Uncle Bud

[aTm]

Has eCat considered the possibility of putting dry rub on his wang instead of on a steak?

[Jungle Rat]

And give her cootchie a migraine? Didn't he try that with that KY stuff?

[Bklyn]

I'm 50/50 on those chi chi places. I've had some incredible meals that I've thought were worth the money spent. Others I've had have underwhelmed me considerably.

For me, I am good with paying any price if the food is not something I can easily make myself or buy at a considerably cheaper restaurant with a reasonable taste comparison. That's why I don't do steaks, unless my firm or a vendor is paying. The worst was Mr Chows in NYC. There should be no such thing as expensive Chinese food. Somehow, though, I have accepted the prospect of moderately expensive Mexican food.

[Jungle Rat]

You should see the prices for Mexican food in Alabama. Crazy.

[hedge]

"Today, to make matters worse, the kids are out of the house now until late tomorrow which would usually mean a porn induced sex lube fest, at least for 30 minutes anyways but she has a migraine that she thinks was caused by the dry rub on the steak. I get to change the oil in my mower instead."

LMAO...

Speaking of high dollar restaurants, check out the review for this place. Evidently, they can be very rude to the customers, which may be part of their appeal. There's actually a movie out about this guy. Just read the main review...

http://www.andyhayler.com/show_restaurant.asp?id=481

From a different review:

"To dine the 10-seat Sukiyabashi Jiro, one must make a reservation up to a year in advance and shell out 30,000 yen ($368) for a fixed menu of 20 pieces of sushi—the restaurant serves only sushi. Diners talk of being intimidated by Ono, who stands behind the sushi bar with a stony-faced look while customers indulge in his minimalist creations."

[T Dot O Dot]

I took my ex-girl to Ruth's Chris back in college and got destroyed

had no idea, I couldn't blame myself, every restaurant in Toronto has the menu & prices listed out in the window, I always ignored that shyt up until that night

[Jungle Rat]

You should have blamed yourself.

[T Dot O Dot]

yeah, should have, my bad

posted that while in the middle of a basketball fantasy draft

[Saint]

I went to Cracker Barrel this weekend for the first time in a few years. It's not exactly cheap though.

[10ac]

The have a damn good breakfast and a pretty good trout. But no beer, sigh.

[Saint]

I wouldn't drink beer with trout

[Jungle Rat]

[youtube]wGdYhmFH-DQ[/youtube]

[crashcourse]

best 4-5 steaks I've ever had usually wind up being the most disappointing steaks I ever had when I go back to those places especially after you get the bill. although 1 of my top 5 ever was at a friggin applebees about 4 years ago. every other one has tasted like shit since but that one was good.

[hedge]

There's a little place out on the highway in Wilson, seats about 30 (maybe), all they have is steak and a salad bar. Place is called the Beef Mastor, don't know why they spell it like that, and the guy on the sign in front has curl-toed boots and looks like the Pizza Inn guy (or Pizza Hut, one, I can't remember). Anyway, they bring a slab of beef over to your table and run the knife across the top, you tell them when to stop when the knife gets to the thickness you want. Then you tell em how you want it cooked. They put it on when they see you go to the salad bar. You can get a baked potato or a grilled onion if you want, but that's it. I have been a few times when I wouldn't say it was the best I ever had (but it was still very good), but for the most part, they serve the best steak I've ever had, and that includes Morton's and Ruth's Chris (of course) and Cletus's high dollar place in the financial district of Chicago (on his recommendation, actually, and very good). I haven't been to Peter Lugers, which is definitely on my list, but it's hard for me to imagine anything being remarkably better than the Beef Mastor, esp. with the Beef Mastor being about 20 - 25% (maybe less) of the price of those other places...

[Saint]

Wait part of the fun at The Beefmastor Inn
Legendary steakhouse has carved out its niche for 45 years



This is the sixth installment of a summer-long series on several longtime businesses in Wilson who continue to operate in their original locations although the surroundings may have changed over the years. The series will run on Mondays throughout the summer.

No matter if the temperatures are freezing or searing outside, the waiting game is part of the fun for dinner at The Beefmastor Inn.

With just 10 tables inside the humble brick building on U.S. 301 South, the line forms early each evening to get a seat at Wilson’s most enduring and famous steakhouse.

Terry Minshew sat in a lawn chair set up alongside their pickup truck as she and her husband, Mike, waited in the nearly 100-degree heat for their daughter, her boyfriend and his parents to arrive for dinner Friday evening.

“We don’t come out here a lot, but I do with business because when we have people come in town, this is where they want to come eat,” said Mike Minshew. “They say this is the best steak they ever ate. ... They’ve just got a good niche here.”

Indeed, the Beefmastor isn’t your ordinary steakhouse. Now owned by Chad Ellis and his wife, Misti, the legendary eatery has been in business for 45 years and very little has changed, especially the concept.

The only menu item is rib eye, cut at the table to the customer’s specifications. The steak comes with a baked potato, bread and a trip to the salad bar, which despite its simplicity, draws raves reviews of its own.

Peggy and David Lee Speight, who say they visit the restaurant about once a month, agreed the salad bar is also an attraction.

“It’s always fresh and the steaks are always tender,” said Peggy Speight.

“Not a single thing has changed,” said Ellis, who worked at the Beefmastor for 18 years before buying it in 2007. “Maybe some counter work and some equipment, but everything else is about the same.”

