A steak and egg throw down!

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:

1. 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.
2. The Toast – Both were done perfectly and were offered with jelly. No points to either side.
3. 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.
4. 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!

From Fat Daddy's online menu

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.