The best steak you’ve never had is in Sheridan, Louisiana

By Jesse Brooks

If you have ever been to Pine and Sheridan, Louisiana you would know how the area came up with its name. It’s 10 miles out from Franklinton if you’re traveling East either way on Hwy. 10 or Hwy. 436, and the journey feels like getting lost in a deep forest, aside from the occasional farm fields that pop up seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

If you aren’t a native of Washington Parish, you may not have much reason to travel to Sheridan, a mostly residential community that remains unincorporated. There’s a public junior/senior high school in the area and just a few general stores beyond that. However, in the thick of the forestry lies Bourne’s Restaurant, one of Louisiana’s best-kept secrets in the way of food.

Bourne’s, technically three miles south of Pine on Hwy. 62, has a traditional playbook. As far as the structure of a Louisiana restaurant goes, it checks a lot of boxes: seafood, burgers, sandwiches, chicken and Southern-style desserts. In true country style, Bourne’s features a massive buffet that always features crabs, crawfish and shrimp as long as it’s in season. It also features assortments fried and baked chicken, bbq ribs, pot roast, country vegetables with dessert included. The dinner buffet runs around $17.95 per person and is reduced to $13.95 for lunch.

As great a deal as the buffet is, many see the ribeye steak as the restaurant’s centerpiece. When you find the item on the menu, the ribeye is the only steak listed with no ounce measurement. No weight measurement is needed. All anyone needs to understand about the ribeye is that it is huge and it is not to be underestimated.

In a world that seems to be increasingly terrified to undercook food due to the bland tasting consumer that may lodge their whiny complaints on Yelp later, Bourne’s is not afraid to correctly cook your beef at the temperature that is ordered. Their steaks must be marginated for a significant period of time because they are always as tender as cutting into butter.

The way they prepare the ribeye also creates a natural au jus, and every dish is served with a cup of the light gravy on the side. As far as seasoning goes, Bourne’s method doesn’t seem complicated at all. There seems to salt, pepper and maybe some garlic and onion powder in the rub. Beyond that, the approach mostly depends on a good quality cut slow-cooked in its own juice.

Mass production in the modern restaurant has resulted in a lower quality product, but the ribeye at Bourne’s conjures up memories of the great small-town Louisiana steakhouses of the past. A quality piece of meat such as this one seems to be worthy of a Florida Parishes replacement of the great Bear Creek Steakhouse in Montpelier that was a powerhouse through the 1970s-90s. The preparation they use is similar to that of Doe’s Eat Place of Mississippi Delta fame.

The ribeye comes with an additional baked potato accompanied with all the fixings, including a side cup of melted butter. Dessert is also included with the purchase of the meal. The best part of it all is that the total cost of the ribeye dinner runs around $24.95, which is about $3 less than the national average, and Bourne’s is simply better than most places North of Lake Pontchartrain.

The next time you feel like taking a drive “through the woods” make a stop at Bourne’s, just East of Franklinton.

Connect with Bourne’s here on Facebook.