The Steak Out, 3235 SR-HWY 82, Sonoita. Open 5-9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 3-9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Reservations accepted. Phone: (520) 455-5205
While the winds of change swirl, there are constants.
Love of land. Love of horse. Love of beef.
As an institution, The Steak Out embraces all three. Horse-backed men and women gaze out from picture frames, big sky landscapes as their backdrop. Paneled in wood, the establishment exudes the West—or what we’d like it to be—with wagon wheels, bronze sculptures and horseshoe napkin holders.
The menu? It’s a celebration of beef—strip steak, filet mignon, T-bone, porterhouse and, of course, the All-American hamburger, all cooked over mesquite.
Located at the intersection of Highways 83 and 82, The Steak Out welcomes visitors and locals celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and simply an evening out. It’s a kick-back opportunity for fine food without fine-dining conventions like dress codes and chair-scooching maître d’s.
Alma and Pete Bidegain of Sonoita have been eating there for over 40 years—he the prime rib, she the burger. It’s their place of choice. And actually, Peter is willing to take it one step further.
“If ever I was headed to death row, my last meal would be at The Steak Out,” Pete said, chuckling.
How the Wystrach family came to own The Steak Out—and The Mercantile—is, well, a story best told by Grace, the family matriarch: “We came in here to have dinner because it was my daughter Audrey’s seventh birthday.”
Sorry, said proprietor Gail Wingfield, no room at the inn. Michael, Grace’s husband, wasn’t pleased. His solution—at least for future events—buy the restaurant.
“My husband can be very impulsive,” Grace said, remembering this as the same year twin boys joined the Wystrach family. So, there wasn’t enough on her plate.
The original Steak Out, which opened in the early 1970s, didn’t look a thing like today’s operation. For one, it was housed in an old army barrack purchased by Wingfield from Fort Huachuca. What yesterday’s and today’s establishments do have in common is music, margaritas and beef. It is a formula that worked then and works now.
Amie Wystrach, along with spouse Bryce Wright, oversee day-to-day management of The Steak Out, The Mercantile and The Sonoita Inn, the latter becoming a Wystrach property in the mid-1990s.
Just a couple years after the acquisition of the Inn, The Steak Out and Mercantile burned to the ground. The culprit—a hot water heater whose sparks ignited its wood shell. The buildings were underinsured, leading to the unavoidable question: Rebuild?
Then Grace channeled Scarlett O’Hara: “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”
But rebuild they did, with the grand reopening in December 1999. Today they are busier than ever as more people move to the area and Arizonans discover the cooler clime, friendly atmosphere and diminished stress of rural living.
“What we do is basic,” Amie said. “It’s very repeatable and very consistent.” Their biggest seller: the ribeye. Their busiest time of year: the first weekend in August, the fall, and early winter.
That the Wystrachs support employee families through the purchase of 4-H livestock at the annual September auction is a given. Grace was a 4-Her herself, later serving as a 4-H beef leader.
“I was thinking about an article I read and how Tucson wouldn’t be the same without the Catalina Mountains,” said frequent diner Alma Bidegain. “That’s how I feel about The Steak Out and Sonoita.”
Albondigas Soup
1 lb. very lean ground beef
½ teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg well-beaten or 1 tablespoon egg substitute
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons long-grain rice
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 ½ quarts low-sodium beef or chicken stock
1 cup peeled and diced tomatoes, preferably Italian plum tomatoes
6 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 cups celery, thinly slice
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
Combine ground beef, pepper, parsley, garlic, egg substitute or egg, 1 tablespoon cilantro, oregano and rice. Form into meatballs about 1-inch in diameter. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in oil until tender. Add stock and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add carrots and celery. Drop meatballs into boiling stock. Add corn. Reduce heat to low and cover, simmering for 30-40 minutes. Stir in remaining cilantro and serve. Makes 8 servings.
Carrie White can be contacted at CarrieWhitePRT@gmail.com.