Winn Meat Company Success Stories Across Texas
 Winn Meat Company has enjoyed a long history of service to Dakota’s, located in the heart of Downtown Dallas. Our signature Dry-Aging program, one of the few in the United States, started in collaboration with Dakota’s Executive Chef Ted Grieb. Our dry-aged product is used in such Dakota’s signature recipes as Steak au Poivre, and Dakota’s Rib-Eye steaks, Cowboy steaks, Porterhouse Steaks, and New York and Kansas City Strips all are dry-aged to perfection. Additionally, Winn Meat Company provides Heritage Berkshire pork and lamb for Chef Grieb’s menu at Dakota’s.
Ted Grieb is a professionally trained chef from the Philadelphia area. Grieb held notable chef positions in some of the most exotic locations in the world before joining Lincoln Restaurant Group, owner of Dakota's Restaurant.
Executive Chef Ted Grieb's exquisite talent has been recognized by critics, as he recently received high acclaim from The Dallas Morning News for Dakota’s. He has mastered his craft and proves to be one of the best chefs in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Dakota's was established in 1984 and has been a downtown Dallas dining icon for over 20 years. Dakota's unique underground location has an interesting story behind it. It is located one level below street level on a section of real estate that was once occupied by the First Dallas Baptist church. There is a legally binding clause in the deed that prohibits any future owner from selling alcohol on former church grounds. Because "on the grounds" and "below ground" are two different terms, and because Lincoln Property Company wanted a restaurant to anchor their international headquarters, land was excavated and the restaurant was placed 18 feet below street grade.
The restaurant is decorated with a hand-cut Italian Carerra marble floor in a basket weave pattern, dark wood paneling, brown leather, marble trim and New Orleans style brass gas lamps. There are authentic art deco lamps and mirrors located in the back of the restaurant and stately classical wood columns - salvaged from an early 20th century beaux-arts Dallas home - topped with Corinthian capitals that rise above the bow-shaped bar topped with green marble. The large French doors allow sunlight to stream through giving the dining room warmth and light.
Customers ride down to Dakota's in a canopied glass elevator accessed from street level while viewing the 1,800 square-foot outdoor subterranean courtyard. This cool oasis is complete with a 5-tiered granite water wall, multi-tiered landscaping, lava rock fire fit and black granite bar. Dakota's patio has long been considered one of the city's most romantic dining spots.
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 Winn Meat Company is proud to have among our Austin customers one of the city’s brightest new stars that is receiving rave reviews: Kenobi Restaurant and Sushi Bar. The fabulous restaurant opened in January of this year, under the ownership of John Park and Daniel Chang, with Executive Chef Tuan Le. John Park and Daniel Chang also own Fish in Dallas and in Houston.
This customer started using our product from the beginning at Kenobi. Because of the quality of the product and customer service, all of Chef Le’s restaurants are using Winn Meat Company products in their recipes.
Chef Le created the following unique menu items as original recipes, featuring Winn Meat Company’s fine proteins such as the Sterling Silver® Premium Beef Rib-eye and our 4-ounce Petit Beef short-rib Martillo (mini-hammer)
rib-eye maki
thinly shaved rib-eye wrapped around sliced avocado and Japanese yams, grilled with teriyaki glaze
Asian braised beef short rib
soy-mirin spiced with lemon scented mashed potatoes and asparagus
Additional Winn Meat Company products Chef Le is using include:
- Kobe boneless short ribs
- Sterling Silver® Rib eye cowboy steak
- Sterling Silver® pork tenderloin
- Lamb rack
We congratulate Chef Le for his fast-paced and steady success, and are honored to be a part of it!
The historic Steamboat House – The Great Texas Steakhouse is another of Winn Meat Company’s marvelous customers.
Steamboat House founder Charlie Fogarty has created a world-class concept modeled after the historic last residence of Sam Houston that is a destination for fans of fine food and Texana from throughout the Southwest and the world.
Winn Meat Company did a blind taste test for Charlie Fogarty, lining up Sterling Silver Premium Beef against the beef of a major national competitor.
Winn Meat Company and Sterling Silver won the test with flying colors.
Steamboat House’s Margaret Lea Houston Filet and Davy Crockett Filets are Sterling Silver Premium beef, as well as the Stephen F. Austin Rib eye and Colonel Travis Rib eye.
Steamboat also serves Berkshire Pork from Winn Meat Company’s fine protein selection.
In 1964, Charlie Fogarty, had a custom picture frame shop in Houston. One Saturday, Mr. Donald Lord, a neighbor of Charlie’s, came into the shop and "gave" him two "pictures" that were in an old building near downtown. The building was scheduled to be bulldozed, along with the pictures. Mr. Lord said that Charlie needed to come and get the pictures soon or they would be lost forever.
The two "pictures" turned out to be magnificent, old oil portraits of Sam Houston and George Washington that had been painted for and used in the 1936 San Jacinto Centennial Celebration and Parade. Mr. Lord told Charlie that he hoped that "one day they would be displayed where the public could enjoy them."
In 1976, Charlie framed the portraits for use in the U. S. Bi-Centennial. I contacted Texas Commerce Bank in hopes that they could be displayed in their grand lobby. The lady in charge of advertising and promotion said that nothing had ever been displayed in the lobby and they probably wouldn’t start now. However, she agreed to come and see the paintings. "Maybe there is another place in the bank where they could be displayed." After seeing the paintings, she said, "You can display those in the Texas Commerce Bank lobby. They can be the first items ever displayed there. I’ll get the brass posts and velvet ropes so that no one can touch them." After this, they went back into storage.
In 1986, they were displayed in the Tomball Chamber of Commerce Sesquicentennial office for the year. Once again, they were returned to storage.
In 2001, after being a partner in Goodson’s Café in Tomball for 16 years, Charlie dreamed of opening a steak house and displaying the two old historic paintings. His wife, Senie and he had dinner at a restaurant in Huntsville with friends, Gene and Judy. After dinner, they decided to go see the "Steamboat House", Sam Houston’s last residence, and Oakwood Cemetery where Sam Houston was buried. They spent an hour or so at "Steamboat House" looking in the windows and taking photos. The following day he began to sketch the floor plan of the restaurant "Steamboat House", a project that took 4 years of planning and work.
In 2003, Charlie sold my interest in Goodson’s Café to my partner and son, Jimmy Fogarty. He has continued the tradition of serving "the best chicken fried steak in Texas."
Charlie hopes his old friend and neighbor, Mr. Donald Lord, is looking down from Heaven proud of the part he played in saving the grand, old, historic paintings of Sam Houston and George Washington.
And he hopes that "Steamboat House" inspires the public to explore the history of the great State of Texas.
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