Grill Your Own Steak Restaurants

[Carlovski]

At least if for some strange reason you want it well done you won't necessarily get the skankiest piece of steak, 'cos they won't know what you are going to do with it!

[tanyahsu]

In terms of the Korean BBQ places, they turn the kalbi and bulgogi when there are only male patrons at the table. When there is a lady there, it's expected that she will handle the cooking of the meat. Not sure if this is always customary but that's at least what my Korean friends have said.

[s'kat]

Fondue can't be far behind.

Did somebody say fondue?

I've had some people tell me that this is a great restaurant, but I can't seem to get up the gumption to go. I think my folks have a fondue set in their attic someplace...

[Rachel Perlow]

I wouldn't say it is a "great" restaurant. But, the Melting Pot is very fun and, when I saw it, always busy. We're talking Cheesecake Factory type lines or a full reservation book. I think one in my neck of the woods in NJ, say on Rt 17 by or in a mall, would be hugely successful.

[AlexBernardo]

Still one of the best steaks I've ever had was one I grilled myself at a large steakhouse in Des Moines, Iowa 15 years ago. As some folks have described in this thread, this is one of those tavern-like places with a large communal charcoal-fired barbecue grill. One wall is lined with coolers filled with assorted steaks, the opposite wall is lined floor-to-ceiling with Kingsford charcoal briquet sacks, and there's a condiment table with salt, garlic powder, pepper, etc. to flavor your steaks. You have the option to grill the steak yourself or, for a few bucks, have the restaurant staff do it for you. Anyway, I really liked the experience, but this is certainly not a fancy place, more like a roadhouse.

Alex

[Fresser]

Fresser, were you in Little Rock? There's been "The Butcher Shop" here for about 20 years or more. They started out with 'grill your own' as the main gimmick, with an option for them to cook it for a buck or two. Now they have evolved into a conventional steak house with 'grill your own' as a no-credit option. Ahead of their time??? (If I want to mis-cook a steak, I can do it a lot cheaper at home)

Hey, Mikey!

Actually, I was in Chicawgo (pronounced in the local dialect). This was back in 1990, and as a beefeater's kind of town, The Butcher Shop fit in as a kind of place to see your meat (displayed in the freezer case in the front) and grill it over open fire. Since somebody else was paying that night, I wasn't about to risk burning my own steak.

Maybe they're a franchise?