NOVEMBER 4, 1987
They greet you and seat you promptly at Mr. Steak restaurant. They bring on food a cut above your run-of-the-mill fast food restaurants and a cut in price below your top-drawer restaurants. Mr. Steak has been perking along steadily in Grand Forks for 15 years. On two visits within the past week, they were packing ’em in.
People have come to depend on the restaurant. Senior citizens like the discount. Parents like the attention given their children. People celebrating birthdays go there for a free steak.
We went there Friday night for a quick supper. I was going on to the play at the Fire Hall Theater. You could tell by the green sweaters that many others were going on to the Sioux hockey game. We were seated in a nonsmoking section of booths, and Matt was our waiter. I didn’t ask Matt his last name, and he didn’t ask me my first or last name. He was a good waiter. Friendly, but impersonal.
I chose chicken strips for $5.99—without the salad bar, which makes it $4.99. That’s something I like about Mr. Steak. You can have $1 off if you don’t want to go through the salad bar. You still get a nice little loaf of warm whole wheat bread and your choice of potato. And your entree comes with an edible garnish of lettuce and orange slice.
Constant Companion ordered the traditional cut steak, also at $5.99. He elected to forgo the salad, but he requested the “hot, buttery mushrooms.” That brought him back up to $5.99. We were well pleased with our food.
We made another swing into Mr. Steak for lunch Sunday. I took a trip through the salad bar and had a cup of soup for $3.99. CC chose the Reuben sandwich, even though he knows every restaurant has its own idea about Reubens. He found Mr. Steak turns out a pretty good version.
Seating is comfortable. In the evening, there’s a soft light from the hanging lamps above each table. Plants in wicker baskets and tiny vases of permanent flowers on the tables add to the surroundings. The carpeting softens the slam-banging that goes on in some crowded restaurants.
Among the pluses for Mr. Steak: Large glass glasses of ice water are served promptly; potatoes are extra good; the baked potatoes are reds; the Mr. Steak fries are thick wedges with skin on, done to a deep golden brown; the hostess gives you the precise brand name and cost of wines or beer; and they serve an average of 100 to 110 free birthday steaks every week.
Mr. Steak is no longer in business.