You Can Have Your Steak And Eat It Too

Just because I visit the most delicious and probably the most expensive boutique steakhouse in Nashville about 3 times per month does not mean that I am made of money or have the most unbelievably fast metabolism. I’m about to tell you how you can have your steak and eat it too.

It’s not all black and white. I promise. Photo cred: BlueGenes Photography

For me, this frequent occurrence happens at Kayne Prime Steakhouse. Trust me, I love a reason to go out and celebrate. But I don’t need an excuse to have wine, good food, and conversation with my closest girlfriends while receiving flawless service in the most perfect atmosphere.

This is one of the main things I look forward to after a long workday. I also don’t need to be eating 1000 calories in one sitting. Ever. And I don’t, even at my favorite restaurant. This is why I have embraced the art of sharing food.

I would never eat an entire steak by myself, so why would we each order our own? By splitting food, you not only get a little more variety (you can order two sides instead of just one!) but you also spend significantly less and consume a much smaller amount of calories.

A lot of people have told me that Kayne Prime is their “celebration place” that they save for special occasions. I guess this helps you appreciate an expensive meal a little more when you know you only get it as a reward or on a special day like your birthday or anniversary. Well guess what? I know how to do special occasions the right way and I would order differently than I would if it was just a random Tuesday.

If I’m visiting this exquisite restaurant on a weekday after work, we’ll arrive early around 5:30 or 6pm to ensure we get a spot at the bar. No need to deal with reservations. We order one glass of wine each. We could choose a delicious glass of Justin Cabernet at $17/glass, but when you also love champagne, you go for a $9 glass of Cava. Done and done.

Next, they send out the special tasting appetizer of the day. It’s enough for one hefty bite each and it’s compliments of the chef. (We are regulars after all.) Appetizer is complete and we have still only spent $9 each.

Next, we order two of their delicious sides at about $12 each (we typically switch it up between brussels sprouts, creamed corn brûlée, creamed spinach and risotto tater tots) and one steak to split. Since it’s Tuesday and we aren’t celebrating anything except our typical fabulous everyday lives, we do the least expensive steak, the 10oz flank steak at $26, which is still incredibly satisfying. Before tax and tip, we’re up to about $34 each.

We didn’t overindulge to the point of needing to unbutton our pants and we had an incredibly delicious dinner at one of Nashville’s best restaurants. Does this make me cheap? Absolutely not. I’ll be the first person to tip the worst server in America 25% because I’ve been in the business. We don’t take up bar seats for 3 hours drinking water and splitting a salad and tipping 10%. That’s what cheap people do. We make wise choices to ensure we can return more than just on special occasions. Oh, and we’re really good tippers. You should be, too.

Now here’s the difference when it comes to celebrating. Had it been a birthday or the day someone got a big promotion, we would have gotten a bottle (or two) of wine, the 8oz Wagyu Strip (at $65), maybe add on a kale salad, and we definitely would have needed dessert. This would have ended up to be at least triple the cost of our weekday outing. And in preparation for celebrating, I would have added 30 minutes extra onto my power walk that morning so I didn’t feel as bad about the extra calories.

If you indulge like this once every few months, it’s called truly living and you shouldn’t feel guilty. So please don’t assume I am dropping $100 and 1000 calories every time you see me tagged in a selfie at Kayne Prime.