Larry, did I say anything about the location of the mirrors?

I better be careful here.

I think to notice the mirror you have to be facing up.



Or, at least have the lights turned on??

(my apologies for this post. As I think Daisy said, withdrawal is an ugly thing!)

Kes,

Great novel!

I always hate it when there's virgins at a meet and I can't make it. Glad to hear you had a good time. Guess we'll have to meet another time.

Is the Borg invasion a ride similar to the old one? I think I've been to it 3 times.

You need to try the chicken fried steak at the Silverton coffee shop. It's kind of like a big hub cap with gravy. Actually, it's delicious. I try to splurge there for breakfast one per trip. You can kind of hear your veins cloggin up as you eat.

Thanks for the great report. Really enjoyed reading it.

Sounds yummy Jeff - actually it really does. I love chicken fried steak.

The Borg invasion is different than the old ride. Well, they both start with walk throughs and encounters with actors. The Borg walk thru is more like a haunted house, in a fun way. Then at the end,, instead of a ride simulator you enter a theatre and see a 3-D movie, with a few 4-D surprises. It's fun.

I guess by Daisy's count there were six of us virgins at this meet. Better get to one soon or there won't be any of us left!

Kes - I really enjoyed you and your blind date with 14 was a huge sucess - your spouse with his artistic talents really stole the show. Your report indicates you really got a bang for your buck in Vegas, so when is your next trip?? Hope you guys can make it Thanksgiving. I note that you share my taste for "chicken fried steak" - don't mean to brag but I have yet to find any better than here in Texas - I intend to pursue JMT,S quest next week in Vegas. You really made a great report, hosted a great meet, and had a great trip - hope to see you guys soon!

I tried the one at the Silverton. It was big. The taste was not bad. Unfortunately it did not rank with a real Texas chicken fried steak. It reminded me of just another prefab that arrived frozen and was deep fried at the last minute. It was a good hearty meal at a good price. I still have a few others to try before I give up.

JMT,

I think you were at a meet at Z-Tejas when I had a chicken-fried ribeye. It was pretty good but even fattier than normal for a ribeye.

Describe the meat in a "real Texas chicken fried steak". Is it like a pounded flank steak?

I know it sounds like I'm a tough customer that is impossible to please. I sort of like the challenge of looking for my ideal foods.

I always use tenderized round steak. I don't think I would try it with flank steak. Plate based steaks like flank and skirt are usually tough and greasy. These butcher cuts are best for fajitas, which isn't high on my food choice. Rib eyes are kinda fatty for chicken fried. I had a couple at ZTejas. Cute and gimmicky with good flavor, but as you said, too fatty.

Regardless, I like my chicken fried steak to be tenderized, dipped in an egg and water wash, coated in a white flour, and cooked in a skillet. And that's what I am looking for. That would meet the basic requirement. Z-Tejas did that. It's not on their menu anymore.

Once the steak is prepared in the right manner, it can be enchanced. They can use different cuts, different thicknesses, etc. It should be able to be cut with a fork. There are various ways to season or marinate the meat, season the egg wash, season the flour, and season the gravy to fine tune it. I also find that a cast iron skillet does a much better job. On a good chicken fried steak, the breading should not easily come off the steak as it is cut. This is a product of the correct egg/water mixture, the wetness of the steak, and the fry temperature.

Most of my finds lately are thin steaks that were pressed with a gritty yellow flour, frozen, and deep fried at the restaurant. I've also found that about half of the chicken fried steaks I see are on the breakfast menu. At the Silverton, I had the dinner version which came with mashed potatoes and gravy and corn on the cob.

"Excellent" recipe above Senator - try it, you just might like it. I prefer my fine tuning with good gravy.

montana chicken fried-traveled montana and would search out the small town restaurants in search of a good chicken fried steak.the best would be a hunk of round steak,pounded with seasoned flour,cooked in a skillet.remove steak and add beef stock and flour to make like a red-eye gravy and serve with mashed and green beans. yum gonna hafta cook some up tomorrow for dinner

Had a good time reading your report. You gave me a couple things to make a mental note about. (Although mental notes don't always work with me). I've been going to go see Big Elvis for a couple years...I need to do that the next trip. Also I had never heard about the Mermaids at Silverton. I've never been to Silverton and that will give me a reason to go. Sounds like you had a great trip.

Yeah, mental notes don't work with me either.

The ink always smears when I wipe my forehead. :rolleyes:

The mermaid show at Silverton is new. Alot over there is new. It was a pleasant surprise.

We just caught Big Elvis by luck, we went in to get David's free hot dog & beer with the ACG coupon.

Yes, it was a great trip. thanks for reading!

kes