Inside The Busiest Steakhouse in America (1,000 Steaks a Day!!)

This is a giant 38-oz Dino Texas Tomahawk.

And in this video,

we're going to one of the greatest steak houses in Texas to find out

how they serve over 1,000 steaks a day.

And stay tuned because we're not just trying one,

but two iconic steaks plus their legendary salad bar and desserts.

Hey everyone, it's Mark Wiens in Houston,

Texas and I just arrived to Taste of Texas,

one of the greatest Texas steakhouse experiences.

And we're going to be hanging out with Steven from Houston's Got Spice.

Steven, ready to eat some gigantic steaks?

This is the place to eat steak

if you're in Houston

and probably even if you're in Texas.

So iconic, Taste of Texas, a Houston tradition since 1977.

Step inside and it's already impressive.

It's huge.

There's multiple dining rooms and literally everything you see, like this hatchet here,

everything you see is an antique, is part of Texas history.

It is a living restaurant museum.

Got a table.

It's one of those restaurants that like it looks big from the outside,

but then when you walk inside, it's a huge restaurant,

but it feels kind of cozy and warm and homely at the same time.

And we have the menu here.

So, they have all the starters, soups, but when it comes to the steaks,

here we go.

The center cut, béarnaise sauce, bacon-wrapped upon your request.

And then, they have the porterhouse, they have the T-bone,

the New York strip, they have the cowboy steak,

and then they also have their legendary 38-oz Tomahawk ribeye with a 14-in bone

hanging off the plate.

Yeah, that's an absolute must order.

You can't come here without trying the Tomahawk.

And then, I'm really curious to try that center cut filet.

She's also one of the most tender filets you'll ever you'll ever try.

So, we got our steak orders in.

Austin is taking us to the butcher first.

Go pick out some steak.

>> Yes.

This is the legendary steak cabinet.

So, this is our butcher shop.

We have on the top shelf all of our certified Angus beef center cut

filets,

10-oz, 6-oz, 14,

and then we also have all of our New York strips, our T-bones,

our porterhouses, our cowboy bone-in ribeye,

and our Tomahawk bone-in ribeye as well.

>> Oh yeah, the Tomahawk bone-in ribeye.

I wanted to take a moment

and talk about the filets first

if I may.

>> And this is all certified Angus, right?

>> Certified Angus beef, we do a wet age for 45 days on all

of our steaks.

>> Oh wow, okay.

And that just brings up more tenderness,

especially more flavor from anything that is bone-in.

So, I'm going through

and picking out a handful of center cut filets

that I really do like the look of myself.

So, what exactly is center cut filet?

The center cut filet, if it Here's a good example.

If we look at the filet as it sits on a porterhouse,

you'll notice all that extra fat out around side the edges.

As you get a center cut,

you trim out all those extra pieces of fat

and you're just getting a central piece without all

that extra marbling. >> the premium Absolutely. most the tenderest

And that's why a lot of the time you'll see people will bacon-wrap filets

as well.

So, it just brings in a little bit more fat

and a little bit more flavor.

All right.

So, for these filets, I picked out several that I liked.

I like all the extra light marbling throughout all of them,

but it is your steak, so whatever you want it to be,

that is the whole point of us coming in here today.

Which one should we choose, Steven?

This one is very It's like like I can't put my finger on it.

That's going to be That's going to be the one right there.

I think it's that Let's go for it.

This one right here.

All righty, we tag all of our steaks with a number,

so while they're on the grill, it's kind of our tracking system.

So, we have number five, six, nine for you today.

>> Cool.

Okay, here's when things are getting serious.

All righty, I'm pulling out a couple examples of some really well-marbled ribeyes.

These ribeyes have all that fat and marbling found more in the center.

Again, with the filet, it's up to you, whatever you prefer, you care for.

Look at the size of that bone, that marbling.

Man, this is the greatest kind of shopping you can possibly do for steak

before you eat it.

And yeah, that's a This is a meat amusement park.

I think we'll go Do this one?

Yeah.

Let's go this one.

Yeah.

Your steak's number is 701.

