Aaaaahhhhhhhhhmazing!
Every once in a while, it is necessary to splurge on a dinner like this and with our anniversary coming up, what better excuse to celebrate with a great steak? Having watched enough Top Chef and other food-related programs, we're familiar with the David Burke namesake and was super excited to check this place out. With reservations made via OpenTable, we walked into a a classy yet whimsical environment, with cow-print decor, accents of gold and a sense of indulgence in the air. Our waiter, who was ever-so friendly, brought us over water glasses and two large popovers to start our meal. The last time we had popovers was at the Mill at 2T and in comparison, these were dense and eggy tasting, in contrast to the light, airy ones at the Mill. While waiting on our entrees, we watched a nearby table as their tableside caesar salad was prepared--I wish we had ordered that, it looked incredible! Not to fear, our incredible dinner soon arrived--we came here for the dry-aged steaks, kept in a Himalayan salt-lined, temperature-controlled room. Tom had the 55-day aged rib eye while I had the dry-aged sirloin; the word incredible barely does this justice. Both of our steaks were cooked to our liking of medium-rare. At first bite of Tom's rib eye, the taste of salt cured meat starts to melt and coat your tongue and it is just heavenly. While you're not assaulted by the salt on my sirloin, the tenderness from the aging process is completely evident. For sides, we chose to share asparagus and shallots and a side of homemade french fries that came with ketchup and a kicked-up aioli--both were nicely presented and then devoured.
After a meal so decadent, we couldn't justify having dessert. To our surprise, our waiter brought over cotton candy--what a concept! In addition, a small purse with two chocolate-covered rice krispie squares was given to us with the check--definitely sweetened the bill for me! Overall, this experience was all we could have hoped for and I cannot wait to return!
www.davidburkeprime.com
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
8/9/11-Joe's American Bar & Grill, Providence, RI
This small-chain restaurant used to have a location in West Hartford and I have a funny memory from the last time I was there--I was out on a dinner date with my then-boyfriend and his mother called him and ordered him home because she didn't like that he was out on a date--we were both in college. Yeah, that relationship didn't last much longer.
This location is as classy as I remember the one in West Hartford being--it is the kind of place I'd imagine power business lunches taking place because of the dark wooden decor, vintage pictures and local reminders such as the Providence College oars mounted on the wall. Even the bathrooms are classy and well-kept!
Jill and I stopped in for lunch on our day trip to Providence and we started with the spinach and artichoke dip, served with pita and tortilla chips--what a huge serving of the dip! We definitely needed more chips in order to finish the bowl of dip (which we were unable to do!) but otherwise, it was hot, bubbly and delicious. For our lunches, Jill had the California Club Salad--very large portion but she found it to be overdressed so ordering the dressing on the side would be an idea for next time. I had the Chicken Club Sandwich, which was nicely stacked and presented, perfect for a light yet satisfying lunch. A nice stop for the both of us--and I am happy to report, a better memory than my last visit :)
www.joesamerican.com
This location is as classy as I remember the one in West Hartford being--it is the kind of place I'd imagine power business lunches taking place because of the dark wooden decor, vintage pictures and local reminders such as the Providence College oars mounted on the wall. Even the bathrooms are classy and well-kept!
Jill and I stopped in for lunch on our day trip to Providence and we started with the spinach and artichoke dip, served with pita and tortilla chips--what a huge serving of the dip! We definitely needed more chips in order to finish the bowl of dip (which we were unable to do!) but otherwise, it was hot, bubbly and delicious. For our lunches, Jill had the California Club Salad--very large portion but she found it to be overdressed so ordering the dressing on the side would be an idea for next time. I had the Chicken Club Sandwich, which was nicely stacked and presented, perfect for a light yet satisfying lunch. A nice stop for the both of us--and I am happy to report, a better memory than my last visit :)
www.joesamerican.com
8/5/11-The Homestead Rest, Sparta, NJ
On our way out of town for the weekend with friends, we stopped at this popular local joint. It is adorned with photos of horses, riding gear and above the mantle is a gigantic set of horns--this place is both country AND western! They had a large, lively bar area filled with people, but we were interested in the food!
