A Culinary Birthday Tour

I definitely received my appreciation of food from my father. And while I doubt he would take to Tofu Mock Chicken any more than I do, he is probably a little more adventurous than I am. For example, my parents once brought home a calf’s brain from the local gourmet grocery store. I guess it’s a French delicacy (those silly French), and if you have never seen one, it looks EXACTLY like one of those fake human brains you would see in an elementary school science classroom. But I digress.

My father came in town for my birthday last week, and we hit many of the places on the ‘Best of Steakhead” list. We started with my aforementioned review of di Paolo. On Sunday, we treated Dad to a true Southern experience- world-class BBQ from Sam & Dave’s and watching the Daytona 500! On Monday, it was off to Royal China for a Dim Sum lunch. This is something that I would whole-heartedly recommend for those that haven’t done it yet.

My actual birthday was on Tuesday, and we started with lunch at Strip. This is the new Tom Catherall (Prime, Twist, Shout, Goldfish) concept at Atlantic Station that focuses on sushi and steaks. Strip’s decor is very industrial, with the bottom floor being more the restaurant and the top floor being more of a club/sushi bar. There is not much table seating upstairs, so we sat ourselves at the sushi bar. The sushi menu is very reminiscent of Twist and Shout, but just as good. We had the sashimi plate for two, and the pieces were very fresh, plentiful and cut in nice small pieces. I am curious to try the steaks, but am a little worried that the hip/industrial theme may not play well for me as a steak destination. I prefer my steakhouses to have a certain “old world” charm- lots of oak, and waiters that actually look like they have eaten a steak or two in their lifetime. The wait staff at this place could all be vegetarians by the looks of them.

And speaking of meat, for the grand finale of my 4-day birthday weekend, Dad, Lady Steakhead, Wingman and I all went to Fogo de Chao for dinner that night. This has been a birthday tradition for me ever since my wife and I first started dating. All you can eat meat on a skewer, what else could someone named Steakhead want?? And as usual, Fogo delivered. It seems every time I come, something different stands out as the best meat of the evening. This night, it was the lamb chops. Perfectly season, and cooked to a perfect medium rare.

So, after this four day period, I admit the pants were a little tighter than before the weekend started. Thank God winter is just about over and maybe I will actually get some exercise one day…