I was in Sioux Falls one night and I was hankering for a steak. I went on line to Michael Stern's web site Roadfood.com and he suggested a little steak house in a small town just south and west of Sioux Falls - The Tea Steakhouse in Tea, SD.
The Tea Steakhouse was actually sort of tough to find. It's not on a main road in the little town of Tea. I had to finally stop at a convenience store and ask the gal behind the counter where this place was. She cheerfully said, "Oh, it's two blocks to the east and two blocks to the south." Yes, I actually DID stop for directions, but I knew that given the size of Tea, I would have found it within five minutes. (see map)
The Tea Steakhouse was sort of rustic on the inside. They had a bar area that was off the main dining room that was full of local yokels. But the two dining rooms didn't look very inviting - typical small town restaurant metal chairs and tables with no table cloths. I asked if I could eat in the bar (they had a game on the TV there) and the hostess said that was no problem.
The bar at the Tea Steakhouse is called "O'Toole's" (Jim and Lisa, your hosts). I never did find out if it was owned by the same people who owned the steakhouse, but it appeared to be one and the same place.
I ordered a KC Strip, medium rare and a side of hash browns (on the recommendation of the bartender, a nice lady, I'm guessing in her mid to late 30's, who was going through some personal problems with an underaged daughter who was pregnant).
I got the steak and I have to tell you, I was highly disappointed. HIGHLY disappointed. The steak cooked to a perfect medium rare, but it was tough, it was chewy, it didn't have that good taste you normally get with good KC Strips. I swallowed a small bite and I swear it scratched my esophagus. It hurt to swallow food for two or three days afterwards.
I was deeply disappointed in my steak at The Tea Steakhouse. I was also disappointed in that Michael Stern sent me to a place that I wasn't happy with. That hadn't happened before.
I don't know if I'll try the Tea Steakhouse the next time I'm up in the Sioux Falls area. I didn't think it was much to begin with and I don't know if I'll be pleasantly surprised the next time around.
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