The pre-season is now behind us and the PST heads into its conference schedule. The upcoming schedule is a virtual SEC West of steakhouses, all heavyweights. First up on the conference schedule: The Palm.
The Palm is located in what could be described as the "Steakhouse District" of Philadelphia, with four major steakhouses within 100 yards of each other.
The Rabbit was away down South with Ms. Rabbit because he thought it was too cold. So he was replaced with Pierpont's friend who claimed to be a former AHL goon which is basically a tautology. Anyway, he is code named Hanson.
1. The Decor.
The venerable Palm is located in the equally venerable Bellevue-Strafford building. The Palm is situated in the lobby of the office portion of the building and is carved out of that lobby space. This gives it the feel of a pop-up location rather than a stand alone restaurant.
Like all Palms, the walls are adorned with caricatures of notable individuals. The difference with the Philadelphia Palm is no one known who the people are: Carl Lipbalm? Moreover, judging by the facial hair of the male caricatures there has not been a new one since 1986.
Accept for the complete strangers on the wall starring at you while you eat, the space is beautiful and contains many of the original details of the Bellevue lobby.
Rating: Three of Five Steers.
2. The Bar.
After our experience at Ruths Chris, my dog could be mixing drinks and it would have been an improvement. However, the Palm bar is top-notch. Drinks were appropriately made and the crowd was lively. My one nit is that the bartender asked me if I wanted my Manhattan with dry or sweet vermouth. Manhattans do not contain the dry version.
Rating: Three and a half of Five Steers.
3. The Scene.
The scene at the Palm was professional and lively. No one in full deer camo - although deer season starts in a little over a week. No complaints.
Rating: Three of Five Steers.
4. The Service.
The Palm was the first place on the PST that we experienced true steakhouse service. Our server Randy was a seasoned pro. Appropriate conversion, but no too intrusive, attentive, and knowledgeable of the menu.
Rating: Four of Five Steers.
5. The Steak.
After excelling in other areas, unfortunately the Palm steak was a let down. Pierpont, as did I, thought it was a little tough and gristly. The steak certainly did not appear aged at all. It also lacked the broiled char that is a hallmark of a good steak. Finally, it was not seasoned. Asia thought it was a "purest" steak and he appreciated that the taste stood on its own.
Rating: Two and a half of Five Steers.
Next up: Morton's.
(Note: December is a bye week for the PST as we will dine with the ladies of the PST at an undisclosed location. See you next year.)
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
The Southern-least: Ruth's Chris
The October stop on the PST brought the gentlemen to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse located on the corner of Broad and Locust Street. Geographically, Ruth's Chris is the southernmost location on the tour stop. Interestingly, none of us had even stepped foot in Ruth's Chris before our visit. It did not take long for us to realize why.
1. The Décor.
Ruth's Chris may be the only restaurant that I know that is located in a completely vacant fifteen story building. The vacancy of the upper floors are vacant because they are being renovated into apartment, the adjoining lower floor of the building is vacant because it used to be Ted's Montana Grille, which no one went to and which was notoriously featured on Inside Edition's "rat patrol" for being infested with rats.
Ruth's Chris looks like some gave the design team 24 hours notice to decorate a steakhouse -- in 1985. First, above the bar is a large moose head that is neither real or appropriate for the space. Second, the moose head is not the only bizarre thing on the wall. The bathrooms have (crooked) pictures of Philadelphia that look like they were bought at a gift shop. Third, the space is dark, not in a moody way, but in a "lets try to hide the dirt" way.
The rating: One of Five Steers.
2. The Bar.
The Rabbit ordered an Old Fashion and was given a club soda with a muddled orange. At least the bartender was honest and admitted he did not know how to make one.
The following two gentlemen sum up the bar scene at Ruth's Chris: the guy that asked the bartender for two vodka cranberries at 6:59 p.m. admittedly so he could beat happy hour two for one special (yes, Ruth's Chris has a two for one happy hour) and the gentlemen who walked in with full deer camo (and its not deer season in Pennsylvania yet).
