canyonwalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
canyonwalker) wrote2024-08-03 08:31 am
canyonwalker) wrote2024-08-03 08:31 am
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Steak Restaurants Twice this Week
I've done something this week that's become unusual for me. I've eaten at a steakhouse. Twice.
It's not that I dislike steak. In fact I like it very much. And because I like it very much I don't enjoy it at family style restaurants. It's not good enough quality meat and it's not cooked that well. To get a good steak, I found years ago, one really must go to a restaurant that specializes in it. And those places, BTW, are expensive.
Cost both is and isn't a factor for me. Could I afford to eat out at steakhouses more often? Sure. But the issue is I choose not to because the amount of money I have to spend could be better used on other enjoyable things.
How much money am I talking about? Well, Wednesday night I met a colleague at Forbes Mill Steakhouse in Los Gatos. Steak entrees basically started at $80. The least expensive bottle of wine on the voluminous wine list was $90. We order a $300+ bottle as my colleague and I were celebrating. Our bill, with tax and tip, was over $700. Sure, we could have skipped the spendy bottle of wine, but even with two drinks apiece the tab would've run to at least $330 for dinner for two.
Friday's steakhouse visit was cheaper. We went with a customer to Birk's in Santa Clara for lunch. Just it being lunch made it cheaper. The menu prices are lower, and nobody was drinking alcohol. But still, entrees started in the $50s. Even lunch with shared appetizers and desserts, plus a mocktail drink, comes out to $100pp.
It bears saying that both of these meals were delicious. I enjoyed them very much. But I don't see myself doing such things very often, especially on my own dime. Do I believe in treating myself? Heck, yeah! But at these rates I might rather treat myself to something else with the same money. Like, last night Hawk and I stayed in a hotel so we could go hiking in the mountains today. For the price of even lunch-time steak meals we could eat on the cheap and pay to stay in a motel while traveling.
It's not that I dislike steak. In fact I like it very much. And because I like it very much I don't enjoy it at family style restaurants. It's not good enough quality meat and it's not cooked that well. To get a good steak, I found years ago, one really must go to a restaurant that specializes in it. And those places, BTW, are expensive.
Cost both is and isn't a factor for me. Could I afford to eat out at steakhouses more often? Sure. But the issue is I choose not to because the amount of money I have to spend could be better used on other enjoyable things.
How much money am I talking about? Well, Wednesday night I met a colleague at Forbes Mill Steakhouse in Los Gatos. Steak entrees basically started at $80. The least expensive bottle of wine on the voluminous wine list was $90. We order a $300+ bottle as my colleague and I were celebrating. Our bill, with tax and tip, was over $700. Sure, we could have skipped the spendy bottle of wine, but even with two drinks apiece the tab would've run to at least $330 for dinner for two.
Friday's steakhouse visit was cheaper. We went with a customer to Birk's in Santa Clara for lunch. Just it being lunch made it cheaper. The menu prices are lower, and nobody was drinking alcohol. But still, entrees started in the $50s. Even lunch with shared appetizers and desserts, plus a mocktail drink, comes out to $100pp.
It bears saying that both of these meals were delicious. I enjoyed them very much. But I don't see myself doing such things very often, especially on my own dime. Do I believe in treating myself? Heck, yeah! But at these rates I might rather treat myself to something else with the same money. Like, last night Hawk and I stayed in a hotel so we could go hiking in the mountains today. For the price of even lunch-time steak meals we could eat on the cheap and pay to stay in a motel while traveling.