Steaks are now cooked on an electric grill but Ellis said he thought restaurant founder, the late Roscoe Joyner might have used charcoal originally. The grill can hold up to 25 steaks, said manager Thomas Brown, who was worked there for 16 years.

And the secret to being a successful grillmaster at the Beefmastor?

“Just pay attention to what you’re doing and have good beef. That’s about it,” Brown said.

Ellis said he always orders his beef from the same family-owned butcher from out of state.

“A lot of restaurants you go to you get good service and bad food or bad service and good food, but out here you get good service and great food,” he said. “We cut up the salad bar fresh every day, buy the same meat whether the price is up or down.”



CONSISTENCY KEEPS THEM COMING

Joyner opened The Beefmastor Inn in 1966, choosing the different spelling to reflect an old English style, Ellis said. Joyner and his wife, Mildred, sold the business to Len and Laura Lewis in the 1980s. Ellis, who worked for both previous owners, bought the restaurant from the Lewises and has continued its tradition.

“It’s just consistency,” Ellis said. “And if you come in that door the first time, we treat you like you’ve been here a thousand times. We treat everybody the same who comes in that door. I don’t care if you come in with overalls or you come in with a suit and tie, you get treated the same way.”

While 301 might have once been more of a dining destination than it is now, the Beefmastor continues to attract diners by the thousands each year. On this particular blazing Friday evening in July, cars were already lined up alongside the highway by 7 p.m.

Ellis estimates the restaurant, which is open 4:30 to 10 p.m. seven days a week, serves between 70 to 100 customers each night from Sunday to Thursday, then anywhere from 150 to 200 patrons on Friday and Saturday nights. While the restaurant did seat as many as 150 diners on weeknights during better economic times, Ellis said he’s seen an upswing in business over the past few months.

“Knock on wood, I hope it doesn’t stop but here in the last month and a half, two months, we’ve been averaging 100 people to 110 people on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” he said. “For a while there, I was lucky to get 60 people in when the economy was bad. But I was still making a good living.

“But if it keeps on like it has, maybe we’ll get back to serving 1,200 people a week.”

The number of customers seems impossible given the tiny dining room and even smaller food preparation area. But the small staff, including bartender Josh Howell and servers Wes Whitley and John Todd, keeps it together.

“If you get big parties in, it gets kind of hectic. But we’ve got our own little system, so it works out pretty good,” Brown said.



A CUT ABOVE

While the restaurant has been a Wilson landmark for decades, Ellis said he gets a lot of business from out-of-town guests now.

Mike Minshew would agree.

“I’ve had people who visit me, I know, because they want to come eat here. That’s just a fact!” he chortled. “They come see me so they can come to the Beefmastor.”

Jimmy Adcock, waiting for a table with his wife, Wanda, and friend David Linton, said he’s been coming to the Beefmastor for 25 years. Adcock lives in Greensboro but works in the tobacco business, which brings him to Wilson frequently.

“Everything,” Jimmy Adcock said about what he likes about The Beefmastor Inn, “the service, the food, how they prepare it, how they treat you. Everything.”

Adcock said he’s been to plenty of steakhouses, even ones that cut the rib eyes at the table.

“Oh yeah, but not as good as this one. I travel all over the country and this is about one of the best,” he assured.

Cutting the steaks at the table is one reason Ellis said he has no plans to move the restaurant location, saying that many counties have health ordinances prohibiting the practice.

“It’s part of the concept. If you took that away, I’d fight you in court over it. Or I’d hire somebody to stand there with a (sneeze) guard,” Ellis avowed. “When people come out here, they want you to take it to the table. If you don’t take it to the table, they’re upset. Especially if they bring a new person with them.”



PARKING LOT ATTRACTION

Ellis said he thinks up to 80 percent of his customers these days are from out of town, helped in part by a favorable story on the Beefmastor in the December 2010 edition of Our State magazine.

“Now we’re getting a lot of people from Raleigh, more so than usual,” he said. “They’ve heard about it and they pile in a van and come down here. And they love the parking lot. A lot of people just love coming here to hang in the parking lot.”

Oh yes, the parking lot is another reason people love to come to The Beefmastor Inn. Ellis said he has a full ABC permit, which covers on-premise (outside) consumption of beer and wine. That means customers can order a beer or glass of wine inside and take it to the parking lot — or bring their own and tailgate.

“I thought about (changing locations) and I’ve looked around to do another business but the thing is, am I going to be able to find a building and a place like this that’s going to be able to duplicate what goes on out there?” Ellis said, nodding toward the parking lot. “You have to own the building and the land to be able to do that.”

However, liquor is not allowed outside and Ellis said he has occasionally had to remind customers of that fact.

The ability to relax in the parking lot is another reason why the wait is tolerable for most customers, but not the biggest reason.

“When you have to wait, you know it’s good!” said Jimmy Adcock.

[Saint]

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[sardis]

There was a place in Greenville, SC, called The Peddler that did the same thing. Charge by the ounce.

[hedge]

Look at the marbling in that slab. That's a good cut o beef...

[eCat]

that is actually a pretty slick business plan - I assume they charge by weight for the steak, so by having the customers choose the thickness, you can adjust your prices without pissing them off.

Instead of having a set price on a 12 oz ribeye, you could just put "today's" price per oz and keep your profit margin tied to whatever your current cost is - kinda like gasoline, and they can still get a steak for whatever price they want..perhaps just slightly smaller than they had last time.

throw in some softball size rolls like Lamberts, a 200 item salad bar and a desert bar that you throw in as an add on for say $7.95 in addition to the steak, and you'll make some money

[hedge]