The Sizzler: Still a great steak at a great price

Sizzler is the people's steakhouse. The popular chain was conceived in the late 1950s and is still going strong with locations throughout the West.

The draw here is big portions at puny prices. It's possible to get a perfectly serviceable 14-ounce rib-eye for $16, roughly the same price as an appetizer at a high-end steakhouse. In fact, that steak here was better than some of the beef I tried at El Gaucho. (See the review on the next page.)

Sizzler is an order-at-the-counter operation, where the steak prices range from $11.99 to $15.99, with lunch specials from $7.49 to $7.99.

You get a ticket and a server delivers your entree. While you wait for your hunk of meat, if you're like the rest of the crowd, you opt for the salad bar ($3.99 with meals) and spend some time loading a plate. The salad bar at the Tukwila location really is a marvel, a dizzying assortment of toppings for the cold, crisp greens. There's a clever artist in the kitchen crafting sculptures out of leafy kale and whole fruit. Are those avocados just for looks or do you grab one and peel it at your table? Judging from the holes left in the arrangement, that's exactly what avocado-loving diners do.

Back at our booth, my buddy and I were greeted by a sing-songy server named DeDe Schumaier, who brought iced tea and garlic cheese bread and told us the rib-eye smelled particularly great that day. We later learned that the delightful DeDe is quite the celebrity. Turns out she's "Mrs. Seahawk," and she signs the bill that way.

The lunch rush hadn't yet arrived, so she had time to fill us in on her place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (she and her husband were included in a fans' exhibit at the pigskin palace in Canton, Ohio). She and Mr. Seahawk were married on the 50-yard line and have turned their home into a shrine to the Seahawks. She even showed us her own trading card. Now, if that doesn't merit a big tip, I don't know what does.

Well, there's this: I asked how the steaks are seasoned at Sizzler. The correctly cooked meat perks up under a flurry of something salty. Mrs. Seahawk didn't fumble. Instead, she slipped me a little container of Sizzler's secret spice mix. Score!