Chef Randy Stamm, owner of Prime Steakhouse in Aiken, South Carolina, is no newcomer to the restaurant business. In fact he comes from three generations of restauranteurs, and has worked in his family’s New York City steakhouses since he was 16 years old. Classically-French trained at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park New York, he has owned over 10 steakhouses - all under the "Prime Steakhouse" name - throughout the United States.So what brought Chef Randy to Aiken? Retired since he was 40 and living at the beach in New Jersey, he "got fed up with the depressing economic climate and negativity of living in the northeast." He moved to Aiken to be near his mother, who has lived in the area for 12 years. Once here, he was asked to revamp the culinary arts program at Aiken Technical College. But his retirement from the restaurant business was soon to end. “I need the action. After 8 years of living at the beach I was ready to get busy.” Prime Steakhouse was born again.
When asked why he would take on such a venture in this economy, he says it is because of the rapid growth of Aiken and the surrounding areas. “The south is the new northeast. My friends are moving to South Carolina, not Florida.” His vision for Prime Steakhouse is that it will “quickly become the finest restaurant in Aiken County.” Within two years he hopes to add more locations in Aiken and around the state.
Prime Steakhouse opened Friday, July 10th and features prime aged beef, and lobsters that are flown in daily. Beginning next week, a Raw Bar with oysters, shrimp and clams will be available in the bar area every afternoon starting at 3 p.m. But don’t be fooled by the name. Prime Steakhouse offers more than just steak. They are open daily for lunch (except Sunday) and have a full lunch menu with soups, sandwiches and salads (see Ahi Tuna Salad recipe below).
http://www.primesteakhouseaiken.com/
321 Richland Avenue
Aiken, South Carolina
803.642.4488
Peppercorn Ahi Tuna Salad with Wasabi and Balsamic Sauces (Recipe by Chef Randy Stamm)Ingredients:
Ahi tuna loin
ground black peppercorn
mixed salad greens
wasabi (tube)
white wine vinegar
corn oil
red balsamic vinegar
Preparation:
Dust tuna loin with black pepper. Sear on all sides just until rare. Set aside.
Squeeze wasabi into a bowl and add vinegar and oil to make a runny sauce. Place in a squirt bottle and refrigerate to thicken.
In a medium sauce pan slowly reduce red balsamic vinegar by half and cool to room temperature. (If not reduced slowly, it will taste burnt.)
Slice tuna and arrange over greens. Serve with sauces.
I took my husband to PRIME on Richland Avenue in Aiken SC in order to celebrate his graduation from the criminal justice academy. I was excited to be dining out somewhere that is not a chain, cookie cutter restaurant. This place had perfect atmosphere, lighting, artwork on the brick walls, white linen tablecloths, great music playing at a decent volume so that me and my husband could actually hear one another speak. Best of all, no sports playing on a TV in every corner. I thought,” Finally! A date night restaurant we can go to on those rare occasions we are willing and able to splurge on a dinner together!" But to my dismay the food part started off badly. We both wanted steak. Problem is that you have to accept the sides given with no substitutions. The sides that came automatically with our steaks were onion rings, mixed vegetables like squash, zucchini, string beans and onions and a small but good portion of mashed potatoes. I personally loved the sides and would have chosen them if given a choice but my husband really dislikes this particular vegetable medley type and he also hates onion rings. He could have ordered and paid for different sides separately but the price was already very high and he knew I did not really have a whole lot of money to spend. So he decided to just go with the flow. I really wished my husband could have had the sides he desired, it would have made up for a lot. First the bowl of limp, bland, unappetizing, iceberg lettuce salad came out along with hard, chewy, cold bread with frozen butter that could not even be spread onto the bread but we choked a small bit of the bread down and continued to try and keep an open mind...Maybe the steak would be so amazing that it would make up for all these things. My filet mignon was perfect! Ordered Med-rare...it came out med-rare. My husband ordered his steak Rare...It was also cooked to perfection....that is if he had ordered his med-rare. He was disappointed but still ate it and said it was alright. We were just going to pay and leave without saying a word but the owner caught us just outside the door and asked our opinion. My husband asked if he wanted honesty. The owner said yes...This was not true, my husband barely got his calm complaint about the salad out of his mouth before the owner interrupted and told us how he has owned 30 steak houses and he can assure us that his salad is authentic, New York style steak house salad. So, my husband knew right away that this man has no interest in hearing from his customers unless they only have good things to say. He did not bother to continue and we just walked away. The look he gave us was incredulous. I can hear in my mind his version of us when and if he retold this story. He would probably have my husband wearing overalls and have me described as being barefoot and pregnant. I think he believed he was schooling two ignorant Southerners on the way things are done in New York...As if we are supposed to be impressed or just say thank you and leave happy. Such a shame, I truly loved the atmosphere and would love to see a small business such as this succeed. But the fact that we went on a Friday evening around 7pm and the place was practically empty, showed me that PRIME will probably not last long. Our search for a place in Aiken that we can call,” Our Place" continues. Anybody that knows of a great date night restaurant please reply to this comment and let me know about it.
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