Steakhouse Steaks Inc. (Huntsville: sales, how much, house)

[padmaster]

As I pulled into my driveway after work yesterday, a guy pulled in behind me in a small truck with a small freezer in the bed of the truck with a Steakhouse Steaks Inc. logo on the side of the freezer. He proceeded to give me a sales pitch about the wonderful USDA Grade cuts of steak he wanted to sell me at a great value. Being the meat lover that I am, I haggled with him a bit and purchased a few boxes....somewhat reluctantly. I do know that this type of "discount meat delivery" is not unheard of (Schwans) but I have never purchased any of it. He did give me a brochure which lists a Huntsville location.

What I found really odd was as I was writing out the check he asked me to leave the "pay to" line blank. He said he wasn't sure if he was going to turn it in to the company or just cash it. I bank with RFCU and there is a branch just up the street from me. I see this morning he didn't waste any time cashing the check.

After doing a bit of research today, I'm seeing somewhat mixed reviews on the company.....mostly bad. One guy likened the meat to "prison food", another suggested it was like a Denny's steak and egg cut of meat. I set out a couple of "filet mingon" cuts this morning for dinner tonight. I'm hoping the bad reviews are inaccurate.

Anyone have any experience with this company?

Here is their website: Steakhouse Inc. - Quality beef, chicken, seafood, and pork at a affordable price.

[BMW Dave]

I had a 2 man crew do an aggressive sales pitch to me last summer. One of them was rocking a pony. Both looked really sketch. I told them I don't buy meat from strangers. Also the guys who showed up at my place just have a freezer tied down in their Ford Ranger.

They made rude remarks under their breath as they left.

I have purchased from Schwans, very professional. Used them for about 6 months, just didn't like the food that much. The driver and I were friendly, I told him about the Steakhouse Steaks guys, real original name, he had heard stories about them as well, none good.

I also got some Omaha Steaks for Christmas this year, VERY GOOD. But then again it's all in how you cook it. A Filet is gonna taste like rubber if you cook it poorly.

Good luck with your steaks, braver man than I.

[SarahBellum]

I think that's the same company that approached us at home last summer. We were obviously very busy with work around the house but this guy wouldn't leave. He had a pretty good sales pitch but it devolved into "helping him out," "got a kid at home," "lost my good job," etc. When I finally told him that we just didn't want to commit to buying that much meat, he got boxes of beef and chicken to show the quality. He spread the frozen meat on our front steps and stood back so we could appreciate how much was there, the great quality, and how delicious it all looked. Keep in mind that it was late August so the temps were hovering in the 90's. It took another 15 minutes to convince he we weren't buying. He grabbed up the meat, stuffed it back in the containers, and left in a huff. My husband and I wondered who was going to end up buying those boxes of pre-frozen/pre-thawed/re-frozen cuts of meat. <shudder>

Schwan's stuff is okay. We bought from them for a while but dropped the service when we opted to watch our salt/fat/carb intake. Over time we had a couple of different drivers who were always very professional. They'd suggest some items but I never felt pushed to buy something.

[BMW Dave]

Originally Posted by SarahBellum

I think that's the same company that approached us at home last summer. We were obviously very busy with work around the house but this guy wouldn't leave. He had a pretty good sales pitch but it devolved into "helping him out," "got a kid at home," "lost my good job," etc. When I finally told him that we just didn't want to commit to buying that much meat, he got boxes of beef and chicken to show the quality. He spread the frozen meat on our front steps and stood back so we could appreciate how much was there, the great quality, and how delicious it all looked. Keep in mind that it was late August so the temps were hovering in the 90's. It took another 15 minutes to convince he we weren't buying. He grabbed up the meat, stuffed it back in the containers, and left in a huff. My husband and I wondered who was going to end up buying those boxes of pre-frozen/pre-thawed/re-frozen cuts of meat. <shudder>

Schwan's stuff is okay. We bought from them for a while but dropped the service when we opted to watch our salt/fat/carb intake. Over time we had a couple of different drivers who were always very professional. They'd suggest some items but I never felt pushed to buy something.

That is a very accurate assessment of Schwans. Also the shady steak guy.

[Dirt Grinder]

I've tried Schwan's and found the quality quite good. In fact, some of their offerings are hard to beat in the frozen foods category. As for the meat pushers I've always sent them on their way with the understanding that they'd be wasting their time if they ever tried to pitch their products to me again. The ones who approached me didn't offer-up any company affiliation and the whole situation had a "back-alley" feel to it.

[CP79]

I bought some meat from the guy I think you are talking about......are the boxes marked "Midwestern Brand" by chance? He came by my shop/warehouse and it was like 100 degrees out that day and I felt sorry for him, so I bought like $40 for a box of steaks. They were edible but pretty awful.

[SarahBellum]

I don't recall the brand name and I probably threw out the brochure he left for us. We were seriously disinterested in what he was peddling, especially after the sidewalk display!

[padmaster]

Originally Posted by CP79

I bought some meat from the guy I think you are talking about......are the boxes marked "Midwestern Brand" by chance? He came by my shop/warehouse and it was like 100 degrees out that day and I felt sorry for him, so I bought like $40 for a box of steaks. They were edible but pretty awful.

I'll have to look at the boxes tonight. My wife and I had a pretty big lunch yesterday so we put the steaks in the fridge for tonight.

[zenjenn]

I had some sketchy guy show up at my door, once, trying to sell me meat. To me this was about the creepiest thing ever - like I'm going to buy mystery meat from some guy with a cooler in a truck? No thanks...

I pointed to my mezuzah and said I eat only kosher meat (which isn't entirely true, but it's true enough that I'm not going to buy mystery meat from truck-guy.) He didn't know how to respond to that other than to wish me a good day and leave. I have to say, even if I wanted to buy, being asked to leave the "pay to" line blank would have ended the deal for me then and there.

[Coogan]

I'll admit that I bought a bunch of meat from one of these guys, enough to completely fill my upright freezer. Probably overpaid, but at the same time, I haven't had to buy meat from the grocery store since August. My average grocery bill before was about $110 weekly; now it's closer to $65. It's convenient to just be able to walk to the garage and grab what you want because you know you have it, rather than going thru the "Let's have pork chops for dinner. Ohh that sounds good. Whoops, we don't have any pork chops. What else?" rigamarole.

I'm not in any way a steak or pork or whatever connoisseur; if it's edible and tastes good, that's fine by me. And this meat meets that standard. The only exception would be the chicken, which comes out looking rubbery; like it'd been molded and/or pressed. But again, it tastes good and is a snap to cook.

So on the whole it's been a wash. The convenience of knowing what you want is available adds a certain value for me. I doubt I'd do it again, but at the same time, I don't really regret doing it.

Coog