A Surprise, That Turned Into A Real Treat...

So, this week, we happened into a bit more money than we usually have, and because my wife and I don't usually get to go anyplace for dinner that costs more than about $30 or so, we figured it would be nice to see what some of the other restaurants in the area had to offer.

We'd been kinda playing with the notion of going to Hoss's - that's http://www.hosss.com/ - for a while, based solely on Tara's sister saying "they're nice, but too expensive."

Ringing endorsement.

Now, I know you guys expect me to give forth a rising tide of bile and vitriol, but actually, I have nothing but good - and plenty of it - to say about this restaurant. Brace yourself.

The first thing we noticed about the place was that the parking lot was HUGE and FULL in comparison to the restaurant itself; we were a bit put off by this, because we thought we might be waiting in line a while. Thankfully, I was wrong; there were only a couple of people ahead of us, and we got seated in maybe 3 minutes - not a bad time WITHOUT a line at most places. The setup, if you haven't been there, is a bit different from most places; you order your entree' at the register on the way in, and then get seated. Honestly, I would have enjoyed a bit more time to look over the menu, but as it turned out, I made out alright.

The girl at the register - Sara - was very nice, and made a good first impression; smiles and courtesy can be in short supply, and she made a refreshing contrast to the thundering herd of overly-made-up, wooden-faced teenyboppers who seemed to have most of the other greeter jobs. I'm sure they're very nice, but Sara seemed much more enthusiastic than anyone else I saw at the door.

We got seated, and had a high-chair for His Majesty, Drooly Throwstoysonthefloor the First, brought out with a minimum of fuss, which let us get settled in to our table - smartly, they put us in a back corner, so that our noisy baby would disturb fewer customers; as someone who formerly used to gripe about other people's kids, I like to see that kind of attention to detail; it bodes well for other aspects of the restaurant.

Now, I'd ordered a ribeye steak, with blue cheese topping; this comes with unlimited access to the soup and salad bar, so after Tara got her salad, I trudged over to the bar with - how can I put it - limited enthusiasm.

It's not that I hate rabbit food. It's that most restaurants make only lackluster efforts to keep the salad bar stocked at all, much less fresh.

So, this place was a shock to me; everything was full, and obviously fresh, and while I was there, no less than three servers buzzed around it like busy bees, refilling things and wiping away spills; there was a 30-second or so holdup when the soup section ran out of bowls, and a girl showed up with a huge tray of bowls, apologizing profusely for the wait. I didn't really feel like that was necessary - they were obviously busy - but they were also obviously trying really, really hard, and enthusiastic, and it was a sign of good workers, and more importantly, good management.

So, I got a plate of salad covered with really, really good blue cheese dressing - what can I say, I like blue cheese - and a bowl of what turned out to be equally fantastic New England clam chowder, and headed back to the table. It's an interesting phenomenon - at least if you're me - that up here, because we're IN New England, they call it "Boston" clam chowder; everywhere else, it's just "New England" style.

Anyway, I will note here that our server, Jess, was keeping up with a steady stream of my no doubt annoying questions - sorry, Jess, I'm just like that - and somehow managed to keep our glasses filled without ever letting us hit the bottom of one, while still waiting on other tables, which is rare enough that it's noteworthy; usually, you can rattle ice for 15 minutes before someone wanders over to see how you are, and if you're ready to leave yet.

I had time to wolf down my salad, and was almost finished with the chowder - nearly perfect timing, actually, which while I'm sure it was serendipitous, was pretty slick - when our entrees showed up.

Right.

Now, I'm from Texas; I grew up believing that steak is the be-all and end-all culinary experience; I know how to cook steak; and I have eaten in some awfully expensive steakhouses. Given an option, I will gladly eat steak 3 meals a day.

So, as is usual when I try a new steakhouse, I was prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.

I will note here that it's a hell of a lot easier to screw a steak up than it is to really get one right. "Well done" at most restaurants either isn't, or results in a thick layer of charcoal on the outside of the steak.

None of that here. I was treated to a steak that was possibly the best-prepared I have ever had in a restaurant; it was perfectly cooked, tender, no pink, but not dry at all, and most notably tender ALL THE WAY THROUGH, which is DAMNED hard to do; if you manage to cook a steak all the way through, there's almost ALWAYS a tough bit around the outside, but not this time.

So, having discovered a new place where I could be a regular customer, I waved Jess over and asked to talk to the manager. I told her pretty much what I just told you, and asked - I know it's an imposition, especially on a busy night, but I felt it was important - if I could talk to the cook, whoever it was, that made my steak.

Happily, the manager said she could spare him for a minute, and went back and got him.

So, Fred, a fiercely mustached kid about 26 who looked too tattooed to cook a steak - and frankly, looked like he had been having a rough night - came over, and I got him to pull up a chair for a minute. And told him that that was the best steak I'd ever had in a restaurant, and on a par with restaurants that charge four times more than Hoss's does, and thanked him, and shook his hand. He deserved every bit of it - hell, that guy deserves to have a hell of a lot more people do that than I suspect actually can be bothered to these days. I hope - I don't know, but I hope - that it helped pick up his night a bit; he sure as hell made mine, I'll tell you. Steak like that is worth putting money in a can for a month to get.

Hoss's isn't wildly expensive, but my wallet only holds so much; sadly, although I did try to be generous, I wasn't able to leave as good a tip as I would have liked; I managed more than 15%, but frankly if I would have gotten 30, it wouldn't have been good enough. That was a fantastic experience, from end to end; the food was worth a hell of a lot more pennies than it cost us, the service was stellar, if no doubt unappreciated by the folks around here, and everyone I talked to in the restaurant without fail managed a smile and a positive attitude.

For those of you who work for other restaurants, I will give you a tip. That's how to do it. Because even if you're having the shittiest day ever, the customer DOES NOT KNOW THAT, and all they get is the service you choose to give them. Maybe you don't feel like smiling, but if you go ahead anyway, chances are they will have a better time - and that pays off for you, in tips and smiles and repeat business. If you growl, they won't come back, and it won't matter to them what happened that day to make you that way.

From what I saw, the staff there was busy enough that they had every right to be a bit stiff and harried, but I saw no evidence of that whatsoever.

On the way out, We saw Sara again, who smiled at us (again,) thanked us for our business (again,) asked if we enjoyed everything (we did) and looked completely surprised when I asked her if she minded me mentioning her, on my website, by name.

If you read this, Sara, I hope you're not disappointed. The greeter and the cashier - both odf which, in our case, were you - are the two most important people in the restaurant, from the customer service point of view. The person that welcomes you into a restaurant gives you your first impression, and those usually don't change; and the cashier, if they're nice enough, can make up for it, even if the service was terrible.

In this case, we were blessed with great service the whole time we were there - thanks, Jess - and so you didn't have TOO much work to do to keep us happy; but a smile, and a good attitude, and obviously caring whether or not we had a good meal, are a hell of a nice way to leave the restaurant.

I think it's obvious that I was very, very impressed; the management at that place is absolutely on point, the service and food are fantastic, and as I told my wife: "I would give this place six stars, if Multiply would let me." They won't, so I made this a blog post rather than a review, but I'll tell you what. That restaurant will see us again.

If you're ever in Lewistown and in dire need of a steak fix, stop by Hoss's, and ask (nicely) if Fred will cook you a steak. They're worth the trip. Including airfare.