Colton's Steak House

2020 E. Independence St.
Springfield, MO 65804
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Adam suggested this place, we quickly agreed. We've been there before, once. Since our last visit, which as best as we remembered, a good experience, it was actually recommended as a place we should try by my lovely, hardworking daughter. She's been a resident of Springfield for a few years. 
So we piled in to our trusty, low mileage Sonata and headed out, aiming toward furniture row on the south side of the Queen City of the Ozarks. 
The parking lot was large, but crowded, a popular place to be sure. Entering, there were several people in line. The din of the customers was palpable. The place had an obvious, but not over the top western theme, saddles, boots, paintings of horses and cowboys.. . Mostly it was dimly lit. Not exactly a romantic atmosphere but not as bawdy or raucous as your typical

Texas Roadhouse. 
We were escorted to a booth right away, the front desk seemed to be in firm control of the Saturday evening rush.  April, our designated server, asked about drinks. Angel and Adam asked for their usual, I went out on a limb, again.
Confession: I'm not a beer guy. Even when I worked at Anheuser Busch and was receiving a free case of beer each month, several bottles of the stuff were never consumed. I know guys, mostly guys, that can drink beer all afternoon, every day, I'm just not that guy. I do enjoy a GOOD beer though, occasionally, with a good meal. "Blue Moon IPA on draft" I demanded. 

April disappeared for a few moments then reappeared with the drinks, except for my beer. She did set a mug of water in front of me, which I appreciated. I learned that this is typical in somewhat fancy places, maybe a union thing, the beer would be delivered separately, by a minion from the bar.
During the 15 minute drive I asked my dinner companions what they might like. "We'll see, maybe a steak of some kind." came the answer with "What about you?" added on. "I'm not sure."  I tried to convince them that I was open to a wide variety of options. "Probably fish and chips again." came a snide remark from the back seat.  True, as best as I could recall, that was what I had the last time, and pretty much my go-to for any new place we try. This is a thing that started during our 2022 trip to Iceland.  There's a wide variety of  oddball meal options in Iceland, there were things I wanted to try and several things I had no intention of ever trying. So when we ended up in a Ring Road near-or-attached-to our hotel restaurant, fish and chips was almost always a safe and available option. Iceland is closer to the UK than it is to the U.S. so the customs and cuisine are more British/Irish than American. I do love, love, love the Icelandic hotdogs though. . . .trust me on this.
When April took our orders, and it came to my turn, I hesitated. All eyes were on me.
"I'll have (mental drumroll for dramatic effect) the fish and chips please."
Snickers all around. April picked up on it. "I take it that this was not entirely unexpected."
She scurried off. I took a few moments to sip my Blue Moon, and scanned the place.. Lots of staff people, walking briskly, sometimes carrying food or drinks or empty handed . . .there seemed to be a lot of people on the front of the house staff, LOTS of them, all bustling about. 
I tried to calculate the staff to table ratio. it seemed very close to 1:1.  Plenty of staff, busy, quick, but unhurried, much like an airport, hustle and bustle that SEEMED chaotic, but was somehow well orchestrated. 

The food arrived after a few minutes. It was gorgeous. I asked April for malt vinegar, but aside from that all our needs were met. I tried the coleslaw first, because I KNEW the fish would be lava-hot. I did break open a couple of the three fillets though to let the trapped, searing steam out. The coleslaw was of the creamy style as opposed to vinegar. There was also a sweetness from the  apples that they had mixed in. 
The 'chips' or as normal people call them, fries, were thick, very think, and not quite crispy. I would prefer that they be thinner and crispier but that's pretty much an American burger and fry thing. Not a UK inspired fish and chip thing. I'll allow it.
The fish itself was very good. In lots of places the breading slides right off, leaving a pile of breading and several fistfuls of flaky, unmanageable meat. Not here though. It must be a technique thing The breading added a satisfying crunch and the innards, the cod, was thick and fresh. I was only able to finish about half of that which was served, which is fine, they make take-away boxes just for this sort of first-world problem. Four or five minutes in the trusty air fryer and voila! Lunch.
Angel ordered the steak (medium) and shrimp plate with a side salad and a baked potato. 

The seasoned grilled shrimp rested on a base of plain rice, for no particular reason other than presentation. It certainly wasn't necessary for the meal since it abutted a fair-sized baked potato. The shrimp was seasoned, lightly, with branded Colton's seasoning rub. A small jar of which was on the table. Similar to seasoned salt and just shy of Old Bay in flavor. There was also a bottle of Colton's Steak Sauce that was eerily similar to A1 Sauce. 
I have a standard response when I order a steak and the server asks if I want steak sauce: "Not if you cooked it right."
I mean, how hard can it be to make a good steak? Butter, salt and pepper, don't overcook it. Bing, done. Steak, cooked medium or medium rare, brings plenty of taste on its own. If i ever eat a steak in front of you and I ask for steak sauce, too late, I'm already disappointed.

Summary: All was very, very  good. April stopped by three or four times to check on our satisfaction and to top off Angel's tea and Adam's soda pop. Angel had finished most of her side salad, then had one of the complimentary rolls, even though she had earlier said that these warm, slightly yeasty carb-bombs would be too filling. She pretty much swallowed the steak whole and completely eviscerated the potato, leaving only the skin shell. There was no visible trace of the shrimp.  A thing you might want to know about my darling wife: Angel is, by every measure, a carnivore. She frequently snacks on 'meat cookies'. Leftover chicken steak or pork chops found in the chill chest. She doesn't even bother nuking them first. Frankly, it is kind of scary. Like a primitive mammal, gnawing away down to the bone.
I asked for opinions on the drive home. The answers ranged from "pretty good" to  "very good"  Would we be going back? Hell yeah!
If you are anywhere near any of their 35 locations and this restaurant is NOT recommended to you, then you need to find a wider circle of acquaintances. Top notch service, great dishes in a comfortable atmosphere.