701.

And then, after you choose your steak,

everything is sliced out and prepared here ready to go to the grill room.

Our steaks are ready to go.

We got the the giant Tomahawk, we got the filet.

That is massive.

It's like It's like a sphere.

It's like a circle of a filet bacon-wrapped.

And we got an extra ribeye just in case.

Now, that ribeye is for Mike, actually for my son,

but these are beautiful steaks and they're going to go to the grill.

In the meantime, we're going to take a loop around the kitchen

and see as the steaks are being grilled.

So, I'd love to take y'all through the kitchen

and come see the inner workings of how we kind of do things

and operate here at Taste of Texas.

Amazing.

So, firstly, we have our dessert station.

We have all of our homemade desserts,

everything from a Snickers candy bar cheesecake all the way to deep dish pecan

pie like the one we have just right over here.

>> Oh yeah.

Wow.

And please right this way.

So, as we come through the kitchen, we start with our prep area.

This is the area where we make all of our food fresh.

We do it all here in house

because we know it makes for a better product.

And doing so is what's going to really keep y'all happy and coming back.

Back in this area, we have a whole secondary kitchen.

This is for private parties, events, banquets.

It allows us the opportunity to cook for another 75 people without disrupting the

flow of a normal dining guest experience.

>> Amazing.

And that's This area is for executive dining. >> diners does the restaurant seat

at a time?

I believe we're around 325.

Okay, cool.

And it's just like >> That's without the private dining areas.

>> Okay.

We are the busiest independently-owned restaurant in the state and we are now,

as of this year, the sixth busiest independently-owned restaurant in the country.

Wow.

Is there There's just one location, right?

>> one and only.

No branches, no no seconds.

The The owners have very distinctly said that they want to keep one building.

That way, they can be here, involved, and part of that operation every day.

Very cool.

Some deep dish pecan pies waiting to be plated and sliced.

>> Nice.

Our kitchen is the most accurate kitchen I've ever worked in, seen,

or come across.

We are a 20-minute kitchen through and through every single time.

We have here our white shirt, our head chef for the night.

>> Okay.

Hello.

And you've been here how many years?

20. 20 years. >> 20 years.

Here's our steaks coming into the kitchen.

We're following them in right to the grill.

So, the steaks come to the grill.

That is an impressive grill.

It's huge.

It goes all the way down.

Steaks get a nice salt seasoning, then onto the grill.

They're going to grill to medium rare.

It's just fully loaded, all the steaks there.

The fire, the flame.

Props to all the the grill masters in the back.

They're very hard working

and they just grill non-stop for over 1,000 people a day.

Tomahawk gets flipped.

And look at the size of the grill, all the steaks, the quantity.

This is truly a Texas institution.

The kitchen is busy.

It's hectic.

They work so hard to feed this many people top quality food.

And as our steaks finish grilling,

let's go check out their world-renowned salad bar to find out why people rave

about it.

From what I've read is even

though a lot of salad bars have been phased out of menus,

kind of out of style, but Taste of Texas,

the salad bar has never gone out of style

and they've maintained the quality

and actually increased the quality using top quality vegetables,

produce, keeping things clean, neat.

Everyone comes to eat steak, but nobody misses the salad bar.

So, they also have these homemade breads.

At the top, they've got a white yeast roll,

then you've got like a cheese-infused bread,

and then at the bottom is my personal favorite, it's like cornbread.

>> Wow, nice.

And then, right next to the bread station Oh,

these are the These are the butters.

Got like it's like a cinnamon butter, and then they have this applesauce.

Grab a glove.

I cannot wait to dish out the salad.

Ooh, cold, refreshing plates as well.

I'm going to start with some of the spinach greens

and get some of the spring spring mix

as well.

And then, moving over to the vegetable toppings,

there's everything from broccoli to onions to cauliflower to cherry tomatoes

and everything is vibrantly green

and vibrantly like colorful

as well.

I need a bunch of onions, some of the mushrooms.

And then, a few of the cherry tomatoes on that.

Onto the salad mix station.

