Arizona Daily Star du lieu suivant : Tucson, Arizona • Page 59

Great food unchained Great American has a mom-and-pop philosophy yZjZ- As words of the week We're all flummoxed. This week's words, chicken-fried steak, don't seem to have a history. Our trusty food-word source, "The Oxford Companion to Food," pretends that the thin slab of fried meat covered in thick cream gravy doesn't exist The Web sites we searched pretend it has no past Still, we are persistent We searched and searched. Here's what we've come up with: The term "chicken-fried steak" first appeared in print in 1952, according to one Web site. Now exactly how it appeared in print the site doesn't say.

Some Web sites claim it is a signature Texas dish. Others say its strictly Southern. They all agree on this: There's not one lick of chicken in the dish. It is a round steak tenderized and dipped into a mixture of egg and milk and then dragged through flour or crumbled crackers. Then, fry it up just like you would fried chicken.

Hence the name: Southern-fried steak. It is called by yet another moniker country-fried steak. That is generally thrown into the hot grease with the flour coating sans the egg-milk dip. This we know from experience: Every diner-type joint across the Southern and Southwestern states seems to offer its own special brand of chicken-fried steak with lots of that stand-a-fork-up-in-it white gravy and mashed potatoes. We like that By Cathalena E.

Burch ARIZONA DAILY STAR The Great American Cattle Company Steakburger on the Northwest Side feels like a chain restaurant It has the requisite sprinkling of beef, chicken and seafood offerings; uninventive appetizers like hot wings and cheese PI sticks; and desserts brought in from the outside all nicely wrapped in modest prices that make for a casual evening out rm But how many chain restaurants can boast a shrimp cocktail appetizer that doesn't call for puny shrimp drowning in overly sweet sauce? Or a beer-battered cod filet so fresh-tasting you can almost hear the waves crash against the surf? Bertha and David Ogle opened Great American when they retired to Tucson a few years back. In their hometown of El Paso, they were part owners of the five-restaurant Great American Land Cattle Co. chain, which served as a model for their two Tucson restaurants. Great American steals from the chain restaurant when it comes to efficient, friendly service. But the kitchen philosophy is pure mom-and-pop, with a taste that you can't achieve by cutting corners.

You can taste the attention paid to the red pepper ranch dressing on the dinner salad It had a distinct fresh-made flavor, with the sweet peppers melding perfectly with the tart buttermilk. The shrimp cocktail ($4.99) appetizer serves up a half-dozen meaty shrimp resting on the rim of a parfait cup of ice with a wonderfully horseradishy cocktail sauce. Both are a light introduction to the hearty entrees, served with choice of potato and the restaurant's house beans. The beans are a cross between ranch and chili beans, with a robust chili flavor. Great American Cattle Company Steakburger 7850 N.

Oracle Road, 742-4260; and 7189 E. Speedway, 721-5855 Hours: Noon-9 p.m. Sundays; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays Atmosphere: Casual steak-house.

Vegetarian choices: Few and far between. Family call: The children's menu includes the classic grilled cheese sandwich. Parking: Plenty in shopping plaza. Dress: Tucson casual Payment: Cash, credit cards en-fried chicken ($10.99) sounded more interesting. In a twist on the classic chicken-fried steak (which they have on the menu for two boneless chicken breasts are lightly breaded and deep-fried, then blanketed in a cream gravy that could have used more pepper for our tastes.

The chicken, which is pounded slightly, was surprisingly juicy and fork-tender. Save room for dessert, even if they aren't made on the premises. Scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream rest atop a warm, fudgy brownie in the brownie sundae The apple strudel meanwhile, has a cream-cheese stuffing alongside the apples, taking it to whole new dimensions. Great American also features a children's menu that includes a Texas-toast-sized grilled cheese sandwich ($3.49) and chicken, barbecue rib, steak and fish fingers ($4.49) all served with steak fries. I Contact Cathalena Burch at burccheazstarnet.com or 573-4642.

Ron Medvwcek Staff Great American Cattle Company Steakburger is owned by Bertha Ogle and her husband, David. Among the dishes featured are mouthwatering rib-eye steak and beer-battered fried fish. The beef rib dinner ($11.99) comes with six meaty char-broiled ribs dressed in a boldly sweet and smoky barbecue sauce. The ribs could've used more marinating time to tenderize the meat which was inclined to stay tough close to the bone. The rib-eye steak ($14.99) was grilled medium rare to order and seasoned so nicely you could skip any notion of burying it in steak sauce.

On the seafood side of the menu, the shrimp dinner comes in scampi, beer-battered or grilled and the Idaho rainbow trout ($10.99) is char-broiled to order. The cod comes broiled or beer-battered We sampled the latter, a good-sized, meaty filet wearing a crispy coat of deep-fried, perfectly seasoned batter. The chicken also came beer-battered but the chick- I Kathleen Allen GXTlGi Italian food Is among the best In the world. And, soup, salad, pasta, meatballs, coffee and cake for just Good deals around Sunday, it'll be among the cheapest The ItaliarvAmeri- $6. We'll repeat that price: $6.

It happens from noon to THE OLD PUEBLO canClub, 2537 N. Stone is serving up a dinner of 3 p.m. the first Sunday of every month. 623-7154..