I will probably give it another try...I understand that restaurants have off days..and sometimes a guest experience is not what would normally be expected from that restaurant
I usually give a restaurant at least 3 tries before I make a "I will never go there again" decision

Personally, I have never had a bad steak at J. Cody's. IMO, the only steaks that are better come from my grill.

The one bad experience my wife had, she ordered extra lean brisket and got some fatty meat. She complained to the waitress, who simply trimmed off some of the fat and brought the plate back. After complaining again, J. Cody himself came out, ask her specifically what she wanted, cut the brisket himself and brought the plate back. That alone will get me to go back again and again.

By far the best steak is at Doe's Eat Place in downtown Bryan. If you haven't tried it you're missing out, it's AMAZING!

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I am told--elsewhere on this forum, I believe--that they use plastic or paper plates at that place.

Is that true?

IMHO-
The meat at Doe's is very good. The limp elementary school Italian-dressing salad, ambiance, and lack of variety on the menu stink.

Doe's is awful.

I've heard very few good reviews of Doe's. Most have said that it's overpriced and not nearly as good as the original.

Doe's uses plastic plates, but they're not the disposable kind. It's part of their ultra-casual ambiance, along with the red and white-checkered vinyl tablecloths and bare cement floor.

I've eaten there three times; the first time was amazingly good steak, the second and third were mediocre.

[This message has been edited by southcutt (edited 3/16/2007 12:23a).]

I still like the Country Inn in Somerville. Steaks are huge and the chicken fried steak melts in your mouth.

agree with Sandy!

I went to J. Cody's again last night with my family. The service was back up to par with what I'd experienced in the past and the food was all hot/excellent.

Try Doe's Eat Place in downtown Bryan. The prices have been lowered and they added a 1 pound sirloin that is about $20. All of the steaks are GREAT!

Snoppy = manager of Doe's

as to all of the plate questions...they are not plastic they are porcelin plates.. and the checkered table plates are a "doe's" franchise rule....and as to rcj's comment i am not a manager at does i am just a loyal employee. i am one of two grillers at doe's and i take pride in the steaks we serve at doe's. If you enjoy a steak that is cooked to the way you like it come try us at doe's.

I am the General Manager of Doe's Eat Place. Our King filet is $39.99 and is a 15-19 oz cut of the best filet you have ever eaten. We have a 15-17 oz cut of Sirloin for $17.99. Our 8-10 oz petite filet is $19.99. I am not sure what people bought to spend $100 for two people. If you each bought a 3 pound sirloin each, maybe. With our large sirloins it will come with up to five salads and five sides if that is how many people are sharing the steak. We highly recommend and encourage people to share the larger steaks. Only thing yo will share is the steak itself. Everyone will get their own salad and side. On average you will spend $25-$30 each to eat here at Doe's and I promise it is the best steak in the Brazos county and maybe all of south Texas. But that is just me. We serve Sterling Silver premium meats; you can read more at sterlingsilvermeats.com. As far as the best steak value in B/CS? Please do the math, ounce to ounce our steaks are the same and in some cases we are actually lower than the “other guys”. Our steaks are just a bigger steak and can be shared by two people very easily. Our Queen filet is an 11-14 oz cut that with an order of either our famous tamales and chili or our French fried Sweet Potato fries your total with tea or soda around $43 before tip. For the BEST steak you have ever eaten in Bryan/College Station. I have lived here for 23 years and there has not been a “real” steak served in this area in a long, long time. I go back to The Texan as the last real steak in this town and Ft Shiloh before that, where you can order a medium rare steak and it is medium rare when it gets to the table. That is what we serve here at Doe’ Eat Place. We always take reservations but that does not mean you need reservations. They are highly recommended on game weekends, graduation and parent’s weekend.

We have got rid of the plastic plates. That is what they serve on at the original in Greenville, MS. We no longer use them.

Brian V Davis
General Manager
Doe’s Eat Place
979-823-3637



[This message has been edited by BVD (edited 3/22/2007 12:03p).]

