Cities/ States
Wilson, NC The Beef Mastor Inn
Salinas, CA Hullaballo
Salinas, CA Salinas Valley Fish House
San Diego
Vermont
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The Beef Mastor Inn

Wilson, North Carolina

While working in Wilson, North Carolina September 16, 2008,
I asked some of the natives where they would suggest I enjoy a nice local meal.
Denny was her name, 39 year old, skinny, mother of three looked at me,
"You ain't no vegetarian is yous?" she laughed in my direction.
"Nope" I said, "what did you have in mind?" The sassy brunet
proceeded to tell me all about The Beef Mastor Inn , she let me know
it was the best steak she'd ever had, and that I shouldn't judge it
by its looks. (Something I find later in my travels is a common thread
for really great restaurants to be some of the biggest dives.) I decided to check it out,
I mean really what else was a girl to do in Wilson on a Tuesday?

From a distance I see a bright white sign illuminating in the dark sky.
The Beef Mastor Inn it read, I had arrived. As I pulled into the drive I looked
at what first appeared to be a small residential house with a large driveway.
The lot was packed however. Denny had warned me I might have to wait for
a table, the restaurant was always packed. This peeked my interest and
I began to feel like I was about to have quite an experience.
Denny had also given me some details so I sort of knew what I was
getting myself into.It was just as she had described.


You walk in a door and the dining area was about the size of my
living room and dining room combined, maybe 20x 45 feet.
There were about 9 or 10 tables. The southern gentleman at the
front greeted me and was surprised to find I was eating alone.
He seated me and told me to help myself to the salad bar.
"Sweet tea?", he asked. The look he gave me after my decline implied
he thought of me as crazy, not something I will do again in North Carolina.

The salad bar was minimal however had a few interesting notables,
like anchovies and real bacon pieces. I made myself a modest salad
and sat facing the kitchen.


The kitchen was pretty much in the dining room (I am telling you this place
was small). It was a long thin grill with a bar in front of it for prepping
items and an oven on the wall. There were three guys working there as
far as I could tell, and they all seemed to be switching roles and
helping guest. One would start cooking and then played the waiter while
the other worked the bar/ cash register. I could smell the delicious
steaks cooking on the grill a mere 6 feet away.

One of the men came over with a large platter. He lowered the tray
and presented a huge rib eye steak to me. It was about as long as my arm.
He pointed at it with his knife and said, "how big would you like it?"
Apparently this was the menu, specials and all.
Being that this was the only thing they served at this little restaurant
and by the looks of the outdated décor it had been in business for some time now,
I assumed it would be good. I requested an 8oz piece, medium rare.
I also agreed to the accompanied baked potato and cooked onion.

I watched the men scurry around helping patrons and flipping steaks.
There must have been about 25 steaks cooking on the grill at one time but,
when mine was brought to the table it was exactly the piece I requested,
a perfect medium rare. I had never had baked onions before. The cook
simply put it in what seemed like lightly salted water and cooked it in a
casserole dish covered. The taste was amazing.
Onions not being something I would normally sit down and eat plan, a whole
one at that, but I gobbled up every last bit!
The baked potatoes were slightly over cooked but the sides, and salad
seemed so unimportant with such a perfect juicy steak.
The flavoring was light; just enough to enhance the
meats flavor without overpowering it.


Overall, this restaurant gets a 7.
The food alone would get a 10 however the smoking in the restaurant,
dingy atmosphere drop down the rating a bit.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant to any meat eater and day!
Stop in and check it out next time you are in North Carolina.