The rating: One and a half (the half for the bartenders honesty) of Five Steers
3. The Scene.
I think Pierpont sums up the scene well "If you are in from "out of town", and willfully trust the Holiday Inn's "concierge recommendation" then RC is your steakhouse." Can't really argue with him.
The rating: Two of Five Steers
4. The Service.
The service was attentive and the semmelier did come out to ask about our wines . But, like Capital Grille, came up short of that steakhouse level of service where you expect to be on a first name basis with your server.
The rating: Two of Five Steers
5. The Steak.
Ruths Chris explictly sells the sizzle of its steaks. Unfortunately, it forgot to sell the steak. As per the rules, NY Strip was ordered by all. However, the results were mediocre. The overall quality of the meat was fair but they came out significantly overcooked tasting more burnt than char.
The rating: Two of Five Steers
1. The Décor.
Ruth's Chris may be the only restaurant that I know that is located in a completely vacant fifteen story building. The vacancy of the upper floors are vacant because they are being renovated into apartment, the adjoining lower floor of the building is vacant because it used to be Ted's Montana Grille, which no one went to and which was notoriously featured on Inside Edition's "rat patrol" for being infested with rats.
Ruth's Chris looks like some gave the design team 24 hours notice to decorate a steakhouse -- in 1985. First, above the bar is a large moose head that is neither real or appropriate for the space. Second, the moose head is not the only bizarre thing on the wall. The bathrooms have (crooked) pictures of Philadelphia that look like they were bought at a gift shop. Third, the space is dark, not in a moody way, but in a "lets try to hide the dirt" way.
The rating: One of Five Steers.
2. The Bar.
The Rabbit ordered an Old Fashion and was given a club soda with a muddled orange. At least the bartender was honest and admitted he did not know how to make one.
The following two gentlemen sum up the bar scene at Ruth's Chris: the guy that asked the bartender for two vodka cranberries at 6:59 p.m. admittedly so he could beat happy hour two for one special (yes, Ruth's Chris has a two for one happy hour) and the gentlemen who walked in with full deer camo (and its not deer season in Pennsylvania yet).
The rating: One and a half (the half for the bartenders honesty) of Five Steers
3. The Scene.
I think Pierpont sums up the scene well "If you are in from "out of town", and willfully trust the Holiday Inn's "concierge recommendation" then RC is your steakhouse." Can't really argue with him.
The rating: Two of Five Steers
4. The Service.
The service was attentive and the semmelier did come out to ask about our wines . But, like Capital Grille, came up short of that steakhouse level of service where you expect to be on a first name basis with your server.
The rating: Two of Five Steers
5. The Steak.
Ruths Chris explictly sells the sizzle of its steaks. Unfortunately, it forgot to sell the steak. As per the rules, NY Strip was ordered by all. However, the results were mediocre. The overall quality of the meat was fair but they came out significantly overcooked tasting more burnt than char.
The rating: Two of Five Steers
Friday, October 3, 2014
Capital Grille
Much like the PGA, the PSH moves geographically. But, unlike the PGA, the PSH moves East to West. The first stop on the tour was the Capital Grille located on Corner of Broad & Chestnut.
A long time staple in Washington, hence the name, the Capital Grille Philadelphia is a favorite haunt to many a faux Philadelphia power player, pseudo celebrity, and actual philanderer (who are sometime a combination of all three).
1. The Decor.
The decor of the Capital Grille is typical steakhouse: big leather chairs, dark wood, and old looking paintings. Its what you would expect and the Philadelphia location does it well.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
2. The Bar.
The bar at Capital Grille is also what you would expect in a steakhouse. Long, tall, and leathery. However, Capital Grille Philadelphia bar is anything but conspicuous. It sits right on Broad Street and is sided with large windows where the voyeurs of Broad Street are free to peer inside. That is the also probably reason that its so popular with the pseudo-celeb crowd.
