The best way to travel is unfettered and unscheduled, letting whims set your course. But there are certain inescapable travel moves to make, regardless of your locale.
Many of these are the landmarks themselves, and the trip is largely wasted if you forgo them. Go through Mammoth Cave if you visit Kentucky. View the Grand Canyon anytime you’re near it. And no visit to St. Louis should skip the Gateway Arch.
But mealtime is much the same way. When in New England, get some ‘lobstah’. Be sure to partake of wine while in California. And when you are going to Texas, find some steak.
Steak is inexorably linked to the food culture in Texas. The cowboys whose work built the state weren’t herding potatoes. They were supplying the massive national market for beef.
So a steak experience better than the average serving awaits you in Texas. There are a number of reasons why you’re getting the best meals when you, as they say in Texas, dance with the one that brought you.
Local Production
Your own travel is great, but a local harvest makes the best local meal. Major cities are all home to great steakhouses, but a Dallas Steakhouse is sourcing from a much closer area. That means your steaks haven’t spent time on trucks shuttling all about the country and have instead gone quickly to the aging facility to begin achieving optimum flavor. You’ll see the results reflected in the flavor.
Short travel times also save you money, because you aren’t paying for your steak to see 49 other states before arriving in yours. Consequently any given cut of beef is likely to be considerably less expensive in Texas, and apart from lowering your bill, it also brings in more customers to the overall steak market. The more people who eat the product, the more economical it becomes. It’s a big, delicious steak snowball, and it has created a state with…
Experience, Experience, Experience
The most legendary culinary accomplishments are gleaned from years of experience in the kitchen, trying new enhancements and methods of preparation. The countless steak experts who have stood before the coals in Texas trace their expertise to many generations who came before them, learning their craft with fresh local meat.
But it’s not just the chef who is an expert. The diners in Texas know steak because it is an integral part of their heritage. They know how to expect a certain cut to be prepared, served, and eaten, and woe be unto any who fail to meet those stringent qualifications. And as noted above, beef is more affordable in the Lone Star State, so more people are sitting down for steak more often. Educated eaters make educated chefs.
A Matter of Ribeyed Pride
When an area is steeped in a local product the way Texas is with beef, it makes the business much more a tradition than a business. The passion, love, and personal connection to the work that great steak chefs feel when they’ve grown up in Texas provide the fire to their creativity. It’s not just a product, it’s a way of life.
If your pace is at all leisurely as you sojourn through the state, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to make a mealtime exploration of its cuisine. Carve out some time to carve a steak. It’s just a Texas thing to do.