BY STACEY WALLACE
OPINION —
Sometimes, I am in the mood for a really good steak. Now, that particular food made the Patton family laugh many years ago. In the early ‘70s, my Daddy, Mama, my two much older brothers Jim and Mike and I traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains for summer vacation.
At the time, I was only about eight years old, so I had to consult with my brother Mike about the details. According to Mike, when we went to a restaurant, Daddy, Jim and he all ordered a steak. A big surprise awaited them. The waitress brought their steaks out, and there were two small, flaming cubes of charcoal on their plates.
Jim was just sitting there, looking at his steak, unsure of what to do. Then the waitress leaned down to him and said, “You’re supposed to blow it out.”
Mike said, “We felt like the Clampetts when they went to Hawaii.”
But to be fair, in our hometown of Alexander City (“Eleck” City to the locals), the Western Sizzlin’ didn’t serve flaming steaks, so we were at a cultural disadvantage.
These days, my husband Mike grills for us, but he doesn’t like to cook steaks because he says it’s hard to get them done just right; therefore, we leave cooking steaks to the experts, and boy, did we find a great place to eat one: Angus Steak House at 1212 Gatewood Drive in Auburn.
Angus opened on April 15 of this year and is locally owned by M.D. Shafiullah. The restaurant’s interior was very attractive. It was elegant as well as casual, which sounds like an oxymoron, but it fits.
Juky, the front house manager, and Lane, our server, were absolute delights. They were so friendly, helpful and patient. Juky is a fellow Auburn grad, having received her degree a few days earlier.
For our appetizer, Mike and I chose the fried green tomatoes with goat cheese. It was unusual because two whole tomatoes had been fried. They were tasty. Lane also brought us fried tomato rings to try. They were slap your Grandma twice good. They had a sweet chili sauce, which gave them just a little kick. Thankfully, Mike and I refrained from licking the tray. In addition, the fresh bread was really great.
Chef Marcus came out and introduced himself and was just as friendly and helpful as the other staff. He told us that the amazing fried tomato rings were his grandmother’s recipe. Chef Marcus brought us a Maryland crab cake to try. According to him, his Mama had said, “Maryland crab cakes are the best.” His Mama was right; they were fabulous.
All steaks are certified to be Angus beef, hence the restaurant’s name. Mike and I both ordered the 8-ounce filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
Now, Mike ordered his medium well with a sweet brown sugar rub. I, however, don’t eat blood, so mine was well done with a salt and pepper rub.
Our steaks were superb, and so were our sides. I don’t eat a lot of mashed potatoes, but ours were great, and the asparagus had a wonderful flavor.
I really hope that Lynn Hudson, my outstanding diabetic specialist, doesn’t read this particular column because Mike and I shared a piece of cheesecake with glazed strawberries. It was so rich and creamy. After taking a bite, Mike said, “Man, that was good.”
Chef Marcus also let us sample a bread pudding recipe, which was his grandfather’s recipe. Oh, my two times. After our amazing dinner, Mike and I waddled to the car.
Trust me, visit Angus Steak House. You will be very happy you did.
Besides our wonderful choices, Angus offers prime ribeye, Delmonico, New York strip, Porterhouse and Ossu Buko, Tomahawk, pecan crusted salmon and smoked fried chicken legs.
Angus is open on Sunday for brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the restaurant is closed on Monday; on Tuesday through Thursday, Angus serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 4:30 to 10 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, it is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for dinner 4:30 to 11 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Sunday.
Angus Steak House makes the grade with an A+ from this retired English teacher. Enjoy!
Stacey Patton Wallace retired from teaching language arts after 30 years. Her column, “Making the Grade,” appears in The Observer every other week. Stacey may be reached at retiredlangartsteacher@2020@gmail.com.