My wife and I tried Doe's on 2 occasions a couple of years ago when they first opened. We split one of those huge steaks both times. Not very flavorful, kinda tough and lots of fat.

I've also been there for business lunches and gotten a burger - okay, but nothing to write home about.

Has anything changed since then we should be aware of?

We do not put seasoning on our steaks. We sever steaks that are full of beef flavor. Other places that put a lot of things on their steak are covering up a select cut on meat. You are eating their seasonings not a good cut of meat.

Not sure what cut you got that was tough and had a lot of fat. We don't get that very often. But beef has fat on it and sometimes we miss one that has more than it should. I do apologize that you were not happy with your steak. I would have be more than happy to fix that for you if I had known at the time.

Doe's Blows

Seasonings or not, it was still bland and not very full of beef flavor (sounds like a dog food commercial). IMO, a little seasoning during cooking can help bring out the flavor of a good cut of meat. I never use steak sauces, as I want to taste the beef flavor - yum.

yea, a little seasoning brings out the flavor. don't need much, just a little. my favorite is to cover both sides with cracked pepper, let it marinate in worcestershire for 15 minutes, then about 5 minutes on each side on medium heat. better than just slapping it on the grill with no seasoning whatsoever.

I haven't been to Doe's, but you're not making a case for me to go if you don't put seasoning on the steaks.

If you like seasoned steaks - go to Texas Roadhouse. If you like quality beef steaks that still taste like steak - go to Beefmasters or Doe's.

My personal preferences for steaks in order of importance:

1. Quality Beef - aged, premium cut - usually ribeye or tenderloin.

2. Perfectly Cooked - A very close second in preference. A steak not cooked as requested - whatever your preference (mine is medium rare) - is probably the most common mistake and will ruin a steak dining experience.

3. Properly seasoned. My personal preference is a little kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. Sometimes a blackened pepper steak is fun. I can tolerate the Roadhouse's drenched in garlic butter oil and smothered with fried shoestring onions once every year.

We ate at Doe's for the first time two weekends ago and the ribeye was excellent. Cooked perfectly. Service was great! And I am in no way affiliated with Doe's.

[This message has been edited by kbucagg (edited 3/22/2007 4:43p).]

quote:

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I haven't been to Doe's, but you're not making a case for me to go if you don't put seasoning on the steaks.

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BVD: PLEASE DO NOT CATER TO THESE TYPES OF TASTEBUDS!!! We don't need any more places offering "seasoned steaks".

Maybe you could offer some Season-All on the table next to the ketchup and ranch dressing?

There's a big difference between a little proper seasoning before cooking and the type of "seasoned steak" you are referring to.

Just like there is a big difference between the quality of meat we serve and what the “other guys’ serve.

quote:

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There's a big difference between a little proper seasoning before cooking and the type of "seasoned steak" you are referring to

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I agree, rcj. I thought the Doe's steaks were full of excellent flavor. I also really enjoy your #1 choice, JCody's. But I must disagree and question your #2 choice for reasons stated in my post above.

BVD: do you put any salt/pepper your steaks?

quote:

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My wife and I tried Doe's on 2 occasions a couple of years ago when they first opened.

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rcj...how long has Doe's been open? have you been back in the last "couple of years?"

I believe that Doe's opened in the summer of 2005 - I could be wrong. We went that fall and again in early '06 for steaks. As I said, I have been there for lunch a few times since. Have not been back for steak, as I think Doe's is overpriced and not that good. That's why I asked if anything had changed.

I will stick with Cody's when I'm in steak mode.

We opened September 12, 2005.

We put a small amount of different seasoning on the steaks just before they are put on the grill. There is no pepper in the mix.