We were quickly seated at a table and drink orders placed. For our dinners--Jill had the Homestead Burger-with bacon, american cheese and fried onions, served with their house-made chips and a pickle spear. Tom had the Cheyenne Chicken Fried Steak-- Smothered in sawmill gravy & served with mashed potatoes & string beans-- he enjoyed the white gravy that coated the entire dish and it was such a full plate he couldn't finish it all! I had the Fistfull of Dollars burger--Gruyere cheese, onion rings, lettuce, tomato & chipotle mayo-- I enjoyed this burger, it was cooked to my liking and gruyere, while it is so underused, worked really well on this burger.
Overall, a nice stop on our way to our destination--good food, clean bathrooms and prompt service.
www.homesteadrest.com
We were quickly seated at a table and drink orders placed. For our dinners--Jill had the Homestead Burger-with bacon, american cheese and fried onions, served with their house-made chips and a pickle spear. Tom had the Cheyenne Chicken Fried Steak-- Smothered in sawmill gravy & served with mashed potatoes & string beans-- he enjoyed the white gravy that coated the entire dish and it was such a full plate he couldn't finish it all! I had the Fistfull of Dollars burger--Gruyere cheese, onion rings, lettuce, tomato & chipotle mayo-- I enjoyed this burger, it was cooked to my liking and gruyere, while it is so underused, worked really well on this burger.
Overall, a nice stop on our way to our destination--good food, clean bathrooms and prompt service.
www.homesteadrest.com
Friday, July 29, 2011
7/22/11-Aziago's, Southington, CT
I was here a few months ago with my mom for lunch, but I haven't been here for dinner in 6 years, so it was about time for a proper revisit.
We are always surprised when we walk into a restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night and it is practically empty, although this place has never seemed too popular. Needless to say, we were seated immediately and our drink orders taken--since it was so hot out, frozen drinks were on our minds so Tom had a frozen peppermint patty and I had a frozen Italian mudslide--both refreshing and excellent! House made bread was brought to the table with a small plate of quality olive oil for dipping. Small salads were also brought out before our dinners arrived. For our entrees--Tom had the prime rib special--although the prime rib was nicely cooked, he wasn't a fan of the gravy that was poured over the meat, explaining that the meat itself is good and didn't find the gravy necessary and would have preferred a side dish of au jus. His dish came with a side of mashed potatoes, which also didn't totally thrill him. I had the veal parmesan served with a side of penne and marinara sauce--while I liked the texture breading, it was so obtrusive that it was hard to distinguish in my mouth where the veal was versus the breading because of a lack of flavor--very hard to describe, so I can't say I was entirely thrilled with my dish.
Overall, our experience was ehhh--average. From past experience, lunch at this restaurant is much better than dinner so I can't say that we'd go out of our way to return for dinner
www.aziagosrestaurant.com
.
We are always surprised when we walk into a restaurant on a Friday or Saturday night and it is practically empty, although this place has never seemed too popular. Needless to say, we were seated immediately and our drink orders taken--since it was so hot out, frozen drinks were on our minds so Tom had a frozen peppermint patty and I had a frozen Italian mudslide--both refreshing and excellent! House made bread was brought to the table with a small plate of quality olive oil for dipping. Small salads were also brought out before our dinners arrived. For our entrees--Tom had the prime rib special--although the prime rib was nicely cooked, he wasn't a fan of the gravy that was poured over the meat, explaining that the meat itself is good and didn't find the gravy necessary and would have preferred a side dish of au jus. His dish came with a side of mashed potatoes, which also didn't totally thrill him. I had the veal parmesan served with a side of penne and marinara sauce--while I liked the texture breading, it was so obtrusive that it was hard to distinguish in my mouth where the veal was versus the breading because of a lack of flavor--very hard to describe, so I can't say I was entirely thrilled with my dish.
Overall, our experience was ehhh--average. From past experience, lunch at this restaurant is much better than dinner so I can't say that we'd go out of our way to return for dinner
www.aziagosrestaurant.com
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