My First Steak on a Stone Experience
Anyone who knows me knows that I like my steak well-done. Not medium, not medium-well, but WELL DONE, as in no pink, got it? You can imagine my surprise when we attended our niece’s wedding rehearsal dinner at Steak on a Stone and I was informed that I would be served a raw steak!
Spoiler Alert! It turns out this was one of the best meals I’ve ever had, albeit not without a lot of stress and anxiety leading up to it. I definitely recommend Steak on a Stone.
The meal started with several appetizers which were incredible! Hummus with pita chips (am I the only person who has never tried hummus? It was awesome!), Greek meatballs, stuffed grape leaves, and the most wonderful flaming cheese dish called Saganaki – great on their fresh baked bread. I loaded up on apps because I knew there was no way I was going to enjoy the main dish.
Next came our salads. Again, I finished every last bite, so I could claim being full as my excuse for not eating my probably-still-gonna-be-mooing steak.
Finally, the waiter took our entrée order and explained how things work at Steak on a Stone. They bring you your very own platter, and in the middle of said platter is a square stone about 8” x 8” that is heated to approximately 800°. On top of this inferno-infused rock, they place your raw meat. Yum [sarcasm intended].
The idea is that you cook your own steak to your desired doneness so that it is just the way you like it. OK, that doesn’t sound so bad. After all, having been born and raised on well-done food, you kind of get used to tough, dry, shoe-leather types of meat. And when you do actually get a steak that is cooked to perfection (brown throughout, tender, and did I mention ‘no pink’?), you are so happy you could…well, you get the idea. But I digress….
So our waiter brings out a trolley full of raw meat and begins his demonstration. The steak is already sizzling on the stone, so you need to turn it over every few minutes so it doesn’t burn on the bottom (so such thing, in my opinion). Anyway, you start slicing off little pieces and grilling them on the stone as you go. He said it only takes about 7-10 seconds for it to cook. (I’m thinking 7-10 minutes, but more on that in a sec).
I chose the filet mignon (the least likely to be tough) and start slicing ¼” sections and then laying them on their side to grill. Surprisingly, after about 10-15 seconds, and a quick flip for the other side, it was cooked through! My game plan was to get all of the thin little slices cooking at once, so they would be good and brown all the way through. It turns out, after only a couple of minutes, I had moved all of my food off the stone and onto the side of the platter. The great part was, if I did happen to find a piece that could use a little more heat, I just put it back on the stone for a few seconds and presto! it was cooked!
I hate to admit it, but it was the best well-done steak I have ever eaten. Not only was it cooked just the way I like it, but each and every bite was tender, juicy and most of all hot, like it just came off the grill because, hey, it did!
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