I heard something about a reported comeback attempt by S&A, but absent that, Steak and Ale is history. I didn't go there a lot but I did go there and generally liked it. It wasn't Del Friscos type money and the food was pretty good.

I was there in the late '90s (probably '98 or '99) and I had some of the best Champagne I've ever drank. I'm not a huge drinker and have asked this question to a few people, but now I need to buy a bottle of champagne for something this week. I thought I would take a shot in the dark.

For those in the N. Dallas or Plano area that might have frequented S&A in the '90s or early 2000s: if you ordered a bottle of champagne, what brand(s) did they have that you recall? Anyone who wants to take a semi-educated guess at this, go for it. I realize the chances of me finding the exact brand are remote and there is no way to know for sure.

If that's too much to ask, the next question will be what champagne brands sold around north Texas would anyone recommend?

Thanks!

Asti tosti

Assuming you're using champagne loosely - scramsburg and Gloria ferrer are good.

Search this forum for my grower champagne thread.

I did love me some Steak & Ale back in the day.

I'll be flamed for this, but back in the day they made a steak with some form of a red wine marinade/baste that was excellent.

Looks like Asti Spumante maybe? Just did a google image search for Steak & Ale menu. Kinda looks like their old menus... IDK. your guess is as good as mine.

I loved S&A as a kid...those huge chairs and French onion soup. It was always dark in there.

Recently found a perfect copy of the Kensington Club steak marinade. It's awesome on chicken and fajita beef.

It was my favorite fancy restaurant to go to as a kid.

Thanks for the replies. Didn't think to do a menu search.

I'll try both of those on there.

Incidentally, I'd really like to know why a good restaurant chain like S&A (and even Bennigans) that serves good food can close down but some truly crappy places (you name 'em -- start with Applebees, what Chilis is NOW, Cotton Patch to name a few) still survive and thrive.

Because they are cheap.

I've never been to a Steak an Ale. Is it similar to the steaks at Outback?

My wife likes her's sweet and we always have a bottle of Martini Asti chilled. She is also a fan of their Rose and Prosecco.

Bennigans was every bit as bad as Chili's is "now"

Veuve clicquot

Probably not served at Steak and Ale, but it will run you about $40 at Total Wine and is great bang for the buck .

I like Chili's "now", used to love Bennigan's, heck I like TGIF's also. Applebee's used to be decent, but is well below even my standards. Does the Black-Eyed Pea chain still exist? I can't remember the last time I saw one of those.

Yes there are still black eyed peas. There is one here in Fort Worth

I drive by a chilis once a week it seems at night and there is always a line out the door. I don't understand why. There are plenty of cleaper locally owned places that are 1000 times better.

Steak and Ale's salad bar was awesome. Or I thought so when I was 9, anyway. And I remember their French Silk Pie fondly.

Wow, what a great thread!

I had NO idea Steak and Ale sold Chateauneuf du Pape back in the day...how ahead of their time.

I have SO many fond memories of Steak and Ale. Norman Brinker was a Visionary....and thankfully, an Aggie by the name of Manny Rosenthal (as in the Rosenthal Meat Laboratory at TAMU), provided the steaks that took that concept to greatness. He provided the steaks to Steak and Ale when they had their first unit over on Loop 12 (Northwest Highway) in Dallas back in the 60's.

Yes, years later the concept declined...well after Norman left to run Chili's...and the new Steak and Ale management dumped Standard Meat for a cheaper alternative.

But in it's day, French Onion Soup, a great salad bar, and superior grilled steaks made it the leader in the Food Service industry. All imo of course.

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Bennigans was every bit as bad as Chili's is "now"

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Bennigans, in its heyday (admittedly during my college and post-college years), was one of the best casual restaurants ever. Appetizers were as good as TGI Fridays (and there were more of them); Burgers/sandwiches were at the very least good -- and they had options nobody else had. No one in their right mind would assert the Monte Cristo was anything short of very good. You may not want to order it due to the calories, but I've never heard anyone that didn't like it. Bennigans was one of the first places with cheese fries -- they called them Irish Nachos back in the day. They had steaks and other dinner plates that were good. Desserts were better than just about anyone (at least, chains).

I will concede that some Bennigans were not well managed and some of the food items weren't very good. Also, I think one of the things that drove Bennigans in particular out of business was the company's or the location's inability to control their bartenders -- over serving alcohol, giving away too much food, etc. It was no secret that if you wanted to get ****-faced after midnight, Bennigans was the place to do it at. It was nice to be able to go into a place at 10:30 or 11 at night and still get something good, but at least some locations, you knew to be gone by 12:30.

I miss the place although I couldn't eat there much even if it was still around!

Monte cristo was nasty

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Veuve clicquot

Probably not served at Steak and Ale, but it will run you about $40 at Total Wine and is great bang for the buck .

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There's a lot better champagne available for $40 than Veuve.

I also loved Bennigans during my college & first couple post-college years. But after going to other restaurants and then going back to Benningans it was clear that it really was not very good.

Either I didn't know what good food was when I was 18-24 or the quality took a nose dive. Probably a bit of both.

How can we have a thread on Texags about Steak & Ale and not mention that awesome dark, sweet bread they had?

The last time I went to S&A was probably 10 years ago for a coworker's birthday. It was awful. It was one of the last locations hanging on in Addison. Strangely enough, I think it turned into Bennigan's revival concept. Which then failed as well.

That bread was good

My dad took the family to Steak and Ale to celebrate a monster contract he signed that day. That contract changed the fate of the family, so S&A will always hold a special place with me.

Last time I had S&A, they catered a golf tournament in was in at a local course. Steak and Ale brought in spaghetti and meatballs.

Bennigans had a couple of solid menu options - but like any other restaurant, it depended on the management and the cook as to how good it was.

The Monte Cristo was awesome, and their babyback ribs were highly underrated (mostly because Bennigans pretty much never promoted them). They had good burgers as well.

Bennigans, at least wayyy back in the day before it's death spiral, was decent for a casual chain. Much better than the Chilis and Applebees of today, IMO.

I remember it used to be the only well known casual restaurant in The Woodlands. Think that location shut down in the mid-late 80s...but my family used to go there all the time due to the complete lack of other options at the time. Everything else meant a trip to the FM1960 area...or Greenspoint back before it became completely crime-ridden.

Hey Aggie Lawyer, go get yourself a bottle of Schramsberg champagne (technically it's not champagne since it's not from that region of France, so it is a sparkling wine made with the method de champagne). It's an outstanding champagne that has a great history in Napa.

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Veuve clicquot

Probably not served at Steak and Ale, but it will run you about $40 at Total Wine and is great bang for the buck .

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There's a lot better champagne available for $40 than Veuve.

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Suggestions? My wife loves Veuve but I don't like having to pay $55-ish around here to get it.

Go to any larger wine store (Specs, Total Wine, Centrsl Market) and tell a salesperson you want a grower Champagne. You an also pick anything off this list. http://www.skurnikwines.com/msw/documents/SKURNIK_THEISE_Champagne_2015_CATALOG_WEB.pdf
I'm a fan of Henri Billiot, Mousse Fils, and Vilmart, though the Vilmart will likely be out of your price range.