A cool blogger reviews a new steak place in Atlanta GA. Let’s do the bullet points:

• super-chef Kevin Rathbun’s new place
• billed as ‘a steakhouse for the new millennium’
• excited … being both a fan of steak and kevin rathbun.
• skip to the chase … WOW. amazing, incredible,
• but the butters? out of this world.
• $110 before tip and neither of us drink

From Metroblogging Atlanta:: Via ::

MyFiancee and I have been trying to get HerMom out to dinner for a really long time, because we believe that everyone needs to try our Favorite Little Italian Place Down the Street. So, it was her birthday on Friday, and she consented to join us for what we like to call “the best” Italian (in town). They had lovely crab + asparagus + five cheeses handmade ravioli.

I had a NY Strip with port wine sauce, topped with gorgonzola, sauteed shallots.

I new there was going to be a problem as soon as Franco took more than 20 minutes to visit our table to recite the speciales. He was very distracted, and kept looking over his shoulder, watching the service staff, and the kitchen. Franco, a real Italian guy with tons of energy looked weary. We were to learn soon that this was the first night of service with doubled seating capacity. The worst possible night maybe, to bring HerMom for her first time.

The raviolis were lovely, the ladies said. The service was, although agonizingly drawn out, basically accurate. When we asked Franco politely if we could pay and leave, we’d been there almost three hours. Thank god the chianti was kept filled.

I think I’m going to have to go down there, or call down there or something though, because what I was served as a NY Strip was almost unrecognizable as that cut of beef. I have no idea what was going on in that kitchen, but it must have been difficult enough that the kid at the grill wasn’t able to see my steak. There’s no way this thing would have passed a visual “is this a New York” test. It came apart in three weird sections with barely any meat between great tangles of other tissue. It was almost like chuck steak, cut 3/4 inch thick. Oh, and there weren’t any shallots, anywhere.

The thing is, with all their difficulty that night, it would have taken an additional forty-five minutes for me to try and get a better cut of New York. If I’d had the heart to mention it… If I wasn’t a Minnesota-no-send-back’er.

I hate to think I’m not able to order a good steak at my favorite Italian joint. I’m left puzzled. What happened to the real NY Strip that night?

Sorry Mom.

M and S Grill is McCormick and Schmick’s new “casual” dining option. As best I could tell, that means that you can see over the backs of the booths and you can see out the windows. At least that’s the translation between the Minneapolis offerings.

We were there through amazing luck of me having a PO box in M and S Grill’s neighborhood. I got a “Dear Resident” coupon for them announcing they’d just moved into my neighborhood—apparently, their neighborhood is all of downtown Minneapolis. But, I shouldn’t nitpick–the coupon was worth $20 off a meal.

The decor is steakhouse woody, with big velvet drapes. The bar was only about half full, the dining room less so. They’re on steak house row but off the beaten path of the younger afterwork happy hour crowd.

We went with a bottle of wine–it was cheaper that way, we decided ($28). Wine isn’t cheap but it never is in that sort of place.

For appetizers, we had the tempura asparagus. It was good for about 3 spears worth–the breading was too heavy to eat much more than that. The asparagus was amazingly tender, considering that it’s not even remotely asparagus season in MN.

Dinner was, of course, a filet mignon and mashed ($29). I got the big filet, though I would have been full after the little one.

The steak had a nice char–something I probably appreciate more than most. The steak was cooked perfectly medium, a nice change for a thick filet.

The mashed were pretty normal. I made them amazing by stealing bacon bits Kim’s baked potato condiment tray. What doesn’t taste better with bacon on it?

The service was amazing. I’m guessing the wait staff was just trying to stay busy but it was true “plates whisked away as soon as they’re empty” service. I normally hate overly attentive wait staff but these guys were so low key–they just seemed to appear exactly at the right moment and vanish with the blink of an eye.

Kim gave M and S a 7.5. Not sure if she’s eaten less bad steak than me or if being from Iowa gives her a different standard but I’d give them at least an 8.5, maybe a 9 since it was nice without being stuff. We didn’t have beer so I can’t give it perfect marks.

We travelled to Las Vegas at the end of June, and one of the things I really wanted to do was experience a “fine dining” steak dinner. I’d done a bit of research, and came to the conclusion that we should try to get some steak at Emeril’s old-school updated steakhouse Delmonico, and then a more casual bistro trip at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon. Both joints were conveniently located in our hotel.

What I learned, and what I experienced, sort of came to stand for my overall feeling about Vegas (this was my first time).

First of all, I hadn’t really prepared myself for how expensive this would be. Key point here: the “casual bistro trip” ended up costing the two of us nearly two hundred bucks, and jeopardizing the Big Deal Dining at Delmonico. I wish it weren’t so …
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