Andrias Steakhouse
Location: O'Fallon, IL
Our Meal: Classic American steak
Atmosphere: Classic chophouse supper-club
Sliced tenderloin in a peppercorn sauce with a side of roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts and wilted carrots.
There is nothing like eating a good steak and feeling fancy for an evening. For my brother's birthday, we ventured out to an oldie but a goodie; a family favorite in O'Fallon called Andrias.
Brief history: my parents have been going to Andrias since before I was born, sometimes waiting two hours in the bar area for their huge prime rib. The restaurant remains a classic spot in town, but while the space has expanded and modernized slightly, the food has remained almost perfect. And yes, they are the original distributor of the famous Andrias Steak Marinade.
First, as is tradition, a few glasses of Asti and Jack n' Sevens at the bar. After moving to the table, we shifted to Frei Brother's Cabernet. For our dinner, we split a few good bottles of wine and appetizers, and then destroyed some steak.
The list of specials for the night made choosing dinner more difficult than usual. After salads, we split a plate of stuffed mushroom caps and the specialty pepper and tenderloin stuffed portobello mushroom cap. Both typed of mushroom were warm and earthy and cheesy, but the portobello had a light kick from the peppers. Should they add those as a new entree option, it would be a hit.
One of the entrees Andrias is well-known for is their 24 ounce seared Prime Rib. When I say this thing is as big as the plate, I truly mean it is 3 inches thick and covers the plate from edge to edge. Both my brother and dad went with the seared large cut, horseradish sauce, and a huge baked potato. I only wish I had a pre-eat photo for you to understand the sheer size of this piece of meat.
Alex went fairly simple on this meal. A small cut of a strip steak and potato was plenty of food after a caesar salad and the mushroom caps. However, even the small cut of the strip is 14 ounces.
One of the specials of the night was a sliced tenderloin in a peppercorn sauce with a side of roasted potatoes, Brussels sprouts and wilted carrots. The sauce had a good kick to it that was actually intensified by the Cabernet, and the tenderloin was an absolutely perfect medium rare.
At the end of the meal, they brought out a small birthday cake for my brother and a coffee with a shot of Kahlua for me.
