Ten years later and still the best Filet Mignon

Patrick Hadi Huber, Rainer Willa and I had just left the 2009 InterPride conference and were on a drive from St. Pete Beach on the west coast of Florida to Orlando. I got tired at the wheel, and so we decided to take the next exit on the highway, stay overnight in a hotel and continue our trip the next day.

So, it happened that we reached Kissimmee a place south of Orlando at dusk. We opted for a reasonably priced hotel on the main strip. After refreshing ourselves, we asked at the front desk for a good restaurant where we could eat – the food during the conference left something to be desired. The lady at the front desk was quick to make a suggestion, "Charley's Steak House – the best Steak House in America," she said, just about two blocks down the street. We thought it was a massive exaggeration, especially since Kissimmee was not on our radar for being a gourmet location.

On the way there by car, we could not see the restaurant at first, before us was a large empty parking lot in front of a retail complex. However, on one corner, there was a big neon sign on the roof advertising for the place. The car park in front of the restaurant was well filled. Once through the door, an atmosphere awaited us like in a French bistro – well as Americans would imagine one – the lights dimmed, and the attentive staff dressed in white shirts, bow ties, and long black aprons. On the way to our table, we passed a large glass vitrine with a display of selected pieces of meat. It looked like a butcher shop.

Then past a large open grill on which pieces of meat were already grilling and smelled delicious – we were even more hungry now. The waiter brought us a selection of meat on a silver tray to our table and explained every piece by highlighting them with a small flashlight. He also told us that the meat was grilled over citrus and oak wood, giving it extra flavour. We all opted for a filet mignon – massive as only in the U.S.A.

For once, the potato gratin and the vegetables served with the meat were mere side-dishes. The filet was tasty, tender, and perfectly grilled. The knife just slid through the soft beef – plain and simple the best filet mignon I've ever had, even ten years later. The receptionist at the hotel had not exaggerated. Much later, I learned that the Steak House won numerous awards. It is one of my food experiences I will never forget.

Charley's Steak House, 2901 Parkway Blvd, Suite 1A, Kissimmee, FL 34747-4536 

Our further journey took us to Orlando to see the Universal Studios, then on to Cape Canaveral, NASA's Space Center – my childhood dream to visit. Then continued down the Atlantic coast to Melbourne, Fort Lauderdale, and finally Miami, where we initially started. We had a great time together and had some tasty dishes on the way. On our last day in Florida, we went to Coconut Grove. I had been there before and had memories of a buzzing, trendy, and upmarket neighbourhood. Sadly the 2008 financial crash took its toll there too. Many small boutique shops were boarded up. We had lunch at a nice boulevard restaurant, and because it was our last day, we ordered filet mignon again. It was well prepared, and the taste was good, yet a far cry from the ones we had in Kissimmee.

Below some impressions from the Universal Theme Park, Cape Canaveral, Miami, and my dear friends Rainer and Hadi that I took with my iPhone 3G during our trip. The built-in camera wasn't that brilliant hence the poor quality, and it had no front lens, so no selfies :-)