BEST. MEAT. EVER. (and Blueberries)

zman — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:07:00 GMT

J & I popped out to Cle Elum last Friday - we were helping out with a race series called Street Scramble. You never know what the traffic is like so we headed out early and arrived with enough time to eat. Cle Elum isn't a very big town so its always hard to know which restaurants are the ones to eat at. Boy did we luck out.

After driving around we settled on Mama Vallones which serves mainly Italian food but has some steaks and prime rib. I decided to get the 8oz prime rib which was around $20 or so. Seems like a bit of a cheap price so I was not expecting the menu claims to hold up:

Indulge yourself with some of the best prime rib you'll ever taste. The Midwest Angus beef is aged a minimum of 21 days. We prepare each rib by expertly trimming excess fat. We season with our own homemade seasoning salt. The ribs are then roasted in our special ALTO SHAMM Prime Rib Oven for a controlled period of time then served to you at its best-almost fork tender and very juicy.

But I was wrong. Damn that was probably the finest prime rib I have ever had. I'm used to picking the fat and chewy bits out (too many Vegas buffets - I know its my own fault).

Now you know The ZMan loves to rant and reserves his praise only for the very best. So if you are ever in Cle Elum and you enjoy eating a nice bit of cow then remember that ZMan's Food Guide gives Mama Vallones 250 stars!!! (out of a maximum 256 - I'm a geek what do you expect)

And while I'm in a praising mood I feel the urge to also point out that Blueberry Hills Farms at Lake Chelan gets a spiffing 200 stars for their blueberry pies (and big points for a funny menu and website). Just the thing you need after doing a Triathlon.

Zman's Diary : Prime Rib

BEST. MEAT. EVER. (and Blueberries)