneeze

t says:  I visited GTC with cm and his cousin.  We had one goal: all-you-can-eat-steak-for-$25.  I’ll skip the formalities and get straight to the meat of the review …

steak and fries

The steak was actually very good.  This is not like one of those all-you-can-eat smorgasboards where you cram as much top round in your mouth as you can.  This is actually well-prepared meat!  Beware – they only serve it rare and medium, though – so if you want it well-done, then don’t bother.  I went for medium, and it was wonderfully tender, with a good browning on the outside of each medallion maximal flavor.  It was a real treat to be afforded the opportunity to eat as much good-tasting meat as I wanted.  So … for this meal, I wanted to “play it smart” and maximize my quantity of cow consumption.  I ended up going through three servings of cow (pictured above is one serving).  To accomplish this feat (I’m a somewhat-smaller-than-average guy, so I feel like this deserves a gold star), I resolved to the following strategies:

1)  Minimize table bread consumption.  This was difficult because I really do like GTC’s olive oils – but sacrifices must be made!
2)  Minimize salad consumption.  I know that in the grand scheme, a plate of salad is but a drop in the bucket/stomach … but let’s face it – space is space!  I ate some of it as an apology to my bowels for the impending onslaught of meat that was coming … sorry guys!  (By the way, the salad, while very straightforward – greens in a light dressing – was very fresh and tasty – I would have eaten the entire place had all-you-can-eat-meat not been offered).
3)  Avoid the cream.  When I ordered, I opted for the wine-based Bordelaise sauce – I figured the other two were more cream-based and would fill me up.  It was hands-down more delicious than the peppercorn sauce, and none of us went for the bearnaise – next time, maybe?
4)  Ration the frites.  The format of the dinner is this: you get one plate of steak and fries, and as you run out of things, you ask your server for more, and then a food runner appears with a serving plate of your desired item (i.e. steak or fries) and adds it to your plate.  So, let’s say you consume all the steak, but only half the fries – they’ll come by and offer you more steak!  This is a brilliant way to do things, limiting wasted fries and excessive dishes.  It also allows you to just keep on going with the steak at whatever speed you desire, regardless your frites status..  Hooray!
5)  Post-meal walk and caffeine.  With all of the fat/meat consumed, I avoided the “too-disgusted-to-move” feeling with a nice long walk home, fueled by the caffeine in one of GTC’s coffee drinks.  Not a bad way to end the night … now if only I could fall asleep instead of blogging this entry right now …

P.S. The first bottle of wine at GTC is corkage-free.  Bottles after that are charged corkage – something in the $10-$20 range.