Blue Chip Steakhouse unique menu earns Mom Peggy’s praise
Mother’s Day is always the one day of the year when my mom Peggy reminds my dad and our family that “the farm kitchen is closed.”
It’s the one holiday when mom has earned the honor to enjoy pampering with a feast that she’s not responsible to have to cook and serve.
For as long as I can recall, even from the days of my youth, Mother’s Day has always been one of the rare times when mom enjoys steakhouse dining. Only occasionally would my mom make steak for our family Sunday dinner, usually cooking it in the oven broiler.
And while growing up in the 1970s, few premier steakhouses existed in Northwest Indiana. Mother’s Day always meant having Sunday dinner in Merrillville at one of the steakhouse restaurant franchises which no longer exist, such as Sizzler, or even more often, the York Steakhouse in the Southlake Mall. Following dinner, our family always joined mom and her two freshly-baked pies, for a visit to HER own mom, our Grandma Green and her precious white (and unfriendly) poodle Frosty at their cozy house in Rensselaer.
Last weekend for Mother’s Day 2019, my mom not only enjoyed a filet steak, but also a sweet and succulent lobster tail at William B’s Steakhouse at Blue Chip Casino, Hotel and Spa. After dinner, there was the opportunity for my parents to press their luck at the casino slot machines.
What made our dining adventure even more satisfying was learning a few interesting tidbits from William B’s Steakhouse Chef Rudy Paniagua, who has spent his past 14 years as the menu wizard at the gaming destination’s premier dining space.
Chef Paniagua’s “soup of the day” for Mother’s Day was a featured creation of a creamy dream and something neither myself, nor my mom and dad have ever sampled before: Cream of Garlic Soup.
Paniagua shared his secret recipe with us so I could pass it along to readers.
While dining, we learned a thing or two from Patrick D. Cullars, who is the house manager for William B’s Steakhouse, which has earned a deserved reputation as the culinary crowning jewel at Blue Chip. The steakhouse opened two decades ago at this Boyd Gaming property, which has grown into a destination that consists of a 65,000square-foot single-level casino, two hotel towers with a total of 486 upscale rooms, five restaurants, a spa, full-service salon and fitness center, two gift shops and the 20,000-square-foot Stardust Event Center.
Cullars, who lives with his wife Josie and their 14-year-old son Pat Jr. in Munster, told me he owns a collection of more than 3,000 carefully preserved and alphabetized menus, many now treasured from favorite landmark restaurants in Chicago and Northwest Indiana, which no longer exist, such as Phil Smidt’s in Hammond and Vogel’s in Whiting, as well as Strongbow’s Inn in Valparaiso. Like Chef Rudy, Cullars is ready to celebrate his 14-year anniversary at William B’s, and he now also holds the accredited position of sommelier in the dining room.
As for the unique soup offering created by Chef Rudy, he explained garlic is a key ingredient to keep moms and everyone healthy and filled with vitality.
Both herbalists and folk medicine experts have hailed garlic’s positive properties for centuries.
Ancient Egyptian chief priests and royal advisers promoted garlic as the key to building physical strength and Chinese physicians from medical history’s earliest records highlight garlic as a key ingredient for lowering blood pressure, a measure which is still prescribed today. During the Middle Ages, not only were garland strands of garlic hung on doors to ward off vampires and evil spirits, garlic was also eaten with proven results to fight the Black Plague, with later numerous studies supporting evidence that garlic is a natural weapon ingredient to combat bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Researches have also found garlic contains allicin, which is released when garlic is crushed and helps with lowering cholesterol levels.
Blue Chip’s William B’s Steakhouse signature Garlic Soup is both flavorful and velvety. Best of all, it requires few ingredients and is easy to make. William B’s is open from 5-10 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, closed Wednesdays, and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday. FYI: (219) 879-7711 or bluechipcasino.com.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published three cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@comhs.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.