These are some of the pre-made salads.

We'll go for some of the beetroot.

Then, I'll go for some of the cucumber salad.

You have the white beans.

And there's about a dozen different dressings you can choose from.

There's a cactus dressing and a cilantro vinaigrette,

so I think we got to try those two.

I'm going to go half on the cilantro vinaigrette.

And then, I'll go half on the cactus dressing.

Oh yeah, you can see the stickiness of it.

Maybe it's a nopalus cactus dressing, but very cool.

And then, for the toppings,

I think I'll skip the bacon

because we're going to have plenty of meat coming up,

but I will go for some of the toasted almonds on top.

And then, I can't wait to get a slice of that cheese.

Aw.

Oh, that just feels good sliding down.

Okay, I think we're good.

Look at this mountain of salad.

Oh, and the mandatory cheese slice on top as well.

One trip to the salad bar, got the salad.

It's hard to resist taking everything.

There's a lot of good things on that salad bar.

And the good news is you don't have to pick

and choose cuz it's all you can eat.

So, you can just go back to the salad bar

and get whatever you want.

Yes, the yeast roll.

>> The yeast rolls like uh Right out of the plain white >> steamer.

Super soft. >> signature breads here.

Exterior is kind of like crunchy

and then the inside you can kind of see it's really puffy.

Looks like a pillow.

Yeah, the flavor is just buttery goodness.

And then you dunk it in the butter anyway.

Of course.

It's not about health, it's about flavor.

Yes.

We'll do kind of like the dip method.

Yeah, so you want it sweet or just regular?

>> regular.

Regular for the first bite.

>> All right.

Oh, it's like a whipped butter, too.

>> Yeah, so it's really easy to scoop.

>> Yeah, it is.

Oh.

So puffy and pillowy.

Oh, that butter.

It's salted, too.

>> Yeah, and so Very good.

Creamy, salted, it's whipped and fluffy.

Mhm.

With that really pillowy bread.

Yeah.

Before we move on to the salad, let's try the cinnamon butter.

I will say I almost feel like it's eating a dessert before your main

meal.

But we're okay with that.

>> Yeah, let's go.

Oh, yeah.

The richness of the butter.

That It kind of has that sweet and salty combination.

>> Yeah.

With the cinnamon.

Yeah.

Perfect.

I think if you just gave this to me

and I could dump it like on top of like of these little containers.

Easily.

It does go down dangerously easy.

Yeah.

So, I got a small mountain here of the fresh vegetables.

Would you like any pepper for yourself?

>> Yes, that'd be fantastic.

Thank you.

Oh, yeah.

Pepper on the salad.

Thank you very much.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

That aroma of the pepper, fantastic.

Okay, thank you.

That crunch of the fresh red onions, the broccoli,

and then that cactus dressing It has a nice acidity.

A sourness and a stickiness as well.

But I think there's some cream in there to make it extra creamy

as well.

Oh, that's really good.

I love that dressing.

So, on this side I got the cilantro vinaigrette,

which also looked very interesting to me.

Let's get some of that spinach.

And you can't actually see the vinaigrette because it's green,

it kind of blends in with the the greens.

Oh, wow.

Wonderfully acidic.

And the the herbaceousness of the cilantro in there.

But yeah.

This is just the base.

We're We're just warming up for the protein.

The gigantic protein that's about to come.

You have to build

that foundation so your steak has something to rest on. >> fiber.

>> >> But yeah, that being said, the salad really is It's elite.

It's elevated.

It is a higher level salad bar than you'll find elsewhere.

And on that being said let's try the the jalapeño cornbread.

You normally butter this?

>> Yeah, it's good to get some butter on it cuz just cornbread by

its nature can be a little Dry.

So, you need the You need that butter.

You You need the the butter hydration.

Guga says more butter, more better.

>> >> Anything with jalapeño is guaranteed to to have more flavor.

Cuz jalapeños they have that acidity.

Mhm.

Not necessarily heat, but that flavor.

Right.

And cornbread is like dense and it's kind of can be really heavy.

