Does it ever seem to you that "truth in advertising" in restaurant menus is a commodity in short supply? It sure does to me! I've seen fish tacos described as made with fresh tiliapia filets, fried to a golden brown......... This description conjures up for me a image of a South American fisherman hauling in a flopping tiliapia from a mountain lake. That works fine, unless you've just seen boxes of frozen fish on the loading dock behind the restaurant stenciled "Product of China". Now, that great illusion is replaced by an image of a muddy farm pond in China with the plop of countless fish food pellets hitting the water to feed millions of farm raised fish. That might be OK, I suppose, but it doesn't strike me as an accurate definition of "fresh fish". I want my "fresh seafood" never frozen, and preferably flown, or trucked to the restaurant where I will consume it in a speedy fashion. Here in San Antonio, look for amberjack on the menu for $17.95 at the Liberty Bar.

Here's another example. How many times have you read on a menu that "Our prime steaks are aged to perfection, served sizzling on the platter, and cooked to order"? Yeah right! Here's a few facts!

USA grades of beef:
Prime - highest in intramuscular fat. Currently, only three percent of the steaks sold are USDA certified Prime.
Choice - the most common
Select - the leanest grade commonly sold

That 3% has to tell you that you're not getting prime steak. I do realise the truth in that statement, and I've all but given up on getting a great steak in any restaurant unless I'm willing to "bite the bullet" and pay in the neighborhood of $100.00 for my dinner. I've resigned myself to being dissapointed, except on those very rare occasions when I might be able to afford it.

The best steak house in the USA is Peter Luger in Brooklyn, NY, and that's about what dinner for a single diner is going to cost, but "Boy, it's worth every penny"! They take no credit cards (except their own), you'll get a perfectly aged prime steak cooked at 800 degrees exactly the way you order it, and everything else you order will be "a la carte". Here in San Antonio, your best bets for a similar steak dinner can be found at The Palm, Little Rhein, or Ruth's Chris.