Stanfields Steak House

I came here after SEVERAL coworkers from both my Decatur and Muscle Shoals offices recommended it as an excellent steakhouse. I repeatedly heard mention of the great salad bar and desserts, not to forget about the delicious steaks. Since I was in the area I just had to try it!

I reviewed the menu ahead of time and loved the selection. I was dead set on getting a blackened shrimp po'boy-one of my all-time favorite sandwiches. I pulled up in the parking lot, smelled the distinct aroma of cows on the grill, and my inner carnivore yelled "you're getting a steak!". There was no arguing.

I ordered a 12 oz New York Strip- medium well "please make sure there's pink left in there", a loaded baked potato, and a trip to the salad bar. Why'd I order a 12 oz strip over the 8 oz? Well it wasn't the carnivore screams it's because I don't like overcooked steaks and when I order smaller steaks they're always overcooked. For this reason I usually don't order steaks out, taking a chance here.

I tried to utilize every inch of my one-trip salad bar plate and ended up with a sky scraper of a salad since I had to proportion the toppings to the amount of lettuce. Hey, $3 for a salad should leave no room for skimping. There was a lot of 'stuff' offered on the salad bar and it turned out to be a good salad but it wasn't the best salad bar I've ever had simply because they only offered chunky iceberg lettuce and less salad veggies than I'd like.

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So out comes this hunk of meat with the most beautiful grill marks a girl has ever seen. Just kidding... I don't remember if it was beautiful because it didn't last that long. Bite after bite melted in my mouth. No, the steaks are not heavily seasoned or marinated but that's the way I was raised- "you wanna taste the meat" preached my Daddy. No steak sauce on my plate, no sir, not unless I want to insult the chef by saying this steak is so dry I need something to wash it down with. This steak was perfectly cooked, naturally flavorful, plenty juicy, and had a wonderful outer char without being overdone. Thank you inner carnivore, thank you.
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The loaded baked potato was also well cooked, not like some restaurants who serve you a brown potato that's been sitting in a warmer too long. It had a little too much sour cream but that is easily compensated by scraping some off.

I also tried some of the fiesta corn dip and spinach dip. The spinach dip was very good, just enough spinach flavor to know you're eating spinach dip not cheese dip. I didn't taste much fiesta in the corn dip, it just tasted a lot like creamed corn. We like a lot of heat at my house so I could've a tolerated a bit more in the dip, maybe even add some onions or something.

So why'd I give the 5 stars? Because I can. More than that, even though there were a few items that aren't 5 star worthy the memorable steak more than makes up for it.I had WAY too much food but the prices are very reasonable for a steakhouse and I rolled out of there with a happy belly.

The reason it's on my Top 100 Dishes to Try List:
New York Strip

List:
The BEST steak I've ever had (in a restaurant).

Good price, good food.  Our group had the catfish, chicken fried ribeye and salad bar.  Sweet potato fries and loaded sweet potato were to die for.

Service was good.   Recommend.

One of the best salad bars I have been to! Very reasonably priced and great food! I am not a fan of the steaks because they are not marinated and I am not one that particularly care for the taste of just meat. However I have heard other people speak highly of them so I guess It may be just me. My favorite is the Alfredo and parmesan chicken both of which are out of this world!