Chicken Fried Steak
I don’t normally get evening cravings for chicken (or country - really, up here, there doesn’t seem to be much of a difference) fried steak. It’s always been more of a Sunday brunch sort of food for me; a post-drinking and night out fortification.
Still, there’s always the exception, and tonight was it. Tonight, I really really wanted a good chicken fried steak dinner, with buttery mashed potatoes and the proper white sausage gravy. Problem being, the only place that immediately came to mind for such thing was The Crocodile, and there was no way I’d be getting a trailer trash breakfast (their name) at 9:30 in the evening on a Saturday night.
That’s when the lack of diner on the Hill hit me. The closest I could think of, outside of walking to the Hurricane, was Charlie’s, so that’s where I ended up. And while they did have their version of a chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, it just wasn’t that great. So I’m asking you, Seattle-at-large: at 9:30pm on a Saturday evening, where would you go to get your artery clogging, fried steak wanting cravings filled?
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I would go to:
5 point
13 Coins
Broadway Bar and Grill
IHOP
Probably in that order, or by distance/pita factor. I dont think Charlies would have even crossed my mind. Charlies is all about Tuesday night Long Islands. Not food.
This is a question that I have long pondered, beleive me. The best I’ve had in town was at the Alki Cafe on Alki beach.
Matt:
I wouldn’t have thought to check out Broadway Bar and Grill - the few times I’ve been there, I’ve just noticed the kind of California Lite food (stir fry and such). I’ll have to peer more closely at the menu and see if they actually do have fried steak of some variety.
I completely forgot about the IHOP over on…Union? First Hill, anyhow - I probably would have gone there had I remembered it!
Tony:
Sadly, Alki is just not feasible for the carless at 9:30pm. Or really, any other time of the day, without serious planning. But I’ll have to keep that in mind, just because a good fried steak can be worth the trip…
st. clouds has fantastic chicken fried steak, in bacon gravy no less, on the brunch menu… but my wife tells me she went there recently for a dinner with a friend, and their meal consisted of “chicken fried everything”. they raved about it for days. it might have been a special; i don’t see it on their regular menu online, but i don’t know how up to date that is. BUT, they have a regular menu til 10pm, and a late night menu til 2am that always includes some badass mashed potatoes and gravy, so.
I’m going to second the Alki Cafe, but now that it’s not summer, they’re only open until 2 p.m.
But FYI, the 56 runs from downtown to Alki and back at least every hour but often more than that.
for what it’s worth, the menu of the broadway grill is online [amazon], and I don’t see chicken fried steak on it.
I can’t believe noone’s mentioned the 5 Point or the Mecca Cafe — both of which serve a proper country fried steak (though I think that the 5 Point’s version is a little tastier).
Any time I feel the need for downhome greasyspoon food, I go to one of these two places :)
st. clouds has fantastic chicken fried steak, in bacon gravy no less, on the brunch menu… but my wife tells me she went there recently for a dinner with a friend, and their meal consisted of “chicken fried everything”. they raved about it for days. it was a special. BUT, they have a regular menu til 10pm, and a late night menu til 2am that always includes some badass mashed potatoes and gravy, so.
I recall Blue Onion Bistro up in the Roosevelt District having a good chicken friend steak on their dinner menu. As the place is in an old gas station, it just works.
The Broadway Bar and Grill changes it’s menu pretty frequently. It was on the menu last month, and as far as CFS goes, it was ‘OK’ in my book. The 5-Point definitely has a better offering, but for Capitol Hill, I would take BBG over Charlies any day of the week.
I have been on a search to find the best chicken fried steak and eggs in town and I’ve gotta say it has to be the Blue Onion. I havent had country gravy like that in years.
Hands down, the blue onion bistros the best right now.