Where do you go when you want great steaks? I previously mentioned Grillin' as a great place if you like cooking your own steaks. Lombardi's has some great steaks, so does George's. Several places do - but honestly, the best ones are what I grill myself after visiting Cedar Creek Meat Market {920-734-8792)and getting some Porterhouse steaks or top sirloin steaks. I marinate them for about 10-15 minutes in soy sauce plus a little steak sauce and balsamic vinegar with a lot of spices - basil, garlic, pepper, ground bay, etc. - and then grill to medium rare on an archaic barbecue grill.

A recruiter at Georgia-Pacific is looking to fill a position in Neenah involving experimental research with papermaking operations. Here is the note, used with permission:

I came across your name while doing some research on the internet. I'm trying to find someone who can experiment and develop models for all papermaking processes. In addition, this person will execute pilot plant, mill process, and product development type trials by developing laboratory equipment and techniques to evaluate concepts. Given your background, I thought I'd reach out to you to see: who do you may know that would be a good fit for this type of position?

All the best,

Brunson Franks
Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP
Manager, Recruiting
404-652-2646
bcfranks@gapac.com
www.gp.com

Contact Brunson directly if you know someone who might be interested.

Last Friday night my wife and I were treated to PERFECT steaks cooked exactly our way because we did the cooking at Grillin', a fun restaurant where you pick your own steak and then grill it on a large, hot grill. Grillin Steak House and Lounge is at N19 Stoney Brook Rood in Appleton (nearly in Kimberly), but it's essentially on Eisenhower Road just about one block south of Kohl's. Phone (920) 733-5077.

We were there on a Friday night. For some reason, Saturday is the super busy night for this place, but on Friday you'll probably get immediate seating. In this area, early Friday is the busiest time for most places, and it's easy to wait 45 minutes or longer at many restaurants. But we were seated immediately just before 7 pm and were soon selecting our own beautiful steaks and grilling them. Melted butter is available to brush on the steaks, and there are several seasoning mixtures you can apply. I actually got good results using the seafood seasoning on my steak. It was perfectly cooked, too!

The grill has a large air hood over it with powerful fans that make for a bit of background noise, but not too bad.

I would caution you that if you are cooking toast, the molten butter and brushes used for bread look a lot like the ones for steak, except the butter brushes for bread have a little blue added to the handles while the other ones have some red. But the problem is that some people can go up and start brushing butter on their steak with the bread brush before they learn that it's not for steak, and then they'll put that brush back in the large vat of butter for bread. So if you brush butter on your bread, cook it long enough to kill any bacteria that might have been picked up by the occasional customer who didn't know better and brushed a steak with the bread brush.

Grilling has a fresh, modest salad bar that is included with your steak or seafood. The steaks are $19. Seafood for self-grilling is in that range as well. Other dishes are available.

Fun place, good food, and a real gem when you need to find a good steak on a Friday night.

Memories of Winter is my new photo gallery showing some shots from early 2008 around the Fox Valley. I really like winter - just wish it were warmer.

The normally placid Fox River is showing a lot of strength this spring due to all the runoff from melted snow plus heavy rains. Great caution is advised for those who do any boating on the river - the gentle flows you are used to are much more treacherous than normal. He's a brief clip of the river as it flows downstream of the dam below Memorial Drive, just behind the Paper Discovery Center and Fratello's.

The Live Oak Market in downtown Appleton (119 E. College Avenue) wins my award for the best sandwich in Appleton. This small upscale market and deli offers a spectacular array of unique sandwiches made with high quality Boar's Head brand meats and rich Breadsmith breads. I tried "the Appletonian" sandwich which truly lives up to its name. This hot sandwich features Tender Boar's Head tavern ham, a thick slab of wonderfully carmelized onions and some carmelized apple slices, a little lettuce, and melted cheddar and Gruyere cheeses between hearty peasant bread. My son tried the Chicago Blues sandwich which had tender steak and melted blue cheese, with grilled vegetables in a baguette-style bun. Very good, but we both preferred the Appletonian.

If their menu of elegant sandwiches doesn't have what you want, you can construct your own sandwich using a large list of ingredients they have. That seemed to be a popular route with many of the patrons we saw come in.

Wraps and soups are also available. We tried the tomato basil and noted that this thick and fresh tasting soup had much more tomato than most related soups and no detectable flour to thicken it. Very nice.

The shop only has seating for about 10 people. Most people take out their food. But it has a great view of College Avenue if you do choose to eat there.

They have a nice selection of deli meats and cheeses, with a variety of upscale items such as pasta, sauces, seasonings, and some non-food items.

Live Oak has been there for almost one year. I think their one-year anniversary is in two or three weeks. Nice addition to Appleton!

Phone: (920) 882-6737.

Fajitas is a trendy new Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant that recently took over the beautiful two-story building that once housed the Black and Tan Grille (215 S Memorial Drive). We went on a Friday night, showing up at 5:30 pm with reservations (good idea). We encountered fabulous food, excellent service, and remarkably low prices for such quality and ambiance.

They have a lot of favorites Americans are used to, plus some real authentic Mexican dishes such as puerco pibil. I tried an authentic but difficult-to-pronounce Yucatan dish, a tender grouper wrapped in banana leaves and rice, with a delightful spicy orange flavor. Wonderful! My wife's fish tacos were good. I also sampled some of steak "fajita burrito" dish one of my sons ordered. Tremendous flavors, carefully cooked and seasoned.

What surprised me was the low prices. Our dishes ranged from $9 to $13, but had the quality I'd expect in a much more expensive place. And the atmosphere is pleasant in the elegant old home that has been remodeled into an exciting restaurant.

Our waiter was especially good. A friendly, articulate, intelligent student at Fox Valley Tech who comes from the city of Toluca in central Mexico. A very impressive young man who did a great job in serving us and answeing our questions.

One of the best Mexican experiences I can remember. I'll be back!

Fajita's Mexican Bar & Grill is open for dinner only right now, but in a few weeks will be open for lunch also. They will also be open for brunch on Mother's Day. Call (920) 968-0833 for reservations.

Tell them Jeff (el gringo alto) sent you.