The Worst Steak I've Ever Had

While in the Dominican Republic [my wife] Meeks and I were given a tip on what was supposed to be an unbelievably great steak experience. In fact, we were vehemently told that we, “absolutely could not miss out on the steak at Sofrito.” Well, to put it plainly; that tipster was flat out wrong. While I appreciated the zeal of the man who made the recommendation and respect his right to enjoy average steaks; to say that I absolutely could not miss out on the steaks at Sofrito was probably the one “send off” that we received while in the Dominican Republic.

But first, let me start with the good parts of our visit. By far the location and ambiance of Sofrito was my favorite of all the places we visited while sequestered on that island paradise. It was right on the ocean and had no walls which allowed the cool ocean breeze of the evening to brush up against our skin as we ate. We did get a light drizzle of rain while we dined, but even that was a welcome addition to the evening as it lasted just a few minutes and we were sufficiently covered even while seated at the outermost table. The service, as can be said about the resort as a whole, was superb; and I took a particular liking to the class and poise of our waiter.

To add to what I enjoyed about our meal at Sofrito, everything that we ordered aside from the steak was quite tasty. With my slab of bovine meat I also had a piece of fish that was described on the menu as a “typical fish from the Caribbean sea”. While I neglected to ask our server what type of fish I actually ate, I can say that it tasted amazing; as did the potato, corn and tomato that came with my meal. Meeks had a shrimp kabob alongside her steak, and the same assortment of accompanying vegetables. Again, all of this combined with the overall ambiance and location of the restaurant made the visit to Sofrito well worth our time.

Now let's talk about those steaks.

Having spent 2 and a half decades of my life not eating meat I in no way consider myself an expert on steak. But, one of the highlights of adding meat back into my diet over the last year has been my growing love for a good, well-seasoned, medium rare steak. While I may not know what a perfect steak is, it doesn’t take an expert to know a not so stellar steak, and the steak iI had at Sofrito was definitely the latter. To be fair, in terms of taste, I quite enjoyed the way they prepared and served my steak. Our problems had little to do with the taste and much more to do with the amount of fat that surrounded the consumable portion of the meat.

My first hint that there may have been a problem with our steaks was when I finished cramming the fish down my gullet long enough to notice that my poor wife had done nothing but cut away said fat from her slab of beef since our meals had been served. Shortly thereafter I noticed that she had cut away a seemingly larger portion of the steak than was left for her to eat. Then, as I took my first bite of my steak (being much less of an experienced beefeater than she) I realized that I was chewing my first bites more like bubblegum than meat. So, like my wife before me, I began undertaking the arduous task of slicing away copious volumes of the fatted calf in order that the consumable portion of my steak could be revealed. When the task had been completed I was left with a respectable size steak, but nothing in the order of what my eyes had prepared my stomach for.

In the end; I don’t want to say that the steak was all bad. Was it the best steak that I had in this, my first full year of adding meat back into my diet? Absolutely not. Was it the worst? Probably; but that’s not saying much as ninety percent of the steaks I have ever eaten in my life were made by Meeks and seasoned with her black girl magic. The truth about the steaks at Sofrito is that they were underwhelming for the both of us; partially due to how highly regarded they were by another guest at the resort. In terms of taste, I absolutely would order a steak from Sofrito again; but the next time I’ll be better prepared for the full arm workout that is cutting away all the fat wrapped around the meat.