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View Steer 'n Ale Restaurant's Menu
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Restaurants: Steer ‘n Ale Restaurant
Where: 3644 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena
Phone: (626) 796-2278
Reservations: Not required
Cocktails: Beer and Wine
Service: Full table service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: No
Credit Cards: MC, Visa, AMEX, Discover, Debit
Cards with MC/Visa logo
Kid’s Menu: Yes
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: No
Hours of Operation: 11:30am – 9pm daily
Price Range: $3.99 - $14.99, avg. $7.99 /
avg. dinner steak $10.99 |
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Sauteed Mushrooms |
Chili |
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Filet
and Shrimp Combo |
Steak
and Ribs Combo |
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A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Steer ‘n Ale – 29 Years of
Serving Good Food at Good Prices
By Bill Coburn
Back in January of
2005, I spotlighted Steer ‘n Ale in Pasadena. It was opened in 1977 by Tony
Dias, and now, more than a quarter century later he still does a good business,
serving a steady crowd on a daily (and nightly) basis. There’s a reason for
that; in addition to a comfortable atmosphere, (lots of wood, and a western feel
featuring western paintings, antique farming equipment and the like on the
walls), Steer ‘n Ale serves good sized portions of food, for not a lot of
money. Tony took on a partner in 1996. Long-time manager Rick Kilbury, who as
a teenager was an opening day employee back in 1977, has joined Tony as
co-owner, but the formula has remained the same, and their customers are the
better for it.
All Day Manager’s
Specials (served Monday thru Thursday) include fried chicken for $5.49 on
Monday, Tuesday night’s special is a New York Steak, just $7.79. Wednesdays
you can get Country Fried Steak or Beef Kabob Teriyaki for $6.49, and Thursday’s
specials are a Pork Chop dinner for $7.79 or a Country Fried Chicken Breast for
$6.49. With prices like that, I can see why they always seem to be busy. It’s
interesting to note that these prices are the same as they were in January of
’05, nearly two years ago. And all these specials come with your choice of soup
or salad, potato or vegetables, and custard or ice cream.
In addition to these
specials, there are lunch specials available Monday to Saturday, 11:30am to
4pm. These specials include 4 sandwiches for $3.95, your choice from half a
dozen sandwiches at $4.69, a Chef Salad for $4.89, in fact there are actually
nearly a dozen $4.89 specials, including a bacon-wrapped “lunch-sized” filet,
Country fried steak, Ortega steak or grilled Chicken breast for $5.79, or 6 oz.
Sirloin steak with choice of potato and break for just $6.79. And you can add
fries, onion rings, soup or salad to your lunch for under a buck. All of the
lunch specials come with sides, such as coleslaw and a pickle, or choice of
potato and bread, but it’s nice to know you can add soup or salad for such a
small charge.
Katie and I stopped
in for lunch the other day, and she chose the 4oz. Bacon Wrapped Filet special.
Frankly for that price, I wasn’t expecting much, but the filet was pretty good,
tender, juicy and cooked to her order. Here’s a quarter pound of bacon wrapped
filet served with fries or baked potato and garlic bread, and it costs about the
same as a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder combo. Filet or Quarter Pounder. That’s a
pretty darn easy choice for me. I decided not to get the Filet though, since
Katie was having it, and selected the hamburger steak, (also just $4.89) which
is an 8 oz. patty, served with choice of potato and garlic bread. Half pound of
hamburger, or a quarter pound. Again, it’s kind of a no-brainer.
We went back for
dinner a couple nights later, and Katie ordered the Steak and (fried) Shrimp
combo dinner, upgrading from the sirloin to the filet. I ordered the Steak and
(pork) Ribs Combo. The combo dinners are served with soup or salad, choice of
potato or vegetable, and garlic bread. That steak and ribs combo is under $15.
I don’t know how they do it. The salad was very simple, just chopped iceberg
lettuce, but it was a very good sized portion. And I ordered the Chili as my
“soup.” This chili had some beans in it, but not many. The emphasis was
definitely on the meat, and it was a nice thick, meaty chili. I was
disappointed that they didn’t have any Tapatio or Cholula (they only carry
Tabasco, which I don’t like), but as I got further into the bowl, I realized it
had a little more heat than my first couple bites indicated. Not a ton, I think
most people would enjoy it, but there was definitely a touch of heat.
Katie’s combo was
served with two bacon wrapped filets, I’m guessing the 4 oz. lunch cuts get
doubled up at dinner. Again, I tried her filets, and again, they were cooked
just as ordered, and were again juicy and tender. She got three fried shrimp,
which were also good, though it’s kind of hard to mess up fried shrimp. Well, I
suppose they could be overcooked, but these weren’t. And actually, now that I
think about it, I did have someone tell me recently about going someplace where
the fried shrimp were served with the skin on. Battered and fried without
removing the skin. I guess that’s a good way to screw it up.
I’m a NY steak guy,
and couldn’t tell you the last time I had a top sirloin. The steak came out,
and it was an unusual cut, very thick, and kind of twisted. It was very lean,
no fat to speak of, but I think the weirdness of the cut caused the cook to
underestimate the time needed to cook it, as it came out rarer than I like. Not
a big deal, our waitress, who was very accommodating, took it back and it came
out a minute later cooked just right.
That reminds me by
the way, I forgot to write about the sautéed mushrooms we started out with. A
big skillet full of them. Usually, I only like mushrooms that are smothered in
garlic, but these weren’t. There was a little garlic in there, but they were
sautéed in a sauce that also included oil, Worcestershire sauce, and I think I
tasted some red wine in there, too. They were really good, and between the two
of us, we devoured them all. But there was still some of the sauce left over,
and it took the sirloin over the top. Pardon the pun. The steak was good, but
when dipped in the sauce, it was outstanding. The ribs were also quite good,
meaty, falling off the bone, and topped with kind of a hickory smoked bbq
sauce. Don’t really usually like those kinds of bbq sauces, but as they go,
this was definitely a good one. And the baked potato I ate was light and flaky,
and smothered with no lack of butter. I could have also had sour cream, but I
don’t really like sour cream unless it’s laced with Lipton’s Onion Soup mix, so
I abstained.
In addition to good
steaks, you’ll find nine different sandwiches, burgers, a couple salads and more
on the menu at
www.steer-n-ale.com.
Bill
Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a restaurant website featuring
dozens of restaurants’ menus, as well as downloadable coupons. He has nearly
20 years experience in the restaurant business, and has been eating for much
longer than that. |
