Before I impart to you fantastic tales of succulent prime beef, roast Colorado lamb, attentive service and enjoyably strong cocktails, I should preface by saying that, if given the opportunity, I'm considerably more likely to be seen in a crappy diner enjoying a well done hamburger accompanied by onion rings and a chocolate malt than all dressed up at a fine steakhouse. This doesn't mean that I can't appreciate fine things, it just means that I don't indulge in said "fine things" very often. As a matter of fact, the last time that I ate at an actual "steakhouse," prior to this last weekend, was Cleveland, summer of 2003. I enjoyed it immensely. I also enjoyed eating at an actual steakhouse on Saturday...

And yes, Colorado Springs DOES have a good steakhouse. It's called "The Famous."

The Famous isn't new, in fact it opened in 2002. Upon opening it's doors, It was almost immediately voted "best new restaurant," "best steak," blah blah blah by various people and papers...It was also talked about incessantly by the kinds of people I tend to avoid, trendy folk who flock to the downtown area branding themselves "hip" and "cool" simply because they're there and I'm not. (I think it just has to do with the fact that parking is really hard to come by in downtown Colorado Springs. Perhaps that makes it "exclusive." I dunno...) Anyway, I'd heard that this "Famous" was really something, not only foodwise, but pricewise. I'm not widely known for playing fast and loose with funds (unless I have a goalie mask being painted), so forgive me if I didn't run screaming to The Famous to try a steak...Not immediately, anyway...

That all having been said, My father turned 55 this past Saturday. Double nickel. Big time "milestone" birthday. Isn't it? I dunno. Anyway, he had read and heard about the aforementioned establishment and, after digesting the glowing reviews, was ready to digest some of the Famous' now famous food. It didn't hurt that, of course, a birthday dinner is as good of an excuse as any to visit an expensive restaurant. As such, reservations were made for four, on Saturday, at 7:00 pm. My mom, my dad, my wife and myself were scheduled to enjoy the meaty meat delights that such a place could offer...

Slight problem with all this, though...I've been TRYING my damnedest to eat good and lose weight, stemming the fatty tide of fatty fatness. As you may expect, aged prime beef doesn't necessarily fit into such a diet plan. I did figure, however, that such a restaurant SURELY would serve lamb, or lobster or (at the very least) "chicken." I reasoned that I could eat one of those dishes and not feel TERRIBLY bad about the fat content...Still, I was beginning to hear dissent from my own brain, of all places, telling me that, if I were to visit a fine steakhouse, and I failed to enjoy aged prime beef, then I was not really worthy of being there. After much wrangling and discomfort, my brain and I finally reached an agreement. We would wait and see what was offered on the menu before my brain induced any sort meat-fueled embolism.

Soon enough, the big day came. My wife and I met my parents at their home and we all drove downtown together, parking in a $6.00 parking lot and walking (roughly) a block and a half to the steakhouse. On our way there, we witnessed a number of young people dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos. It was reasoned that it was, in fact, a good of a time as any for high schools to be celebrating "Homecoming." Our only hope was that these teenagers would not be joining us, en masse, for a fine meal at The Famous...

Turns out, there are a good number of high school kids who have a Hell of a lot more money at that age than I did...The Famous was packed, and about half of the patrons appeared to be of the high school homecoming variety...Ah well...

We had made good time getting downtown, and found parking much faster than expected. As such, we were about 20 minutes early for our reservation...It was suggested, by the reception girl, that we take a seat at the bar while we waited for our table. It turns out that this was actually a good thing, as we were all able to enjoy a cocktail (I had Knob Creek with ginger ale) while we acquainted ourselves with the surroundings and, by default, some of the food we would soon be ingesting. It didn't take me long to figure out that, at this particular steakhouse, the portions are quite large. Not just big, these were meals that Andre the Frickin' Giant could've been satisfied by, if he hadn't died in that hotel room in 1993. The bartender, a friendly fellow who poured large amounts of alcohol into our drinks, suggested that we look over a menu while we waited. That way, when we DID get seated, we'd have an idea what we wanted to eat.

In addition, we'd know what everything cost...Wow...

When the Famous first opened, one of the questions that was posed by one of our local restaurant reviewers was a simple, yet poignant one..."Is Colorado Springs ready for a thirty-dollar steak?" Well, let me tell you somethin'...30 dollars is actually a STARTING price. If you wish to enjoy succulent delights such as the Maytag Bleu Cheese Prime New York Strip, or the roast Colorado Lamb, you'd be required to fork over nearly 40 dollars (US) for the meat alone...But, like my dad says, "it's only money," right?

Still...40 bucks...Damn...

Eventually, we did get seated and decided that, since it WAS a special occasion, we should enjoy ourselves some appetizers...I offered that I had never tried crab cakes and, since they had them on the menu, we SHOULD try them. My dad agreed and asked our waiter for 2 orders of crab cakes (at 13 bucks a pop, by the by) to be brought to our table. Because crab cakes took longer to cook than other appetizers, we were told, the waiter was going to bring us some bread...

