Executive Chef Jeffrey (Jeff) Pilditch helped roll out Lincoln Steakhouse in 2017. He shares a long list of things that make this place special: the creative menu, the Josper charcoal oven, the ambiance, and especially, their welcoming arms open to the local community.
“We have a lot of pride in our restaurants, and we really want the locals to come in to experience what we have to offer,” Jeff says.
Even though he describes the restaurant as a higher-end steakhouse, he assures that they’re family-friendly and casual, too.
“We have a simple approach, but refined techniques. We let the ingredients speak for themselves, and we don’t manipulate the food. We have a clear vision—sprinkle a little talent in there, and that’s about it,” he says.
Their Josper charcoal oven is a bit of a star in the kitchen and the secret ingredient to their flavorful steaks. There are only a few of these ovens in the state of Arizona. All of their meats are cooked with a mixture of two specialty charcoals in the Josper. One is made with mesquite wood, giving the meat a smoky, regional flavor, and the other charcoal comes from an Argentinian tree called quebracho. It burns very hot and adds a clean flavor to their steaks.
“You can have a 40-pound bag of quebracho charcoal burn down into a pile of ash that fits in the palm of your hand,” Jeff explains.
They also offer seafood and vegan options. In fact, one of the vegetarian plates, the charred cauliflower steak with pine nuts, golden raisins, preserved lemon and Sicilian peppers, is on Jeff’s long list of favorites. He also recommends the short rib rigatoni, the Dover sole with caper brown butter, and of course, all of the steaks.
“We have a proper Dover sole,” he explains. “You don’t typically come across that unless you’re at a fancy French restaurant.”
They work with several local farms for fresh produce and dairy, such as Ramona Farms, which provides its Pima corn and tepary beans native to the Sonoran Desert. Crows Dairy provides them with goat cheese. Abby Lee Farms grows their tomatoes.
“We are really proud of what we have here, but we are always on a journey of refinement—always improving."