So, having that acidic flavor to help balance out the heaviness of the cornbread,

you actually enjoy eating it and it's not just a side.

Yeah, definitely.

Definitely.

And even with that butter also

that kind of like makes your your taste buds kind of salivate

as you bite down.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

And as you keep chewing,

you feel more of the flavor of the jalapeño that's coming through.

It's really nice.

Yeah.

Oh, really good.

The plates are 500°.

Don't touch the plate.

They are flaming hot.

Steaks are on the table, but before we dig in,

I have a small gift.

I present a little bit of Texas hospitality.

Firstly, we're going to start with a bandana.

We need to dress appropriately.

>> >> By me, sir?

Oh, yeah.

Leave you out of the fun.

Oh, yeah.

I got cowboy hat.

Yeehaw.

There are some very important words

that you need to know

while you're in Texas.

And there And there's some that are more fun than others.

Like yeehaw.

Yeehaw.

And howdy.

But the important word to know in Texas is y'all.

Y'all.

Y'all is used in about every other sentence it feels like.

It's Are y'all having a good time?

And y'all enjoy your things. >> for taking great care of us.

Very happy to.

Enjoy.

Anything changes, please do let me know.

Thank you.

Now we're dressed appropriately.

Cowboy hat, bandana.

We're ready to eat steak.

The centerpiece.

The gigantic the 38 oz 14-in bone hanging off the plate Tomahawk.

You better be hungry.

>> >> Yes.

I'm going to be honest, I've eaten a lot of steak.

That is the biggest filet I've ever seen.

It was like a softball size when it was raw.

When they grabbed it back in the kitchen,

I kind of looked at it for a second and was like,

"That's a filet?"

Yeah, it is.

It is.

They're like branded with your tag.

Make sure you got the correct steak.

And then every steak is again certified best quality Angus wet-aged.

Oh.

Oh, you push your fork in and it just like glides.

Maybe we'll just slice it down the center.

And just kind of see that cross-section.

Oh, it is so thick and so juicy.

Wait for the the interiors.

Oh, wow.

That It feels like a pillow, a gushy like a squish ball.

Oh, yeah.

That's how you know it's a good steak.

Grab a bite.

Get some of that bacon in there, too.

>> Yeah, you got to get bacon.

Bacon on the edge, the crust.

Here we go.

Oh, wow.

Extremely tender.

And like so even.

No little tough bit, no It's just Buttery.

Cooked perfectly.

Yeah.

What really sets Taste of Texas apart to me,

like as a Texan who eats a lot of steak other places may do

like different prep,

like the dry aging, or they may have different styles and seasonings,

but here the quality of meat is just the absolute highest.

And that first bite just says it all, actually.

That's incredibly tasty.

We need another bite.

Yeah, let's go.

Oh.

Try it without the bacon, too.

Good idea.

Wow.

It's almost too easy to eat.

It's just tender and juicy.

And beefy.

That's certified Angus.

Oh, so good.

Yeah.

That is a quality piece of beef.

They were not lying on the menu

when they said it's one of the most tender pieces of beef you'll ever

have.

Yeah, it's really That really is a Taste of Texas.

>> >> Let's try some of the sides.

So, we got the potatoes au gratin.

Oh, holy cheese.

Potatoes.

Wow.

Oh, that is rich and buttery.

That is extremely rich.

And cheesy and creamy.

I don't know if there's more cream in there or more potatoes.

The second it hit my tongue,

I was like >> >> overwhelmed with that rich rich salty creamy flavor.

But it is really good.

>> Yeah.

And now we also got the brussels sprouts.

Like bacon jam.

Bacon jam.

I don't actually know if there's bacon in like bacon bits,

but it's like bacon infused jam.

>> Okay.

They like cook it it with.

But it's so good.

>> Bacon jam.

Oh, yeah.

Okay.

That's a way to make brussels sprouts taste better.

Bacon jam.

It's got like this sweet like sweet meaty glaze kind of Yeah.

that that's been absorbed in the brussels sprout.

Yeah, it's about as tasty as brussels sprouts can get.

It is time for the centerpiece.