Cool...I like bread...

I should say, before we get too far into my "review" of The Famous that, as one should expect from a fine steakhouse, everything is just a wee bit better than you're used to...Everything has that "we went the extra mile" feel to it...Case in point, the "bread" that our waiter brought. It's not JUST "bread," people! It's wonderful, freshly baked herbed bread with...like...herbed butter on the side! Very enjoyable, this "bread." Sometime between said bread and said appetizers, we placed our dinner orders...My mother, being caught up in the whole "special occasion gorgin' on food frenzy," ordered herself up TWO sides, a loaded baked potato and "skinny onions" which are kind of like "onion straws..." It was apparent that she hadn't noticed the GIANT PLATES loaded with GIANT PILES of these skinny onion things. It sure seemed like a lot of food to me, but what the Heck do I know, right?

So, the appetizer came...Y'know, I've lived here in Colorado all of my life, I should know the rules...Sometimes, though, I break, or forget, these rules and I'm not often rewarded for doing so...The rule I'm speaking of THIS time is "don't order seafood in Colorado." I guarantee, the Famous did the best they could, but the crab cakes were just "not spectacular." They tasted a bit funky, not much like fresh crab. I'll probably hold off until I visit Maryland again before indulging in anything crab-related. Granted, it wasn't "terrible," we just probably would've been better off making a different appetizer choice. Crab cake grade: C-.

A little tidbit of information that you might find helpful if you ever chance to visit The Famous is this...Your steak, or your lamb or whatever meaty treat you choose for dinner, comes with a salad. Sides are extra, a lot extra actually, but your choice of salad is included. The Famous offers a Caesar (replete with anchovies) or what they describe as an "iceberg wedge with tomato slices." Well, I like a good Caesar, but I'm not a huge fan of large anchovies, so I, along with the rest of my dinner mates, chose the caesar, sans little fishies. Soon after we had finished our crabby appetizers, our salads were brought to our table...

First off, I was damn glad that I followed my instincts AWAY from the "iceberg wedge" because, it turns out, that that's exactly what it is...Nothing more than a chunk of a lettuce head with a couple tomato slices on the side. Very odd (I saw one going by our table, this is how I know...So there.) The caesar though, like everything else The Famous serves, is MASSIVE, easily equal to the size of a dinner salad at a chain place like Black Eyed Pea...The dressing was unique and (dare I say) spicy. Everything about the salad was tasty, right down to the croutons. I enjoyed some of the aforementioned "herbed bread" with mine, careful not to fill up on it, knowing that I still had a rack of lamb on the way. Still, it was awesome. Salad grade: A.

It didn't take a long time after we were all finished with our salads for our dinner entrees to arrive. My wife chose the prime New York Strip, I chose rack of lamb, my mother went with Filet Mignon and my dad ordered the Maytag Bleu Cheese New York Strip, which I WANTED, but figured I'd at least be able to sample due to it's massive proportion (Yes, I bravely fought my own brain. I have a headache now, but it was all worth it). In addition to the meat, my mother's baked potato arrived, looking more like a giant log coated in cheese than a potato, as did her giant pile of thin, fried, battered onions. she immediately requested assistance from the rest of us...Of course, we were all more than happy to oblige.

My lamb was very good, roasted to a wonderful medium, served with a strange, but enjoyable, sauce...My dad's steak, which was easily the best entree at the table, was tender, flavorful and succulent. The entire top was covered with a thick layer of melty bleu cheese which, if you've never tried the combination, is truly awesome. Upon sampling it, I regretted ordering the lamb, something that I don't often do. My wife's steak was good, easily the best New York Strip I've ever sampled and my mom's filet mignon was absolutely amazing. I've not tasted meat of that caliber EVER, not even in Cleveland. In fact, if you paired the meat with the onions, things got even better. Dinner entree grade: A+.

The portions at The Famous are so insanely large that, even though we can all hold our own in the feed bag department, we had to get "to go" boxes AND skip dessert, which is a damn shame because the cheesecake looked awesome (again, saw one or two going by). Next time I eat there (and, yes, there WILL be a next time, I'll have to see if they offer easy financing there at the restaurant, though) I will certainly skip the appetizer to save room for dessert. After it was all said and done, our bill (after a well deserved tip for our waiter) came to around $230. Even though that total is more than I spend for two weeks worth of groceries from my local Wal*Mart, and even though there were a number of high school aged kids there trying to act "grown up" but failing, I still think that it was more than worth it. If you ever find yourself in Colorado Springs AND you have someone to impress, even if it's just yourself that needs some impressing, you certainly could do worse than The Famous. High marks from me, one of the pickiest eaters on the planet. Overall grade: A.

Note: Fresh off of his aged prime beef experience at The Famous, the author is currently enjoying an El Charrito frozen meal, and a glass of slightly warm diet Mountain Dew, at his desk...

Labels: 'round town, dad's stories, holidays, I eat food, stuff mom's done