Down on the trail

Prologue:

It is 1990 inside a darkened movie theater in Gainesville, Florida.  On the big screen, Kevin Costner stands at rapt attention, listening to a rumbling in the distance.  He has come out of his tent, in the movie, Dances With Wolves, and he is all alone out there in the wild west, unsure of what the noise Is, and what will happen next.
Even the ground shakes.

Inside the movie theatre, Rick isn't sure about the noise, either. Are the Indians coming?  The rumbling sound has increased. He is sitting next to me, eyes riveted to the screen.  On the other side of me sits our good friend Paul.
And then came a thunderous roar, and in the darkness of the theatre, Rick suddenly knew what it was.
"Buffalo!" he blurted out, and at that moment, Kevin Costner took off in flight.   A few people around us laughed, but they had been wondering, too.
Paul brought his hand up to his head to shield part of his face and shook his head.

Have you ever had Buffalo Meat?  Earlier this spring we decided to check out the Buffalo Steakhouse in Pinellas Park, which had been doing some heavy advertising on the merits of buffalo meat. It's supposed to be more nutritious than beef.  This would be the first time we had tasted buffalo and we were hoping for a good meal.
The decor was of an old western style saloon in with red velvet touches here and there.  Pictures of grazing buffalo, swinging doors, that sort of thing.

I ordered the buffalo steak.  It was accompanied by a flaky crescent roll shaped like......ta da! A buffalo.  Unfortunately the crescent roll was very small and they only offered one.  At most steakhouses, you'll get a whole basket of rolls or biscuits.  The management shouldn't be so stingy with the rolls and try offering at least two.
Rick didn't get a buffalo roll because he had stuck to a rib eye from Beauford the cow. 
The Salad was forgettable, ice berg bland with a few chopped tomatoes. They do put the dressing on the side, a good thing.
Vegetables were bland, too. Our meal came with sliced yellow squash and carrots, served limp and warm instead of crisp and hot.
Seasonings on the steak were good, however.  The Buffalo meat was a little on the chewy side, a thin cut of beef that reminded me of top round steak.
It was okay, but we haven't been back. Flavor counts when I'm going to shell out any amount of $bucks for a good steak dinner.  And the service was so-so.  Hopefully they have since improved.

Still, I might try buffalo steaks again, maybe at a great lodge up in Wyoming, after a hard days ride on the trail.  There will be a roaring fire and a hearty meal with friends. Oh yeah.

Epilogue:

I waited for a quiet moment in the restaurant, one where the table was comfortably silent as everyone ate and contemplated their meal.

"BUFFALO!!" I blurted out gleefully.
Richard shook his head.

I chortled.
Oh the ammunition  one gains over a lifetime of little things.

Comments

[FC]

Hah! Good for you.
I recently bought some buffalo burgers, the preformed patty kind, from Wally world.
They were okay. My brother likes fresh buffalo burgers. He doesn't eat beef, but will eat buffalo.
I have yet to try a fresh buffalo steak.

[pam]

Oh the ammunition one gains over a lifetime of little things.

Love it! That's why I said 'WORD' over dinner the other night. Nobody but Arthur knew what I meant... ;)

[Janet]

I haven't had buffalo steak, only ground. It was good tho!

[kenju]

We went to a Ted Turner's place here 2 years ago and ate buffalo burgers. I was not impressed at all.

[MrsDoF]

Around 1990 our town had a nice burger barn which specialized in buffalo sandwiches. There is a buffalo ranch in the next county--when it was in development, the story of how strong the fences had to be made page 3 of the local newspaper.

We loved the buffalo burgers. It takes a bit of practice to get the proper cooking time, since buffalo is much more lean than beef.
Alas, the owner got sick, something long-term, which took him out of the kitchen, and the place closed a couple months later. The building is now one of those payday loan predators.

There is a little diner in the same town near the ranch that serves the buffalo goodies. Husband and I should go over when we have an extra hour for drive time.

Anyway, our local Kroger grocery routinely carries ground buffalo meat--I can always find it, before the expiration date.
We've been making buffalo burgers all summer on our Foreman Grill. I've also made some really good chili a couple times.
I've never had a buffalo steak, but I'll bet with the right guy at the grill, it would be quite tasty.

I'm sitting here laughing like a lunatic.
It's been quite awhile since I've seen the word "chortled" used. Your thesaurus must be close at hand.