Rocking A Steak

We have been fans of Keith Young’s Steakhouse in Madisonville since the day it opened. I have often said that people here fall into one of the two camps for steaks. You are either a Keith Young’s person or a Pat Gallagher person. The style is different in every way. I have lately rescinded this theory because both are so good you can love both. We do. 

But if a choice must be made, it is an easy one. We will go to Keith’s. The dining room is more elegant, the vibe is, or was, more calming and we love the food. Pat Gallagher serves food that is lusty, as Tom has always said. He does butter, Keith does not.

Keith’s used to be more sedate until he added his outdoor patio and expanded the bar. If there is any space on the Northshore or even the greater metro area with more electricity, I stand corrected in saying that Keith Young’s Steakhouse is currently the most “happening” place I know.

Keith Young comes from a steak family. His father ran Young’s Steakhouse, a place so renowned they could do a very L.A. kind of thing and have no sign out front. It was set back on Robert Rd. in Slidell in an unassuming house that people had to look hard to find. Yet everyone seemed to find it because the food was that good. It was also a very cool place inside. I miss it.

Keith Young’s is less cool and more elegant, with a big sign out front and lots of space inside. People find it too, so many that Keith has expanded his parking area now to include three lots.

Ten or more years ago Keith and his wife Linda took over a ramshackle building down the road called Coffee’s Boilin’ Pot. It was converted into a stylishly ramshackle place called Crabby Shack, with seafood of many preparations done as expertly as the steaks down the highway. There were other menu items at Crabby Shack that were Italian, and those were also delicious.

And then, to the dismay of many, Keith’s closed Crabby Shack and moved many of those menu items to Keith Young’s Steakhouse, greatly expanding and diversifying the menu.

Just last Friday, for example, we went for lunch because it was gorgeous weather and we knew the patio of the bar would be delightful outside. One step inside, the bar scene radiates that aforementioned electricity, but outside is balmy and quiet, yet still the most fashionable outdoor space on the Northshore.

We thought about getting the lunch special, which is a fantastic deal at $17 for two courses. But we have done this a few times and had already had most of the choices for entrees on it. The fried catfish with wild rice and a creole sauce is fantastic, (see cover photo) but the idea of fried catfish made me think of the basic style with fries, so that is what Tom got. It comes at lunch with a stuffed bell pepper, but we swapped that for french fries.

What arrived at the table was the most magnificent mountain of thin cornmeal-battered fried catfish, perfectly crisp golden brown and greaseless. The stuff of Middendorf’s dreams. The fries were ordinary frozen french fries. Tom almost finished this plate of catfish, which was astonishing. After a bite or two, I could see why he just kept eating.

I got a hamburger, which people have heard me tout over the years as the best burger out there. Since I made that declaration, I have fallen for a number of other burgers. It was fortuitous that I got the burger again, or I wouldn’t have known how nicely it had changed. It used to be served on a boring bun and the patty itself was much larger. The burger I got last week was a normal-sized burger, but an exceptionally good one. 

It came in a much upgraded bun, which was smaller and had sesame seeds on top. The patty was thinner and smaller in circumference, which I think made it better. The same dressings as I remember were piled between patty and bun, and I ordered a loaded baked potato as an accompaniment. 

This burger was so juicy it was actually messy, dripping out of the sides with each bite. It was a real sensory experience.

This meal was so pleasing to us both (as they always are) that I was really glad we didn’t do the lunch special. It’s so good though, and such a good deal: $17 includes a soup or salad and entree. The portion sizes are large, and I can’t think of anywhere else to get food of this quality for this price.

In the past we have had that catfish special and a terrific lasagna, a steak tips entree, and a few others I don’t remember. (We go here a lot.)

And sometimes we go for dinner and no particular special, but simply veer off from our menu favorites. Tom got Veal Scallopini over mashed potatoes one time and I was envious all evening, and I don’t eat veal. It was a generous portion of thin veal pieces breaded and fried to perfection. Another time I got a Chicken Florentine dish with Alfredo pasta that I thought about for weeks after. 

One of my favorite things to get here is soup. Keith is a master of soups. Tom loves the turtle soup, which has the best aroma of any that has been placed before Tom. 

I don't eat turtle soup, but I do eat his Corn and Crawfish bisque, and his Tuscan soup is one of the best soups of any kind I have had anywhere, and it contains kale. This fact alone deterred me from getting it a few times until one server explained it to me in a way that appealed. I look for it whenever I am there now.

But the reason you go to a steakhouse is for the steaks. I am not much of a meat eater, but I do love sides, especially steakhouse sides.

The goodness starts with onion rings, which come as an arresting presentation. These are thick and thickly battered, golden brown and greaseless. I love these onion rings and I’m not a big fan of the thick ones.

Tom has always said the steak to get in a steakhouse is the New York Strip. About ten years ago he started complaining every time we were in a steakhouse about how chewy beef had become. I kept suggesting to him that perhaps it was the cut of beef rather than the beef itself. 

He always dissed the filet eaters as pansies, though he lived with two of them. We tried the porterhouse route but he still complained about the chewiness of his steak. Once his illness gave me an opportunity to order a filet for him, I did. He marveled at how tender it was. He has been a firmly committed filet man ever since, though no one has pointed out to him that he has switched to the dark side.

Keith does not do sizzling butter. Period. But he does serve butter-tender beef with a nice crust on the outside.

We’ve had the Tomahawk Ribeye, and a Rib Cap on occasion, but we stick with the filet here which is always beautifully trimmed and grilled perfectly. 

The other essential component of any Keith Young's experience is the creamed spinach, which has no peer. This is so good and so popular at our table we often order two. This divine concoction is served as an appetizer with crabmeat in it and crostini for dippers.

We also think the Potatoes au Gratin can’t be beaten anywhere in town. And to me, a baked potato is a must in a steakhouse meal. It is big and fresh and overflowing with the extras. We get all of these each meal and divide it all family style.

As wonderful as the meal I just described is, the temptation to just do Happy Hour at Keith Young’s is really strong. Since he added to the bar inside and out, he added a Happy Hour menu that is large, with portions generous enough to make it a meal. And we often do. The bar takes no reservations, and the place is packed. Always.

On this last lunch visit, I learned that Happy Hour is on all day on Fridays. This created a big dilemma for me. Keith does homemade potato chips here that are the best anywhere. They serve a gigantic pile of them surrounding Keith’s fabulous Blue Cheese Dressing, another item here with no peer.

We also love another Happy Hour menu item - the meatballs. These come three to an order. They are soft but not too soft, large, and sitting in a puddle of Keith’s delicious marinara.

There are also sliders on this menu. They are large sliders on buns that glisten with a patina of butter or hamburger grease. Chicken sliders are equally great, with slabs of fried chicken breast pieces topped with some aioli and pickles.

There is ahi tuna here as in the main dining room, and it is very popular. And the last thing on the Happy Hour menu, but certainly not least, is the almond-crusted fried shrimp. These are large and crispy with a nice nutty crust. They are served with an Asian dipping sauce.

We love this place. It is easy and friendly with professional service, and comfortable surroundings that are pleasing to the eye. And we have never had anything placed before us that we didn’t love. No matter what you eat or where you eat it, dining at Keith Young’s is an experience to be savored time and again. It’s a favorite of favorites for us.