Weekend Challenge
Steak?
From a Diner?
Food
should be quite self-explanatory, really. You shouldn’t order a dish that needs
to be prepared specially at a restaurant known for its low-grade comfort
dishes. But wouldn’t you like to know what it tasted like? What if it was
really not as bad as everyone thought it would be? I asked myself these
questions just this weekend, on a night like no other.
I involve myself in the arts,
whether for my school or not. Any student involved in competitive arts knows
that January is the beginning of the chaos that is competition season. Whether
it’s for acting, dance, or show choir, everyone is waking up at 4:00 AM on
their precious Saturday mornings, and boarding a bus to take them somewhere
across the Midwest until the next morning. These weekends are long and
relatively sleepless, but, in the end, are worth every penny.
For
this particular weekend, it was my show choir’s preview show, a long day of
singing, dancing, burned hair, and eyelash glue. Almost every year on this
night, the performers have a tradition of going out to dinner at around 9:00.
This is where the stereotype is born of obnoxious arts students torturing the
waitstaff by arriving just before the restaurant closes and needing a table of
30. I like to this that my group of friends makes up for it with incredible
tips and polite behavior, but the stereotypes stand, nonetheless.
This
night, we went to Perkins, the lower-rate breakfast joint that can be found in
any town, small or large, in Minnesota. Upon walking it, I knew that I wanted to
try something different to eat tonight. Looking at the menu, I stumbled across
something that tickled my fancy. Country-fried steak. Now, any other logical
human would know better than to order anything with the word “steak” in its
name at a restaurant like Perkins. But I am not any other logical human. I
ordered it with pride despite the disgusted looks and sleep-deprived muses of
my friends.
I
didn’t know what I was expecting, but what shortly arrived at the table was not
it. I understand now that this is a very common dish, I had just simply never
heard of it before. The slab of steak was unrecognizable when thickly breaded
and smothered in viscous white gravy. I approached apprehensively with my fork
and knife and cut a small piece off of one of the ends. The inside looked as
you would have expected it, brown and meat-like. I faced my fear and took a
bite.
A
myriad of flavors came to mind as soon as I put it in my mouth. It was peppery,
salty, oily, and simply felt like eating a chicken tender. To say anything
more, it was delicious. I quickly swallowed and took another bite as my friends
laughed confusedly at my delight. I offered each of them a piece of it and was
smug when they realized how good it was.
The
night went on with everyone enjoying their eggs and pancakes as I relished in
my wonderful meal choice. More than once during the meal did my friends ask for
another bite of my food. By the end of the night, everyone was full, happy, and
positively exhausted. We parted ways, and I took in my experience that night.
Steak from a diner may not seem like such a great idea, but country-fried steak
will soon become my go-to order at any restaurant that offers it.
Hi Zoey!
ReplyDeleteI love how you described your experience with the steak from perkins. I think you have more courage than I do since I'm not sure if I could bring myself to buy the steak from there. Im glad to hear it actually tasted good and it was a good experience for you. I might have to try it out myself!