While I would never be confused with
Bobby Flay as a chef, I can
still hold my own as a judge of good food. (Mainly because I eat so
much of it)!
Two local establishments in Forsyth
Missouri offer up a classic steak and egg menu item that
contains; a 6 oz steak, two eggs, hash browns and your choice of
bread. Both Fat Daddy's and Charlie's Ribs Steak and Ale are popular
hangouts for both locals as well as visitors who come to the area.
Both are well established and each is unique in its own way. I think Fat
Daddy's specializes in smoked meat dishes while Charlie's has a fine
bar that offers up home brewed ales. But, today I wanted to compare a single
menu item that is ordered quite often at both locales, the ubiquitous
Steak and Eggs platter.
Fat Daddy's
Of the two locations, I feel that Fat
Daddy's is the more down home of the two. Everything about this venue
smacks of a small town eatery experience. Something that's getting
harder for me to find every year. I've eaten there fairly often in
the past and have never had a bad eating experience. Their food is
consistently of a very high quality and the service is impeccable.
Charlie's Rib Steak & Ale
By contrast, I've always felt Charlie's
is the more 'modern' of the two. In size, it appears much larger in
terms of seating capacity although if you were to count Fat Daddy's
lower level I think they'd turn out about the same. Charlie's also
supports a full bar, so if you want to have something like a glass of
wine with your meal, then it's the place to go.
So, all in all, I think both
establishments are complimentary to each other. Now, what about the
food? Well, in a head to head comparison, here's how I scored the
dishes:
- The Eggs – I ordered up my eggs sunny side up at both establishments as you can see in the picture. Fat Daddy's was done to perfection, while Charlie's was a little bit brown on the bottom side. My point for the eggs goes to Fat Daddy's.
- The Toast – Both were done perfectly and were offered with jelly. No points to either side.
- The Hash Browns – This was a very close deal as both were awesome in terms of taste. However, for some reason I liked Fat Daddy's ab it more. A point to Fat Daddy's.
- The Steak – In both cases I ordered my steak to be cook rare and that's pretty much what I got. While both venues offer a 6 ounce steak, Charlie's comes off looking more like a true steak than does the flatter offering from Fat Daddy's. While both were tasty to eat, I give the one served at Charlie's the edge. Point awarded to Charlie's.
So, the score was Fat Daddy's = 2
Charlie's = 1. But, there's one more criteria I wish to bring up; the
price and it's worth 2 bonus points!
Fat Daddy's offering cost $11.59 while
Charlie's was only $7.99. That's a 31% cost difference in my book and
so I'm awarding 2 points to Charlie's for a final score of 3 to 2.
The bottom line; both establishments are worth your while to check
out and frequent. Sure, Fat Daddy's may cost a little more for some
items, but on the whole, I feel they offer a bit more depth of
selection than does Charlie's. I'd urge my readers to make up their
own minds by going out and visiting both!
Update: June 2014 - There's yet another sit down eatery now in Forsyth MO that offers a steak and eggs platter and that would be the Longhorn Family Dining restaurant located at 16093 US Hwy 160 (or right across from Fat Daddy's). They serve a 5 oz sirloin, hash browns, 2 eggs, toast or biscuits and gravy for $7.89. I plan to do a write up on this meal soon and will post a link here! Note that as breakfast selections Charlie's and Fat Daddy's prices remained the same!
Update: February 2016 - After some slight delay (ahem), I've decided to make my way over to the Long Horn to sample their Steak and Eggs offering. I've noted that the price advertised online for Fat Daddy's has remained the same while a similar 5 oz steak meal (aka Cattle Rustler) had increased to $8.39.
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| From Fat Daddy's online menu |
