Arizona Steakhouse

Nov. 29, 2006

At Arizona Steakhouse, beef is our business,” says owner Frank Saco on the restaurant’s website. “We age all of our beef to ensure tenderness and we also cook over hickory wood to give our beef a unique flavor and sear in all the natural juices. While other steak houses spend money on peanuts or memorabilia, we spend money on our food.”
Saco, 37, is an Iraq-born Chaldean Christian who came to the U.S. with his parents when he was two to escape Saddam Hussein’s government. Saco has worked with his older brother Nader, age 44, who runs White’s Steak-N-Ale in Kalkaska with lots of Middle Eastern cuisine. They settled first in the Detroit area and came north to the Grand Traverse area 23 years ago.
To attract children and families to the Arizona Steakhouse on M-72 in Williamsburg, Saco installed a 30-foot-long, 1,200-gallon fish tank separating the bar from the dining room. The tank is filled with over 300 exotic fish for a breathtaking backdrop to your meal.
The restaurant’s team has both a local and an international flavor. Chef Brian Ramsey previously worked at Shanty Creek, specializing in the cuisines of many cultures. Frank Saco is the youngest of nine children and has operated the Shell Mini-Mart next door to the Steakhouse for the last 12 years. His son Jeff greeted us when we went there for the prime rib dinner.
The prime rib buffet included fish, chicken, soup and salad at $22. I had the Bunkhouse rib-eye, also $22. Our server Duanne was very helpful and attentive.
Eight appetizers at lunch include wing dings and French onion soup at $5, and soup du jour at $2 per cup. Six lunch entrees range from house tossed salad at $5 to Sunset Chicken Salad at $8. The soup-salad bar is $7. There are six lunch entrees, from the Angus burger at $8 to top sirloin, $9, along with Middle Eastern sandwiches.
For dinner, seven appetizers are offered, ranging from Escargot Portabella at $9 to Arizona cheese bread at $6. Six entrees include half order BBQ ribs w/baked potato, $14, to grilled sirloin, $16, Arizona strip steak, $21, Rustlers Filet, $25, and Saloon Porterhouse with vegetable, baked and potato, $29.
Five Middle Eastern cuisine items run from chicken kabob, $14, to beef shish kebob, $9, and rack of lamb, $19. Six “From Rivers to Sea” items include whitefish, $14, to Apache Springs Perch, $19, or a pound of shrimp in beer batter or with cocktail sauce, $18. Crab legs and lobster tail are market price. Three pasta dishes include house made lasagna with vegetable, $14 and up. “From the Hen House” items include smoked southwestern grilled chicken with bacon, and Campfire Chicken at $16.
Friday night features all-you-can-eat perch while Saturday night offers all-you- can-eat prime rib at $22, including fries, soup and salad bar.
Cocktail-wise, Grey Goose Vodka martinis are $5.50, with Tanqueray martinis, $4.50.
Arizona Steakhouse is located at 9009 E. M-72 in Williamsburg, ph: 231-267-5020.