Steak Night... Houston vs DC

So I'm not sure if you guys heard, but Auburn won the National Championship! Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad they won... they're a fun team to watch. But the REAL reason I'm glad is because Zeke will be in a good mood until next football season! When Auburn wins, Kate also wins. Here are some pics of us enjoying the game.

Zeke in his awesome authentic Cam Newton jersey that I somehow found online for christmas. If I knew how excited he would get about this jersey, I wouldn't have bought him anything else. And would have saved a bunch of money.

celebratory shots & awkward smile time 

Even better news, my favorite sports bar, Mister Days, has steak night! We didn't know that, so you can imagine my reaction when I opened the menu and the Monday Night Special was $12.95 for a 12oz ribeye and a side! The bartender probably thought I was mildly autistic... I kept repeating how excited I was about steaks and asked him several questions about the special. They also have PhotoHunt. It's not the naked kind that we all perversely love to play, it's the "G-Rated" version, but nonetheless a good way to meaninglessly pass the time.

Virgin PhotoHunt

As a steak night enthusiast, I was pretty impressed with their product. In my professional opinion, there are 4 qualities that defines a good steak night.  My assessment of The Tavern vs. Mister Days goes as follows:

1. Price/Value: The Tavern is $15 for a 12 oz ribeye and loaded baked potato. Mister Days- $12.95 for a 12 oz teriyaki and pineapple marinated ribeye OR a 12 oz New York Strip, fries, grilled veggies, and a glass of red wine.
Winner- Mister Days

2. Setup: The Tavern- serves both inside and out and has a big pit outside where they grill the steaks on an open flame. You can smell the steaks cooking when you pull in the parking lot. Mister Days- only inside but is 2 stories, cooks the steak in the restaurant kitchen.
Winner- The Tavern

3. Taste: The Tavern is marinated in a worcestershire sauce, salty, delicious traditional steak marinade, cooked to order. It comes out flame broiled and crispy... the fat is my favorite part! Mr. Days marinates their Ribeye in pineapple & teriyaki, and the waitress was honest with me about how they cook it. I wanted it medium rare, so she suggested I order it rare. Came out just right and tasted wonderful, but the fat wasn't as crispy as I would like. And- the sauce on the side tasted like McDonalds BBQ sauce. Normally, comparing anything to McDonalds isn't a good sign... but not when BBQ sauce! YUM!

Mister Days Steak Night

Winner- This is a tough category, but I definitely have to go with the Tavern. The open flame makes all the difference... and the saltiness of the Tavern Steak is unbeatable.

4. Service: The Tavern- do I even need to elaborate on this one? Worst service EVER. From the sometimes hour long waits for a steak to the unbelievable refusal of service from the bartender our last time in town, it's hands down the most terrible wait staff I've encountered. Mister Days- considering last night was the National Championship and they were packed, I'd say the service is typically great. the waitress took a while to get to our table, but she apologized, explained her situation, and bought us a round of shots for the inconvenience. Brownie points!
Obvious Winner- Mister Days

So, in Round One of Houston Steak Night vs. DC Steak night, we have a tie! While taste is a very important thing, bad service totally overrides a tasty steak and ruins the evening for everyone. But which one is more important?? Tough call.

I plan on exploring other Steak Nights (of course) and will update y'all with my scientific study results.

On a different note, I got a package in the mail today! I wasn't expecting anything, so I was hoping someone was over ambitious and randomly wanted to buy us something on our registry 3 months before the wedding. Well, I wasn't THAT lucky... the package was from LivingSocial.

To my surprise, they sent me a "Happy Fist Week of Employment" gift!

A sustainable water bottle! Just what every girl wants! Really though, these water canisters are hot collateral around the office. Me and my training class buddies went scouring through supply closets and in drawers to try and find the stash! These puppies are coveted items. No now I officially feel like part of the team :) Side note- check out my new trendy flower headwrap that Karah gave me for Christmas! It keeps my ears super warm AND keeps me in style. Love it!

I'll take a picture of my desk tomorrow... I'm definitely having Aerotek flashbacks of my first few weeks as a recruiter. We are basically elbow to elbow in a huge pit with low cubicle walls, and everyone can hear your awkward first calls where you have no idea what you're talking about.  Incase you've ever wondered how a "Deal" comes to life, it starts with someone like me calling a spa (for example) and saying:

"Hi! My name is Kate and I'm with LivingSocial. We are an online editorial that features the hottest merchants in the East Valley, AZ area, and I might be interested in featuring your Spa as our deal of the day later this month. Who would I need to speak with regarding this?"

I made 10 phone calls today and said exactly that to new merchants in the Tempe and Scottsdale area of Arizona! Of all of the calls, 2 were responsive and wanted me to send them examples of past deals we ran in the area. One was a spa, and one was a wine bar. Fingers crossed that I can get something signed this week! I'll keep you posted on my progress :)

I'll also make sure to send pictures of the SNOW! We're supposed to get 2-3 inches tonight, but you know those weather men. It's like when it's supposed to rain in Houston, and they project torrential downpours & flooding when it actually barely rains enough to water the grass. Don't worry though, I'm bundled up. I learned my lesson last week. I also got headphones and carry a book on the Metro... I'm beginning to look the part of a DC resident!

Miss you all & hope you're having a good week. Don't forget to download Skype if you can, would love to video chat!

Snowy Hugs & Kisses,

KJ