A Story of Fame

 Bruce Collie owns Cedar Grove Steakhouse in Wimberley, Texas, walking distance from my home.

Bruce is a gentle giant of a man. He’s probably 6’6″ and around 275 pounds.

He’s a former pro football player (for the San Fransisco 49ers and the Eagles), a former speaker on the Champions for Life circuit (inspiring people in prisons to live better lives), and today the proud father of twelve children.

Yes, twelve children.

He and his beautiful wife, Holly, a former QVC model who worked with Joan Rivers, are writing a manual on parenting based on their experiences raising a dozen happy kids.

But that’s not all they’re doing.

I went to their steakhouse with friends one day last week. Bruce came over and told us about his “BC Steak.”

It’s not on the menu, he said.

He described it as the best steak in the entire world.

He’s been all over the globe and as a huge football player probably ate a lot of steak in his time. So he should know good steak.

The “BC” (named after him, of course) is an eighteen ounce filet mignon, or fillet.

I’ve never heard of a filet mignon larger than siz or maybe eight ounces.

Bruce said they cut the steak themselves and proudly declared it would be so tender I could cut it with a fork, or he would pay for my meal.

That was pretty hypnotic.

So my friends and I returned to the restaurant and ordered the BC, which is a fifty dollar steak.

It was truly astonishing.

Tender. Juicy. Filling.

I’ve never had a better steak anywhere.

And yes, I could cut it with my fork.

I doubt people with small hands or weak wrists could cut it with a fork, which is probably why it’s not a guarantee Bruce makes to just anybody, but I and my muscular buddies could easily do it.

But that’s not the really good part of this story.

I told Bruce I was so taken with his original steak that I thought he should change the name to “JV,” naming it after me.

I was kidding, of course.

But the other day he told me they renamed the steak “The Vitale” and they were actually putting it on the menu.

I couldn’t believe it.

Nerissa, me, and two friends went back to the restaurant the other night. The waiter handed me a slip of paper with a note that all the servers were now getting. It read, in part:

“Introducing: The Vitale Bacon Wrapped Filet: An 18 oz, 31 day aged, corn fed, premium filet wrapped in apple-wood smoked bacon. Named after bestselling author Joe Vitale (pronounced Vi tel lee) who not only enjoyed the monster filet and a couple of sides, but it was said, ate dessert as well!”

No, I didn’t eat dessert, or a couple of sides, but I sure enjoyed the formerly named “BC”.

Pat O’Bryan of www.patobryan.com ordered it and said, “Finally, a steak great enough to be called ‘The Vitale.’ There are now two Vitale’s in Wimberley, Texas.  One has great taste.  The other tastes great.”

Bill Hibbler of www.ecommerceconfidential.com/Blog/ said, “They say that you know you’ve ‘made it’ when they name a sandwich after you. Joe, you skipped the sandwich and went right for the steak. Well done.” 😉

Nerissa of www.thevideoqueen.com (who couldn’t eat all of her steak) said, “If my life was represented by this prepared dinner, then my life was never tough, always delightful, and very fulfilling.”

If you ever get to the Austin-San Antonio area, drive over to Cedar Grove Steakhouse in Wimberley and order “The Vitale.”

All you need is an empty stomach — and fifty bucks.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – The JV steak is perfect if you’re on the Paleo or Atkins diet, but if you’re a vegetarian, Bruce has veggie items on his menu, too, so don’t complain about his steak when you can have his fish. 🙂