Matt the Miller's (Columbus, OH)

This will be the final post I make from Massachusetts for quite some time; from here on out, I will be in the DC area.  I could use some restaurant recommendations in Arlington and Washington!

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Day one of a five day road trip with my friend Forrest was, to say the least, long.  I worked a 12 hour shift the night before that concluded at 7am, leaving me with less than an hour at home to attempt (unsuccessfully) a nap before Forrest arrived and we took off for Columbus, Ohio.  Thus, when we finally arrived in Columbus, late for the baseball game we were going to attend (we went the next day, which was fine), we were both starving and exhausted.  Eleven hours on the road will do that to you, I suppose.  Thankfully, a little internet searching found us Matt the Miller's Tavern, a small local chain with a lot of good beers, and some damn fine steaks.

Forrest and I both ordered beers, then each went with the 10oz Flatiron steak, a piece of meat that came out looking far larger than its listed weight.  Each steak comes with one of three "toppers" (garlic butter, Gorgonzola, or fried onion strings), and one side from a list of about ten.  Forrest had the fried onion strings and mixed vegetables, and I went with the Gorgonzola and horseradish mashed potatoes, with mine ordered rare of course.

The steaks came out fairly quickly, so clearly the kitchen is on their game, and our waiter did not dawdle with putting in the order, something we greatly appreciated in our near starvation.  Both steaks came liberally topped with our respective choices, with mine having so much Gorgonzola that I actually had to scrape some off, though I used it to mix into the mashed potatoes, which made them better.  My steak was cooked perfectly, with a cool, deep red interior and slightly crusty exterior.  The beef itself had almost a blackened flavor from the spice mixture that had been rubbed on it, which was unexpected but pleasantly spicy and salty, and the steak clearly of high quality.  My mashed potatoes were fine, nothing incredibly special, and the horseradish flavor was non-existent, but the addition of the Gorgonzola was delicious.  Both of us powered through our meals and, despite how insanely hungry we had been, were quite full and pleased with the meal when we left.

The draught beer list was not huge, but was well stocked with both local and national level brews, including Ballast Point Grunion Pale Ale.  I was looking for a lower alcohol content beer, and was feeling decidedly anti-IPA that day, a rarity for me, so I went with the Grunion, a 5.5% light-in-color-but-not-flavor type.  It definitely is what you go for with a pale ale, very lightly malty, very lightly hopped (contrary to what their website says, quite frankly), and just incredibly refreshing.  I think Forrest went with a local beer, but I cannot recall.

The beer was not cheap, but the steak was reasonably priced, just $16.99 for a large piece of very good meat, a side and a topping.  The setting is nice, and I suspect sitting on their patio is pleasant when the weather is better, but sitting in the bar area was just fine, as they have a few high tops with real chairs in addition to booths and stools at the bar itself.  It never got too loud, was well lit, and there were several televisions showing everything from bull riding to the World Poker Tour to the Crossfit Championships, and some more mainstream options as well.  I would definitely go back if I find myself in Columbus again, and I immediately recommended it to my friend who moved there the day we left.

Craftsteak (Mashantucket, CT/Foxwoods Resort Casino)

I was really excited to try Craftsteak, one of the Craft family of restaurants owned by celebrity chef (and "head judge" of Bravo's Top Chef franchise) Tom Colicchio, and arguably the flagship restaurant of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods; sadly, I ended up a little disappointed by the food.  That is not to say that the food was bad, or even mediocre; in fact, it was quite good, but when eating at a restaurant owned by someone who is supposed to be among the masters of the steak world, I really expected something transcendent.

The bar at Craftsteak

I sat at the bar, which, while dimly lit, is a pretty decent atmosphere to grab a drink or a bite to eat if you do not feel it necessary to sit in a fancy dining room; there is a flat screen television in the middle of it that was playing the Red Sox game, and the chairs are relatively comfortable.  The darkness wasn't a huge problem for me,  but if you don't have good eyes, it probably would be a bit too dark to easily read the menu; I can guarantee that my grandparents would not be able to read in that light.

Spinach salad with bacon and blue cheese

I went with the prix fixe menu, which includes a salad, a choice of two entrees, and a choice of two desserts.  The salad, consisting primarily of spinach, was the highlight of the meal, with cubes of crispy bacon a centimeter across, some Bayley Hazen blue cheese from the Cellars at Jasper Hill, and some kind of delicious dressing that I could not quite identify.  The bacon was spectacular, salty and succulent, and the cheese was great, with a sweeter taste than most blues, but with that classic flavor you associate with the variety.  There were also balls of what I think may have been confit pearl onions, which were pretty tasty, as well as some hard-boiled egg that did not really add anything.  This was a good example of what a salad can be; not something you eat just because you need some green vegetables, but a legitimately good, major part of a meal.  With the salad came a small skillet of "Parker House" rolls, which are pretty boring with the exception of the fleur de sel sprinkled over the top.

