Steak Night in Houston: Episode 2

It has been a great long while since I have posted anything. To make a long story short, my MacBook Pro died a little over a year ago and I have been without reliable technology since then. Santa decided I had been good enough this year for a replacement, so my smile has returned and my data has been recovered. Although much of 2016 has sucked incredibly, at least it ended with a mostly new MacBook Air. Lighter, stronger, and ready to work for 2017 and beyond.

Anyway, I had intended to do a series of posts on steak nights in Houston. I only managed to do one. We drove to DFW to visit family for Christmas and after dealing with horrible traffic and rain the whole drive back to Houston, something serendipitous happened. We intended to go to the downtown Spec's to grab a sandwich at their deletable deli. A quick passing glance revealed no cars in the parking lot, which meant they were closed. I've never been there when the parking lot wasn't full and Spec's is never empty. 

Then I saw something. It was an icehouse looking bar with a sign out front that said steak night $10. That was enough to grab the attention of everyone in the car. We pulled into the parking lot. It was not even 5PM yet, so it wasn't packed. It was Saint Dane's Bar & Grille. We edged up to the bar and were greeted by a friendly staff. The kind of staff with a sense of humor. My husband and I ordered steaks and my son ordered the wings. No red wine, but they were nice enough to mix up a lovely margarita. 

The steaks were delectable. No steak sauce needed. My sides were green beans and creamed corn. Both were excellent. I'd requested medium well because I don't care for bloody steak. It was perfectly executed and well-flavored. Needless to say, we left fully satisfied and confident we'd found a new Houston gem. We will definitely return sooner rather than later. 

Steak Night in Houston - Episode I

Money is tight and not wanting to drop triple digits on for our Anniversary dinner, I suggested trying one of the many well-reviewed steak night offerings Houston has become renowned for.

We've done Ruth's Chris before and it leaves the bank card traumatized and cursing (ok, us not the card) afterwards.

After much contemplation, we decided on MKT Bar downtown near the theatre district. Hidden away inside Phoenicia Market, it would be easy to overlook as an option for something such as a 20th Anniversary dinner. Having been there before for everything but steak night, it seemed like a competent choice. The food there had never been a let down. Our anniversary was on a Tuesday and the advertised special was two ribeye steaks with two sides and a salad for $12.99 per person.

We found a tiny candlelit table that wasn't already reserved and ordered some drinks and an artisan meat and cheese plate as a appetizer. Consisting of prosciutto, salami, string mozzarella cheese, and drunken goat cheese, it could have been a meal by itself. The salads arrived not even 3/4 of the way into the delectable meat and cheese experience. They were fresh, crisp, and everything you would expect from a pre-steak salad.

The steaks arrived and met our expectations just in appearance, but would they be worthy of an anniversary dinner? The plates were huge and the steaks took up most of the white space. The rest of it was taken up by the sides. One bite vaporized any misgivings I might have had. The meat was perfectly cooked medium well and melted in my mouth along with the chimichurri sauce. My twice-baked potato was on point as were the Za'-atar fries.

It was so enjoyable that we've decided to embark on a once a month steak night experience. Next time, we'll see what Wednesday has to offer.