The Star Cafe's 11-ounce baseball cut is that rare cheap steak that can compete in the big leagues.
Find it: 111 W. Exchange Ave.; (817) 624-8701.
The dish: There are plenty of choices on the menu at this historic dining room in the legendary Stockyards, but the most popular is the 11-ounce top sirloin ($16-$18) that’s as big around as a baseball. That means its center will be cooked to an ideal medium-rare-to-medium, so forget that nonsense about eating a steak medium-well. That’s just not right – unless you actually like the taste and texture of shoe leather. What you get is pure, lush sirloin flavor – beef like it was meant to be eaten.
Don't wander away without also trying: The bacon-wrapped filet mignon, topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms, is a dependable, surprisingly tender cut for such a lean steak; and the chicken-fried steak is definitely worth the calories, thanks to a flaky, seasoned crust.
You should know: Although it originally opened in another space directly across the street, the Star has occupied its present location since the 1930s. It’s where you go when you want no-nonsense service with a side of George Jones and Ernest Tubb on the jukebox.
Honorable mentions: Mesquite Pit, Weatherford; Hoffbrau, several locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.
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