A steak by any other name is just a steak

I’ve often said I could be a vegetarian if it wasn’t for BBQ pork. Pork has always been my meat weakness. However since moving to NWA, I have fallen and fallen hard into the delicious, inviting wedge of beef that can only be purchased at Does Eat Place in Bentonville. What do I like best about Does? For starts it lacks the pretentiousness of the average high class steak joint. I can go in shorts and flip flop without having guests jaws drop to the floor and management removing me from the dining area. Does is a laid back bar to many which just happens to put out a great steak. Next, Doe’s has a very small menu. We do this and this and nothing else and we do what we do pretty damn well. If you don’t like tamales you are just about out of luck when it comes to appetizers. Same thing if you’re a chicken fan, you might as well keep driving past. Doe’s is a steak place with a miniscule number of things on the side so, Beef it truly is what’s for dinner. Next the steak, oh that glorious hunk of beef so expertly seasoned and cooked to perfection. By the way I hate the phrase “cooked to perfection” but in this case it actually applies. Once again the selection is limited but then the choices that are offered are all that is needed. Choose from the T Bone by the pound, the Porterhouse the same way, the 2 lb sirloin for sharing, a fillet in three different sizes, and finally my steak the two pound ribeye. I’m told the steaks are aged for several weeks which would explain their fork ready tenderness and great flavor. Also they are cooked over a drip pan that allows for the continual basting of the steaks as they char broil away. Once again to keep matters simple you can have fries or boiled potatoes. I like both but the fries make a great dipper for the meat juices left on the plate. Other points of interest include the very different and very wet house salad that come out before the meal. While I can’t explain why I like this overdressed slightly wilted bowl of greens I have to admit I do. Maybe it’s a dressing thing. You also get a basket of fried dinner rolls and honey. I do believe these golden brown lumps of dough to be canned biscuits that are tossed into the deep fryer until brown and crispy. While I would never make these at home, here it just seems so natural.
Doe’s is just not fancy or pretty, it has a limited menu, probably is more likely to be used as a won the World Series of Poker celebratory restaurant rather than a wedding anniversary meal and of course it isn’t cheap in the least. The ribeye is $45. And if you want one on the weekend you better get their early because they do run out. This causes other tables to stare at you with an angry glint in their eye when it is determined that your table got the last two ribeyes on a Saturday night.
Ahhh steak thy name is Doe’s