Historic Reata Pass Steakhouse

As mentioned, I am in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a week with two things to do – jack and shit. Tonight I drove myself out to the ass of nowhere for a steak at Reata Pass. It's one of them there famous southwestern cowboy steakhouses. I was prepared for something annoyingly touristy and obnoxious, but it seemed authentic enough. I'm guessing this is one of the places all the others try to imitate. Think Huey's in midtown versus Huey's in any other part of Memphis.

The service was good if a bit no nonsense. I ordered a couple of beef ribs as an appetizer and a sirloin, medium rare, with a side of cowboy beans. Of course, I needed a little Fat Tire to wash it all down – diabetes be damned. The ribs were well-prepared and came slathered in a very sweet BBQ sauce. I've come to the conclusion that barbecued beef ribs are just silly. The bone-to-meat ratio is absurd, and they just don't have enough flavor. My steak was cooked properly, but was a little tough and lacked flavor. I shouldn't judge because I don't normally order sirloin. In fact, that it is normally tough and lacking in flavor could be the very reason.

I do not like cowboy beans.

At this point, I would normally just refrain from giving the place a thumbs up or thumbs down. I didn't care too much for my meal, but I really just ordered the wrong things. However, near the end of my visit, someone cranked up C.W. McCall's epic song Convoy on the jukebox. Yes, they have a jukebox. Yes, Convoy is on the jukebox. Yes, that's enough to make Reata Pass my favorite Arizona restaurant.

Oh, I plum near forgot! I'm pretty sure this guy was sitting at the bar.