So, this one time, my fiancee and I were supposed to meet with a representative of a Very Historical and Famous International Jewelry Icon to pick out a really expensive diamond engagement ring, right?

But on the way to the big city to meet with him, my phone rang. It turned out that there was a freak mishap with the secret underground vault where the Jewelry Icon keeps its more expensive items overnight: they couldn’t open it in the morning. So the Representative, a very very nice man named Jim, was calling to let us know his grave disappointment with the circumstances, and would we accept his apologies for the inconvenience.

So, since we were already halfway there for the meeting, and we wanted to talk with the Representative anyway, we just agreed to meet with him at the Jewelry Icon store and talk. He apologized more, and suggested maybe we’d like to have some nice lunch on his tab to make up for it. We blushed a little bit, and accepted a free lunch at Il Fornaio. Of course, I had to have steak.

It was really nice dining at Il Fornaio’s upstairs white linen cucina. I mean really really nice. I think Jim did one of those “give them the best table you’ve got” speils too, because we were seated at the very front corner of the restaurant, looking over a fairly nice part of downtown Seattle.

The food was pretty great too. I say pretty great, because I think my appreciation of it was strongly influenced by the fact that, well, Jewelry Icon was paying for it. Lots of things seem way better when they’re free.

I had the 22oz Bistecca alla Fiorentina (which is not I’m to understand, simply a porterhouse). I think I was supposed to order it a lot more rare than “just north of medium rare”, because our waiter, Andy, kind of sneered. But then, he kind of sneered about everything. I decided to believe he’s just one of those kind of men who seem to sneer about everything. He was a very good server, and he even seemed to take some delight in helping me choose my first ever grappa.

Anyway, the steak: it was, like my fiancee said “like two steaks in one”. A really toothy NY strip on the left side, all charry and muscle-y, and strong-flavored; and a really buttery, pudding-y filet on the right. I liked it. A lot. It was one of those steaks that was kind of a journey to eat. Parts of it were rather unpleasant, parts of it were heavenly, parts of it drooled down my chin, and the parts of it close to the bone were a little bit raw. It was an adventure to eat, and with nothing more to dress it than a squeeze of lemon and salt and pepper, the whole spectrum of steak flavor and texture was represented. There was a neat little side of traditional dressed arugula and cannelini beans, along with some lovely roasted fingerling potatoes.

My fiancee had a wonderful veal scallopini with lemon artichoke sauce, and the same fingerlings. Apparently that was simply the best veal anything she’s ever had.

So, I’d recommend paying a visit to the fancy cucina side of your local Il Fornaio, if only for the whomping experience of a Fred Flintstone sized bistecca. If you can get a comp from someone like Holly Golightly’s jeweler, all the better… Or, if you’re more budget minded, the (downstairs in Seattle) Risotteria has a ten-buck Filetto that I betcha is very good, and then you could also afford the risotto.