When The Takeout was just a glimmer in the eyes of The A.V. Club (under the Supper Club banner), we published this video featuring our colleague Stephanie Potakis, casting director at The Onion. Today we’re resurfacing this video as we continue Steak Week. Potakis has been a vegetarian since fourth grade—her reasons, she said, were out of concern for the environment and wanting to, in her words, “save the world.” Her large, meat-eating Greek family was befuddled by her decision. During the summer of 2016, Potakis attended a ribs festival and was enticed by how delicious everything smelled. She said: “It was my tipping point.” Potakis wanted to reintroduce lean meats into her diet. So when we heard about this, we suggested taking her to one of Chicago’s fine steakhouses to show her what she’s been missing all these years. We brought Potakis and a camera crew to Swift & Sons, where acclaimed chef Chris Pandel prepared a panoply of luxury meats for our steak virgin. Life, Potakis said later, separated into before and after.
