DINE WRITE
IT’S WORTH THE DRIVE TO PEARLAND
40oz Strube Mishima Long Bone-In Ribeye
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A FAN OF KILLEN’S STEAKHOUSE. WHEN I DESCRIBE IT TO FRIENDS, TELLING THEM THAT IT’S WORTH THE
DRIVE TO PEARLAND (20 TO 30 MINUTES OUTSIDE OF HOUSTON PROPER), I SAY IT’S THE REAL DEAL, A TRUE TEXAS GEM.
IT’S THE KIND OF PLACE WHERE THE OWNER — RONNIE KILLEN, A CORDON BLEU-TRAINED CHEF WHO GRADUATED AT
THE TOP OF HIS CLASSES — DOESN’T CUT CORNERS. HE INSISTS ON THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, SOURCING MEATS FROM
THE BEST RANCHES AROUND THE COUNTRY, MAKING SIDE DISHES AND DESSERTS FROM SCRATCH.
So when that same chef finally has the chance to open up his dream
restaurant — this one four times as big as his old restaurant with a
5,000 wine list — I knew, even before stepping through its shiny
wooden doors, that it was going to be everything and then some.
First off, the place is grand, the kind of grand that reminds me a lot
of Vegas because it’s so big. There’s a 20-seat bar to the right, with
enough space behind it for groups to gather and mingle. In the mid-
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dle of the sunken dining room, which is shaped like an “O,” is a glass
enclosed wine tower that holds 680 bottles. In the far back of the
room, from the open kitchen, servers clad in crisp white shirts with
black ties and aprons dart back and forth with trays of mouthwatering
meat on display.
As you can guess, Killen’s is all about the meat. One of the things
that’s so great about it, is that you not only have a choice of which