More Steak, Please

G/M Steakhouse

626 N. Lamar, 472-2172

Daily, 7am-3pm

My mother, the most prodigious carnivore I know, claims she ate steak every day when she was growing up. And this was during the depression, an economic condition from which her family was not immune. I've often wondered how in the world they could afford to indulge in silky, luscious steak seven days a week. From what turnip did they derive blood? The answer of course, is that they didn't indulge in silky, delectable steak daily: They ate simple, honest, coarse steak. The kind you can afford almost daily at G/M Steakhouse. This is the protein product that isn't reserved for special occasions, it's the hard-working stuff that's called for when you need your beef fix and you don't want to wait until payday to get it. What G/M lacks in elegance and refinement, it more than makes up for in genuine atmosphere, what with the gregarious owner and host Constantine holding court and puffing up with pride over his Greek heritage. No rib eye is on the menu, so I settled for the sirloin. It was thin, chewy, cut with an edge of fat, and full of beef flavor. It's hard to imagine how G/M stays in business, surrounded as it is by ultrahip boutiques and in the shadow of Whole Foods. Maybe it's the anti-chic badge of honor it wears proudly on its menu and in its digs. Maybe it's nostalgia for the beloved Guadalupe location that was lost years ago. Or maybe, devoted carnivores like my mom don't require fancy steak to fulfill their need, they just need honest steak.