The entrees were a Scottish Salmon with spring garlic and fava beans or a Filet Mignon with black garlic and confit potatoes.  Figuring it was a steakhouse, I went with the filet; it was a pretty big

Filet Mignon with black garlic and confit potatoes

piece, considering the $45 price of the prix fixe, and it was reasonably well cooked, but for some reason, they slice it for you!  I do not get this; why would you take a beautiful piece of meat and cut it into pieces?  It makes the filet look terrible on the plate, like it has been mangled, and does not add anything to it as far as enjoying the meal.  That said, it tasted fine, though it was a little chewy for a filet; I do not know if this is an issue with the quality of the meat or what, but it was nowhere near as good texturally as the filet at David Burke Prime.  The potatoes were great, as was that black sauce you can see drizzled around the plate, but that was not enough to make up for the fact that the filet was lacking.

Raspberry Rosé and Mango sorbets

The dessert options are a Chocolate Espresso Tart or two scoops of your selection from a dozen or so ice creams or sorbets.  I went with the Raspberry Rosé and Mango sorbets, which were both good, but the mango far, far outstripped the raspberry.  The raspberry was a little bit too tart, giving me a pretty nasty canker sore, but the mango was spectacular, probably the best sorbet I have had in many years, and equal to most ice creams.  It was similar in texture to a good gelato, though clearly without the same level of fat content, which was fine with me.

Mystic Bridge IPA

With the meal I had the Mystic Bridge IPA, one of four beers on tap, from Cottrell Brewing Company, a Connecticut brewery that has some pretty well regarded beers on BeerAdvocate, including this one.  I was not paying a huge amount of attention to the beer, quite honestly, focusing more on the food, but it was quite good, a really solid IPA, though admittedly it did not stand out to me.  I would love to pick up a six pack of it to really get a better idea of where its strong and weak points are.

Overall, it seems like the restaurant makes an effort to keep things relatively local where they can, including the beers, the cheese, and some other produce.  This is a distinct positive in my mind, but at the same time, if they cannot make the overall quality of the meal stand up to that of the ingredients, then it is a waste.  I would absolutely choose Burke Prime over Craftsteak if I were eating at Foxwoods, and it would not be a difficult decision at all.

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David Burke Prime Steakhouse (Mashantucket, CT/Foxwoods Resort Casino) Trip 2

One side of Prime Steakhouse's bar

I apparently lack originality, since I'll be talking about the same restaurant twice in as many posts, but I went back to David Burke Prime Steakhouse on Thursday, again as part of a trip to play poker at Foxwoods.  I again sat at the bar, and had the same bartender, who was as superlative as last time, and the food held up nicely again.

Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA

I went with the prix fixe again, but chose entirely different options for everything except my drink option, going with Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA.  This was less of a perfect choice this time, as I went with the Lobster Bisque for the appetizer and the "Angry" Filet and Jumbo Shrimp for the entree, and it sort of overwhelmed the filet.

Popover with butter

I forgot to mention last time that the meal comes with a large popover, with a healthy dose of pepper in the batter, which is apparent both visually and flavor-wise, and really separates the popover from most others I've had.  They're all good, but Burke's are pretty damn great.  Served with butter, it is a great start to the meal, a light, crispy, savory pastry that also worked well with the bisque.

Lobster Bisque with "crisp lobster stick"

The Lobster Bisque was pretty damn good, with all the richness and creaminess you would expect from a good bisque, and little chunks of lobster floating in it.  There are few things I enjoy more than a good bisque, and Burke does a really nice job with it.  It's a lovely, deep, rich flavor, and you can clearly taste the lobster in every spoonful, something that is just not true in a lower quality product.  The lobster tasted really fresh, which is exactly what I'd expect from a place that prides itself on high quality products.  The menu states that the soup has a "green apple essence" in it, which you can't really taste, though there is a tartness to it that could be from that.  It also comes with what they call a "crisp lobster stick," which is really a stick of lobster in a tempura batter.  It's a little doughy, but that's actually not a bad thing in this case, as the doughiness allows it soak up the bisque if you dip it, which of course I did.  It was actually a really pleasant surprise, seeing as I hadn't actually read the menu this time and didn't know it was going to be there.  Dipping the popover in the soup was pretty great as well.  Overall, a really nice, albeit heavy, appetizer, which went exceptionally well with the bitterness of the beer.

