As you can probably tell from this blog, I am not a foodie. I rarely post any shots or comment on food. I sorta eat for a living as many of the presentations on the economy that I give happen at restaurants. So, when my local sales guy in New Jersey a month or so ago tells me how lucky I am going to be with this steak place he has picked out, I rolled my eyes. Heard it all before. He said, "I know you are from Chicago and have been around but you have not had anything like this". Ok, drum roll. He was right. OMG!!! The Butcher's Block in Long Branch, New Jersey is amazing. Every steak I tried there (we had a large group and essentially ordered one of everything to share) was the best version of that steak I ever had. You can order frozen cuts to ship and I think they would be wonderful, but it was the cooking method on an open flame in sort of a multi-level pizza oven that sears the meat on both sides that was the kicker. They also advertise on sourcing locally and only using humanely raised meat. This is the only place that I have visited in my years of travel that I would want to bring my family to and then order one of each steak off of the menu. If you are ever in that area and can plan well in advance (it is almost impossible to get in) make it a focus of your trip. From my experience, you will not be disappointed.