Sir you are comparing a sirloin to a Ribeye, I beleive. I know for a fact that Cody ages his Ribeye rolls for a minimum of 21 days before they are cut. This adds to the tenderness of any cut of beef that is left on the loin. You cannot compare the two cuts, they are not the same. I really do apologize again that you were not happy with your steak here. Please the next time you are somewhere that serves a sirloin try their sirloin and I do believe you will understand the difference. No sirloin will compare to a properly aged cut of Ribeye. We no longer serve a Ribeye due to lack of sales but it still a good cut when aged. To those of you that love sirloin I mean nothing bad against your sirloin. We sell a lot of sirloin and like I said in my first post. We now sell a 1 pound sirloin cut of Sterling Silver top sirloin butt cooked to order for only $17.99.

I hope everyone understands why I came on here. Two reasons, one I had to defend my business/job. We are not just an average steak house and we are having trouble getting people to come to downtown Bryan and then I read all this stuff and had to reply. Two, I love message boards. It really lets people be free with their words. Some times you have to work your way around their words to get the truth but that is what makes these things so much fun. I look forward to many more post and conversations to come on here.

I am sure some of you will make a comment of being in downtown Bryan and that is why you will not come. One question, when was the last time you where down here? South College is fixed but Bryan Ave. is still under construction. But downtown is not as bad as it was five years ago. We have patrolling officers every Friday and Saturday night just to make sure. If you have not been in downtown Bryan in a while you are missing out. I will post more about the happenings in downtown later.


Gig’em Ags

Semper Fi

I always get the ribeye at Cody's.

I love downtown Bryan as I am a Bryan native and enjoy seeing the revival down there - we eat at many different restaurants downtown. Neither the safety issue nor traffic/parking bother me at all.

Sorry to sound like I'm dogging your establishment - we'll give it another try soon.

The Kettle has great steaks.

I am glad you came here and posted, BVD. Please excuse my ignorance - if I say something ignorant. I very much enjoyed the meat when I went to Doe's.

The problem was with the sides. The salad was pathetic for the quality of steak you were serving. There also was no option to get (even a la carte) a baked potato or other vegetables. I DON'T want chili or tamales with a huge steak.

I would prefer to get a FRESH salad with my choice of dressing (ex. Texas Roadhouse) and baked potato/vegetables with a good steak. How about a salad bar like the AWESOME one at Oxford Street? I know the steak at your establishment is much better than the steak at any other resturant, except for Christopher's (equal).

Thanks, and good luck!

[This message has been edited by Temple Ag (edited 3/25/2007 7:16p).]

[This message has been edited by Temple Ag (edited 3/25/2007 7:17p).]

Oh the famous Doe’s marinated salad. The only thing it is famous for is complaints. We stopped serving the marinated salad about a year ago. We now serve a fresh cut tossed salad with carrots, purple cabbage, a slice of tomato and croutons and comes with choose of homemade ranch, bleu cheese, Italian, fat free thousand island and our house dressing which is from the marinated salad. I can still make the marinated salad for the five or six people around here that liked it.

As far as the a la carte thing I am not sure what happen but each steak comes with a choice of side; red boiled potatoes, green beans, corn, sautéed mushrooms, fresh cut French fries or sweet potato French fries. We do not serve a baked potato but we have all the fixings to go on the boiled reds and it taste just like a baked potato. We have always served the tamales as an appetizer. When we cut steaks for the night we save the trimmings and grind that up to use in our chili. I have had guys tell me that it is the best chili they have ever eaten in a restaurant.

Thank you for your input. I hope I have answered your questions. If any one else has a question or comment about Doe’s I would love to hear it, good or bad. We are really trying to make a go of this thing here but we are having trouble getting people to come to downtown on a regular basis.

If you have something that you would like to see on the menu let me know and I will see what I can do. I cannot promise that every suggestion will be added to the menu but we will at least look at it and see if it is something we could do.

I'd like to see mountain oysters added.

Thank you very much for the reply. Obviously, it has been a long time since I have been there. I will give it another chance.

I have eaten at Doe's in other states and love it. My next date in College Station will be at Doe's for sure. I love the tamales to start off with.