Some restaurants that serve only one dish

Those of us who saw the film “Hell or high water” may recall the scene where the main role of a Texas Ranger played by Jeff Bridges goes to a little restaurant in a small Texas town, with his partner. The waitress, a cranky old woman, asks them as she came to their table “What don’t you want?”

As the two Texas Rangers looked confused, the waitress explained to them that the only thing on the menu was T-bone steaks, served with green beans or corn and since Jeff Bridges and his partner wanted neither, she looked towards the kitchen and yells out “Two T-bones cooked medium rare.”

Reminiscent of the above scene in that film, is the Beefmastor Inn, in Wilson, North Carolina, where there is no menu, no substitutions and no choices. The Beefmastor serves only rib eye. As standards of operations go – it can’t be any simpler. No  sooner as the diner is seated, he / she would be asked three questions:-

• What size cut of steak would you like? (It would be cut tableside by a server holding a giant slab of meat on a wooden butcher block, announcing “Our standard portion is eight ounces”, whilst holding his knife over the meat, just about where eight ounces would be. After the desired size is sliced, the customer then pays by the ounce…)
• How would you like your steak done?
• Would you want steamed onions with your steak? (Steaks are served with a baked potato and Texas toast).

Those who want to eat something whilst waiting for the steak to be served can visit the salad bar.

Dining at the Beefmastor, despite its small size (there are only 10 tables in the restaurant), is undeniably a unique experience. They don’t take reservations; instead they put your name on the list when you arrive. You then have to wait at the parking lot and tailgate* until your name is called, which is done by restaurant staff stepping out of the entrance and yelling out your name.

Tailgating* in the US means something else apart from the usual description of driving too close to the vehicle in front. It also means hanging out and partying in the parking lot before an event (usually a sporting event). This pre-event party by itself is great fun for many waiting until they can enter the restaurant.

Another restaurant that serves only meat is the original Cafe de Paris in France, where they ask diners how well done they want their meat, served with their famous secret butter and herbs sauce. Accompaniments include a green salad and as many pommes frites one may want.

In Koln, Germany, there is the one – dish restaurant, the Puszta Hutte, which serves only Gulasch – which some claim is the best Gulasch served outside of Hungary.

The other notable difference that one-dish  restaurants and / or those that offer a small menu is that you can be sure that the food is not pre-cooked and merely warmed up before been served, unlike in eateries that offer huge complicated menu’s.

Ilzaf Keefahs is a free lance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry 

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