The Rabbit thought the bartender was not happy to see we brought wine and did not feel like it was a place to linger, probably because you feel like you are on the sidewalk.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
3. The Scene.
The night of the review, the scene was anything but typical steakhouse-y. Rather, it was quite eclectic owing to the fact that we visited at the height of Restaurant Week. In addition to the heavy afterwork business crowd, we saw what appeared to be church groups and a Sorority. The later led to the rare request, at a steakhouse at least, for proof of age.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
4. The Service.
Next to the steak, what defines the steakhouse is the service. At popular metropolitan steakhouses, it is not unheard off for waiters to make six figures in tips and be on a first name basis with regular customers. In fact, a popular ad for Smith & Wollensky once featured a waiter prominently.
Unfortunately, the service at the Capital Grille was mediocre. The expected steakhouse server banter and camaraderie was absent. However, I do not fully blame the server who was most likely at his wits end after a full week of Restaurant Week. (The Rabbit claims that the industry dreads it.) Therefore, we graded the service during our review on a curve.
The rating (on the curve): Two and a half Steers out of Five.
5. The Steak.
And now what we have been waiting for. They say in D.C. if you want a friend get a dog. But, if the steaks at the original Capital Grille are like the steaks in Philly, then if you want a steak in D.C. go to the Capital Grille.
The Strip was cooked to a warm pink center with just the right amount of char. The fat to meat ratio was appropriate and it had the right salty iron taste you expect in a good steak. Plus, overall it just looked good.
The rating: Four out of Five Steers.
Next month, we cross Broad Street and head South to Ruth's Chris.
A long time staple in Washington, hence the name, the Capital Grille Philadelphia is a favorite haunt to many a faux Philadelphia power player, pseudo celebrity, and actual philanderer (who are sometime a combination of all three).
1. The Decor.
The decor of the Capital Grille is typical steakhouse: big leather chairs, dark wood, and old looking paintings. Its what you would expect and the Philadelphia location does it well.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
2. The Bar.
The bar at Capital Grille is also what you would expect in a steakhouse. Long, tall, and leathery. However, Capital Grille Philadelphia bar is anything but conspicuous. It sits right on Broad Street and is sided with large windows where the voyeurs of Broad Street are free to peer inside. That is the also probably reason that its so popular with the pseudo-celeb crowd.
The Rabbit thought the bartender was not happy to see we brought wine and did not feel like it was a place to linger, probably because you feel like you are on the sidewalk.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
3. The Scene.
The night of the review, the scene was anything but typical steakhouse-y. Rather, it was quite eclectic owing to the fact that we visited at the height of Restaurant Week. In addition to the heavy afterwork business crowd, we saw what appeared to be church groups and a Sorority. The later led to the rare request, at a steakhouse at least, for proof of age.
The rating: Three of Five Steers.
4. The Service.
Next to the steak, what defines the steakhouse is the service. At popular metropolitan steakhouses, it is not unheard off for waiters to make six figures in tips and be on a first name basis with regular customers. In fact, a popular ad for Smith & Wollensky once featured a waiter prominently.
Unfortunately, the service at the Capital Grille was mediocre. The expected steakhouse server banter and camaraderie was absent. However, I do not fully blame the server who was most likely at his wits end after a full week of Restaurant Week. (The Rabbit claims that the industry dreads it.) Therefore, we graded the service during our review on a curve.
The rating (on the curve): Two and a half Steers out of Five.
5. The Steak.
And now what we have been waiting for. They say in D.C. if you want a friend get a dog. But, if the steaks at the original Capital Grille are like the steaks in Philly, then if you want a steak in D.C. go to the Capital Grille.
The Strip was cooked to a warm pink center with just the right amount of char. The fat to meat ratio was appropriate and it had the right salty iron taste you expect in a good steak. Plus, overall it just looked good.
The rating: Four out of Five Steers.
Next month, we cross Broad Street and head South to Ruth's Chris.
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