Whoops, I Ate Too Much

Today I closed the booth down a little earlier than normal (9:30 instead of 11:30) in order to go have dinner with friends. I haven't really had much time to actually hang out with any of the various people I know at MAGfest since I've been attached to a busy booth the whole time, so it was nice to just sort of take off and enjoy some company.

We went to a restaurant we'd never been to before: Granite City Food and Brewery. Many MAGfest attendees may be familiar with Cadillac Ranch, the restaurant pretty close to the Gaylord. Granite City has much of the same fare, but it's so much better holy cow.
I ordered the New York Strip, which came with mashed potatoes and green beans.

To many people's surprise, I actually don't mind eating green beans usually. I've had them at Cadillac Ranch, and they were okay, but pretty bland. At Granite City, though, they were pretty great. Which probably means lots of butter was involved or something, which is fine by me. I ate them right up.

The mashed potatoes were also top-notch. I mean, most places can make pretty decent mashed potatoes if they put some effort into it, but these were exceptional. Again, probably due to an excess of butter. You may notice a pattern here. Regardless, the texture was just right, creamy yet firm, with the red potato skins still visibly a part of it all.

I requested the steak to be cooked medium, and that's exactly what I got: there was no char on the outside, and the center was pink but not bloody. The steak was very tender. The texture was possibly the best I've ever had for a steak, and it was very flavorful. I felt the need to share it, and Laura was likewise impressed.

I would have likely cleaned my plate, but I had to try a dessert they had on the menu: a chocolate chip cookie pan drizzled with caramel and topped with vanilla ice cream. It was wonderful and huge; I could only eat about half of it, even with half of my steak uneaten. I felt bad for the waste, but I ended up going back to the steak to finish as much as I could. In the future, I'd recommend only going for that cookie if I have at least three other people to share it with.

In the end, I think I ate to much. Now, over an hour later, I'm still feeling it. I couldn't help it, though: there was a lot o food, and I wanted to eat it all. It was a test, and the challenge defeated me.

That said, next year I know where I want to go at least once. Also, I hear the drinks were probably good, but I can't speak from personal experience.

This has been the final MAGfest-related unedited ramble of 2016. Tomorrow I'll be back in Tucson. Here's hoping the day and the travel don't wipe me out.