Tag Archives: food

Angelo’s Steak Pit (Panama City Beach, FL)

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It’s hard to miss Angelo’s Steak Pit, what with the giant bull in the parking lot. Nestled next to an assortment of kiddie parks and arcades, it even looks a bit like a roadside attraction of some sort.

It is an attraction, actually, if you find yourself unreasonably fond of beef. If you’ve got enough testosterone to generate stubble, this almost certainly includes you and the women who find your hairy ass appealing. (And if you’re an unhairy lady

If you hit the place a bit early in the evening, you won’t face a long wait. And why not go early? The necessary intake of nutrition should never conflict with the pursuit of inebriation and random acts of debauchery. So cruise in around 5:00ish, load up on fuel, and give yourself something so delicious that you won’t mind tasting it a second time at 2:00am.

And our meal at Angelo’s was delicious. It’s such a gloriously unsubtle experience that calling it “fare” or even “food” would be disrespectful… this stuff is grub. Pure, unvarnished, wonderfully prepared grub that pokes at the animalistic recesses of your brain and says, “Hey, this is how eating is supposed to be!”

After making our way to our table (note: you’ll need a GPS to find your way out of the mammoth collection of dining rooms), We ordered the breaded crab fingers as an appetizer, a ribeye with baked potato, and a filet mignon with fries… all of which came with the de rigeur soup/salad and house bread. The only disappointment was the salad, which appeared to have been deluged rather than dressed.

Both the steaks were ordered medium-rare, because let’s face it, you’re some kind of prissy wuss if you eat your beef without a moo echoing in the distance. The rib-eye was flawlessly cooked, and the filet nearly so, with a precise layer of seasoning and internal texture. For my money, the filet was also the finest cut of steak I’ve ever seen; huge, and yet devoid of even a single string of fat or gristle.

Our server (Mary) was cheerful and attentive, only slowing down when held up by the bartender. Speaking of booze, our drinks were well-mixed and not shy with the happy-making stuff.

If there’s a real downside to Angelo’s, it’s that the place is what it is… a provider of wonderful cuts of beef, with a few fish and chicken dishes thrown in. Great beef doesn’t come cheaply, so don’t expect to exit the building without leaving at least $20/person in the till. It’s worth every penny, of course, but those counting their loose change will want to take advantage of the evening’s special when possible.

TIP: The house bread is as great as everything else they serve, so those who live in fear of carbs, consider yourselves warned: that stuff is loaf-shaped crack.

Angelo’s Steak Pit
Panama City Beach, FL

Vinny T’s of Boston (Shrewsbury, MA)

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An unexpected delight after a less-than-promising start, I was quite impressed with Vinny T’s. Things got off on the wrong foot with an over-crowded parking lot and an hour-long wait for a table. The only saving grace at that point was the friendly and outgoing waitstaff, and the semi-comfortable seating provided in the upstairs bar area.

But when we finally got a table, things started looking up. The menu offered a number of interesting options, and our waitress was the cheeriest person you could possibly meet on a cold, snowy New England night. She warned us in advance that Vinny T’s portion sizes were large, and thus to avoid the “due” orders unless we were planning to share.

We settled on the Mussels Pomodoro for an appetizer, and our jaws dropped when the plate arrived. It was massive… absolutely piled with hardshell goodness, at least thirty of ‘em. Great value for the money, definitely. And I’m a bit of a red-sauce snob, so when I say the Pomodoro was excellent, it comes as high praise.

After that, the actual entrees were a bit of a let-down, but not by much. First, the guidance of our waitress was borne out by the plates that arrived at our table… my wife’s Linguine in Clam Sauce and my Calamari Fra Diavolo came in heaped portions on large, oval plates. So the first lesson of Vinny T’s is this: unless you have a bottomless gut or a desire for leftovers, buy one plate for every two people and just share.

I consider calamari a litmus test for a restaurant, because so many get it wrong. Too often, I see over- or undercooked meat that is rubbery and tasteless. So it was immediately pleasing to note that the rings yielded easily to the tooth, and had benefitted from a long soak in the spicy Fra Diavolo. The sauce didn’t approach the Pomodoro’s excellence, but it was above-average, and very good.

Highly recommended.