So, the massive Tomahawk.

That is impressive.

You want to eat it the polite way or No. >> the caveman way?

Caveman way.

Do it.

Just pick it.

Do it.

Do it.

How about we take a bite first

and then we'll Let's do one polite

So,

honestly, when I eat at home and I'm the one cutting the steak ribeye,

I take all this for myself.

You're a man who know your steak.

Yeah.

Okay.

So, let's I'll do it like dig in wherever you want.

I'll go this side.

Oh, that fat cap.

Oh, look at that inside.

Oh, and as soon as you cut down, you smell that meatiness.

Look at that fat.

Oh, wow.

It's It's liquefying.

Oh, yeah.

>> It liquefies on your tongue in your mouth.

Mhm.

I don't know how to describe how I feel about steak fat.

I don't know if you've ever I always say this to a lot of

people,

have you ever had foie gras?

Yes.

>> The seared foie gras to me, a well-cooked steak fat, it's like that.

Umami, buttery, liquid fat, you know it's terrible for you,

but your brain is releasing all the endorphins.

>> Like happiness happiness endorphins, yeah.

This is what you need to eat.

That's how I feel about steak fat.

I love it.

And that fat it both liquefies on your tongue

and it's crispy at the same time.

The crispy edges are just unbelievable.

Oh, this little piece of the Tomahawk is so good.

Mhm.

Your knife glides through it.

Your teeth just glide through it like a like a chunk of butter.

And it has a clean flavor to Sometimes you get some steaks

and it just you can taste the cow.

I don't know how else to say it.

>> It's cowy.

>> Right, yeah.

But this fat it's like such a clean >> It is a clean It

is a clean beefy beefiness.

It's good.

It is.

They're both so good, but actually so different.

You can feel the leanness of the filet cuz

when you immediately get

that juicy fattiness that just erupts into your mouth.

Let's have another bite before we caveman it.

I'm going to go for that section there.

I'm going to go for my other piece.

>> Okay.

>> I had some more fat on it.

The other piece you got to make sure you get before this is done

is >> Yeah. the right next to the bone.

>> Okay, yeah, the bone. >> get that.

Mhm.

Mhm.

That has incredible flavor.

It's just >> meat is this good, nothing needs to be altered.

Exactly.

It's now time to to Fred Flintstone to caveman it.

It has to be done.

When you have a bone handle Oh, it's glistening now.

>> Yeah, it is.

When you have a foot-long bone handle it's only human to be able to

want to pick it up.

>> >> Pick it up.

You have to pick it up.

I think it's one of the This has to be one of the great

bites of life right here.

Here we go.

Mhm.

Oh, wow.

All that fat.

Oh, that has to be one of the most satisfying meat bites you'll ever

have.

Steven I'm going to go for this corner over here.

That fat cap is just sensational.

So easy to bite.

That's what's crazy.

You can just bite through it.

Yeah.

Your teeth just sink through effortlessly.

It's a full body experience actually.

From head to toe.

From steak to mouth.

Texas history.

This place really has it all.

I'm going to slice the meat off the bone.

That's another part of the Tomahawk is that meat on bone.

I think you got to caveman it again.

Yeah, we have to.

It's the only way.

Mhm.

And that meat on the bone is also some of the most flavorful.

Very good.

That flavor coming from the bone amazing.

All right.

Let's see.

Try that.

All that bone is There's just one thing I really appreciate about a ribeye.

The flavor kind of changes depending on where you're at,

especially with the Tomahawk or a bone-in ribeye.

Yeah, that meat that's right on the edge of the bone.

Just different texture, different flavor.

It is.

Yeah.

It's like a whole ecosystem in one steak.

>> >> Three steaks for the price of one.

Go around the cow in one meal.

Oh, this has been outstanding.

The bone has retired.

Austin what are you doing to us?

>> Oh, just a little peer pressure, that's all.

>> >> Firstly, Blue Bell makes a flavor of ice cream for us

that they do not make for anybody else in the world.

>> Wow.

They make us a cinnamon flavored ice cream.

