Phillip's Foote - Sydney Australia

Steak on the Barbie

A night out on the town in the Rocks area just off the Circular Quay station.  

Phillip's Foote was a fun stop for dinner.  Again, what I find is common in Sydney, a do it your self style place, it was affordable and quite good.  

You buy your drinks at the bar, the prices for drinks were comparable, but you get less.  The normal size for a beer is not a pint here, it is a Schooner, slightly smaller than a pint, but for the same price.  

The Steak, which you cook yourself on a grill was $32.  You get a good cut of beef, potatoes and salad bar.  Overall, I have to say that I was impressed with the location and the food.  I had a great time there, but the friends I was with, made it that much better.  Cheers to Qantas for organizing this wonderful outing!  

I highly recommend Phillip's Foote for a nice dinner in the Rocks area of Sydney  

Cargo Bar - Sydney

Not Bad for a Weds Night

My first night out in Sydney after the conference was a quiet dinner out in the city.  

We went to this place on the wharf off of Pyrmont Bridge.  They offered a $10 Rump Steak which was cooked perfectly and pretty tasty.  I was pretty happy, although the small (less than a pint it seemed) glass of beer was $8.  

The steak fries were really good, I do have to say that!  The Little Creatures Beer was also pretty tasty!

Overall, there is no tipping in Australia.  But so fat the three places I have been to, shows me that it is a "get up and get it yourself" kind of culture here.  At Cargo Bar, you never really interact with anyone except the bartender.  You order everything there and they bring it to your table.  So far, no where I went do you get water at your table, not does a waitstaff tend to your needs really, you have to flag someone down or go to the bar to get it.  Even at the hotel restaurants, this the case,  The Breakfast buffet, the only thing the waitstaff did was clear my plate, not a single word spoken, no water, even coffee was get it yourself.  

The quality of food is good, the price (it was a Weds Special) was good.  Normal price was $22 and I would not say it was worth $22.  Would I go again?  Maybe, but there are also so many places to see!  I would say, on a week night, Cargo Bar is worth a stop!

Ronny's Original Chicago Steakhouse

Not bad for the Price

I went here back in June 2014.  Had a couple decent steaks which were cooked fresh, lobster, baked potato, garlic bread and a couple of beers.... $60

In downtown Chicago, that is one helluva deal!  

Date place?  Maybe not, unless y'all have been going out for a while.   You cant really go wrong here, for a good value, decent eats and no hassles.  Typical Chicago?  Yes it is.  I recommend it for a decent meal that won't drop a giant Food Bill in your lap.   

Bone in Rib-eye

Got to join to get one

Bone in Rib-Eye at the Valley of Chicago, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry

Private dining at its finest!

L. Woods Pine Tap and Lodge - Lincolnwood

Yes ... more half eaten meat!

More Prime Rib!

Yes, There is another pic of a half eaten slab of red meat!  I keep forgetting to take a photo when the food arrives, but that is because it looked so good, I had to dive in!

L. Woods in Lincolnwood was what I hit on Friday and it was great!  The Prime Rib was cooked perfectly, the broccoli was steamed just right and the service was on the money!

the place was busy, but I got a table right away and everything moved along at a good pace.  Finished off the meal with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream!  All that, tax and tip ... $36, Great FOOD BILL!!!

I highly recommend L. Woods, it is friendly, the menu is simple, but good, service is prompt and the staff are knowledgeable about the fare.  Nice place for a date, though it can be a little loud, everything else makes up for it!

The Medinah Shrine's Oasis - Addison

Im not going to bore you with another picture of a steak, but I am going to write a short bit about a private dining spot that I recently visited.  It has been a while since I have been out to the Medinah Shriner's Temple in Addison.  For obvious distance reasons, I don't get out there much.

I understand that there has been a management change in the kitchen and so, I was invited to come out and see how things have progressed.   I met a group of fellow Shriners out there and from the beginning, it was a great experience!  I ordered a heineken and Black Label on the rocks.  The rocks glass was filled tothe top and the total bar tab ... $14.  GET OUT!  gimme another!!!

Dinner was just as good.  We ordered Mussels and calamari, both were killer good.  The mussels were in a light wine and tomato sauce with garlic and it was devoured by everyone.  The calamari, your standard style disappeared even faster.

Dinner were steaks for some and pasta for others in the group.  You get a huge portion, so be prepared.  I ordered a 16oz rib-eye, medium rare.  It comes with a baked potato and broccoli.  The only complaint that I had was that they just couldn't get the steaks cooked right.  Mine was over cooked and another was undercooked.  BUT .... Mine was pretty good, so I didn't mind and a quick trade of plates satisfied my friend so that he was good with his.  Everything was super tasty!

Add in some nice wine, dessert and coffee, it was an awesome evening at the Oasis!  You could not have asked for a better night of fellowship and good food.  I picked up the tab for three of us.  App, Dinner, drinks and coffee tax and tip ... under $120 for three of us!  Sweet FOOD BILL!

Service was outstanding and the atmosphere is perfect.  The catch, you have to be a Shriner of a guest of a Shriner to get in!  That is another journey that I cover in one of my other blogs!

http://ordbillspolitics.blogspot.com/

Learn more about the Shriners and what we do!

http://www.medinah.org/

JC's Pub Ristorante - McCook IL

Prime Rib

A lovely friend took me to one of her favorite places to eat down in the Southwest burbs of Chicago.  Not an area I wold normally venture out to, but I am happy that I did.

I wasn't feeling well, I started on probiotics and my digestive system is a but delicate at the moment, but I managed to give it a good try.

I am glad I did!  I love these old Mom and Pop places!  This joint reminded my of one of my favorites, Sabatino's in Avondale.

I got a 12 ounce Prime rib that was really good.  I could not finish it!  It came iwth salad, veggies and vesuvio potatoes.  The only complaint, the veggies were a little over cooked, but who cares, the beef was on my mind.  It was cooked just right and quite flavorful.  My friend had a pasta dish with beef....I cant spell it so Im not going to try!  But it also rocked and the portions were HUGE.

Service was good, but not great.  My water glass never got filled back up, but she did come bay several times to see how we were and I just forgot to ask as well, but should I have to?  The place was good, so it didn't really take away from the experience.

My prime rib was a special for the evening at $21.  Wine was $6 a glass and not too bad at all.  Over all, great date night place, quiet  atmosphere but busy.  On the way out, the owner shook my hand and gave me a really sincere thank you.  I liked that.  I would absolutely go again!

Alexander's Steakhouse - Springfield IL

Yes!  There is a great steak place in Springfield!  I was scoping out Facebook and looking at where a lot of the other conference attendees were going and learned that Alexander's Steakhouse was the place to go!

Seriously, for about $30, I needed to be wheeled out in a wheelbarrow!  I was in meat heaven!

The steak was perfectly cooked, the broccoli was crisp and the mushrooms rocked!  My buddy added Cheesecake to his dinner and  said it was a good addition!

Fast service, all you can eat salad bar is included and the service was spot on.  We didn't have any drinks, but the drink menu looked reasonable.  If you are in Springfield, I highly recommend Alexander's!  Good meal, good FOOD BILL at the end! Oh, and did I mention that you can cook your own steak if you want???  You can!  I was too lazy though!