Yeah. >> that three different ways.

You can get it by itself with our warm apple dumplings with cinnamon ice

cream and pecan or with our deep dish pecan pie.

Definitely something I would put on the list, but it is up to you.

These are my go-to, but those are the most two popular.

You said you normally don't make it to dessert when you're here.

>> Yeah, normally the time they bring dessert, I'm like, "No, I can't."

But I mean pecan pie >> but Snickers is something unique.

I think we got to do one of each.

Sounds like a great blend.

Everything is Texas-sized here.

Bigger and better in Texas.

That really holds true.

Starting with the pecan pie

and their signature Blue Bell cinnamon ice cream that's only made for Taste of

Texas.

That's That's huge.

You know, I do want to get some of

that cinnamon ice cream to go with it.

Here we go.

That is sweet and rich, but so so good.

The pecans sometimes they get baked and they're like kind of soft.

These are very crispy.

They got a nice >> They got a nice texture and the inside,

that bottom layer of the pecan pie, it's very rich, but not overwhelming.

It's just perfect kind of like that buttery caramelized sugar sweetness and custardy.

Perfect with those crispy pecans.

And we couldn't resist their top seller dessert, which is that Snickers pie.

I think it's been since I was a kid since I've had a Snickers,

honestly.

We'll have to It's been a long time.

Okay, let's try the Snickers pie.

Oh, yeah.

Wow, so many layers.

Chocolate.

Oh.

Pie or cheesecake?

It's kind of a fusion.

Yeah.

It's probably a mix of everything.

Oh, with that thick

as you glide through your spoon you feel it get it gets like denser

and denser as you go down until you get to

that chocolate base that's just like solid chocolate.

Wow.

Wow.

Okay.

It's definitely not actually Snickers bars.

It's their own Yeah. their own recreation of a Snickers.

Because that's way way better quality.

It's like a chocolate mousse or a fudge.

>> Yeah.

>> A fudge or a chocolate mousse on the bottom with the pastry in

the center with the creamy layers on top.

It's actually unbelievable.

It's super chocolatey, but

then it's balanced with

that creaminess with that crumble crumbly pastry

and the nuttiness.

And it gives it texture, too.

>> Mhm.

It's not just this big mush that you're getting, you know?

It's the same like with the pecan pie,

the nuts give you some texture to go with just this like wave of

sweetness and and creamy flavor.

Steven, thank you for joining me at Taste of Texas.

>> Yeah, it was great.

>> That was an awesome meal, an unforgettable meal in Houston.

Wow.

There are law enforcement Make a

that travels all over the world

and this pistol belonged to a very famous Texas Ranger.

Pretty cool.

>> Wow.

This is a very famous weapon as well.

It's an octagonal barrel long gun, 44 inches long.

Ain't cool?

Alamo doors were in this tiny room right here.

David Crockett died fighting for Texas in the Alamo.

He's the most famous because of the raccoon skin Oh, there's a raccoon skin.

Woah.

Yes.

>> Colonel David Crockett >> >> Yes.

So, the 300-year-old doors at the Alamo today.

>> The Alamo doors.

And look how small they are.

So, the average >> the original door.

So, the average man was 5'2" and the doors are 5'8".

People were very small 300 years ago.

Okay.

We did have the honor to meet Nina the owner.

Thank you so much.

This is what you've done here is absolutely incredible.

Thank you so much.

It's a beautiful restaurant.

The hospitality, the food, the warmth here is everything.

Well, you're in the Friendship State.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

It's really an honor to be here.

This is a a truly it's more than a restaurant here.

It is a a destination, an icon, delicious food, warm hospitality.

Yeah.

Thank you very much.

Very cool to meet you also.

Thank you so much.

Big thank you to Steven for joining me on that meal.

He's from Houston Scott Spice.

I'll have his link in the description box below.

And thank you for watching this video.

Remember to give it a thumbs up.

Leave a comment below.

I'd love to hear from you.

And I'm going to link the next video here,

but I'm going to sleep well tonight.

That's without a doubt.

Good night from Houston.

See you on the next video.