"Angry" Filet and Jumbo Shrimp, with garlic spinach

The "Angry" Filet and Jumbo Shrimp included a perfect 6oz filet mignon crusted with what can only be described as a mild blackening rub, two legitimately jumbo shrimp, and a little pile of garlic spinach.  The filet was cooked rare, and was exceptionally tender, with a nice beefy flavor accented perfectly by the spice rub, which had a little bit of spice, though a little more would have been welcome.  The shrimp were also mildly spicy, with a glaze that had an east Asian flair to it that the menu labels as "chipotle bbq," but they were just slightly overcooked, becoming a tiny bit tougher than I prefer my shrimp to be.  That said, it was very tasty, again lacking the overall spice that I look for in something like this, but certainly tasty.  The spinach, however, was the highlight, with a light garlic-y flavor, perfectly wilted leaves, and a healthy dose of fat clearly having been used in the cooking; it was delicious, exactly what I look for when I eat a green of any variety.  The flavor of the spinach was still there, something that isn't guaranteed when you cook it to the point that it's extremely soft and almost melts in your mouth, and it balanced nicely with the meatiness of the beef and shrimp.  I do wish I had gone with wine instead of beer, however, as the flavors were a bit milder in this entree than in the prime rib, and the heaviness and strength of the Pitch Black IPA was a bit overpowering.

Crème brûlée

For dessert I went with the crème brûlée, and this was quite well done.  Soft, creamy, a perfect custard underneath a crisp sugar crust, it was light enough at the end of a good meal to not make me feel sick, but with a strong enough flavor to not be lost in the mix.  I love simple classics, and vanilla crème brûlée certainly qualifies.  When prepared properly, it's a wonderful thing, and this was the perfect end to a good meal.

David Burke Prime Steakhouse's bar, from outside

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David Burke Prime Steakhouse (Mashantucket, CT/Foxwoods Resort Casino) and Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA

David Burke Prime Steakhouse is exactly what its name implies; a top of the line steakhouse utilizing the recipes of America's king of steak.  Along with Tom Colicchio of Top Chef and Craft Restaurants fame, David Burke is at the top of the steak-centric restaurant world, and I have been dying to try Burke Prime for a couple years, ever since I started playing poker at Foxwoods Resort Casino, but hadn't had a chance.  Burke Prime is pretty damn expensive typically, but with Foxwoods rewards points I was able to cut the bill in half before tip.

I arrived fairly early in the evening, around 5:30pm, having busted out of a poker tournament.  Needing something to perk me up, I decided to treat myself to a nice dinner, and I'm quite glad I did, as this was some of the best food I've ever had.  As I didn't feel like spending $150, I went with the three course prix fixe menu, which for $50, allows you to choose from six appetizers (French Onion Soup, Lobster Bisque, Double-cut Maple Pepper Bacon Strips, Clams Casino, Surf and Turf Dumplings, and the Mixed Green Salad), four entrees (Slow Roasted Prime Rib, "Angry" Filet Mignon and Jumbo Shrimp, Braised Short Rib "Stroganoff Steak," and Grilled Salmon), and the various desserts on the menu (I suspect the "Can 'O' Cake," the restaurant's signature dessert, is not available).  I would like to have had the chance to try the Himalayan Salt Dry Aged Steaks, aged using a proprietary process that he has even managed to patent, but I wasn't in the mood to spend $65 for a steak; following a tournament win, I'm sure that will change.

The beer list was at once disappointing (the draughts) and promising (the bottles), and the beer I initially was going to go with, an IPA on draught I had never heard of before, had actually just run out, but I was changing my mind even as the bartender informed me of that.  I instead went with the Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA, a 6.5% "black IPA" or "black ale" offered in 12oz and 22oz bottles (I went with the latter, of course, which my waiter/bartender, Timmy, applauded, making a crack at McDonalds and "super-sizing" in the meantime).  I wanted something that I knew would go well with steak, and IPAs, especially these new black IPAs, offer a great compliment, having enough flavor to stand up to even a very heavy, beefy steak.  I absolutely loved this beer, my first foray into Widmer's lineup, as it approaches even the best of this genre that I have had (the Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale I had at the ACBF).  Poured into a 12oz flute glass, the color matches the name, as it is a pure, deep black color, reminding me of liquid onyx, and it has a truly beautiful look with the lacy, cappuccino colored foam forming on top.  The taste is heavily of hops, with a great bitterness as it hits your tongue, which subsides quickly, leaving a subtle, but pleasant, aftertaste.  The mouth feel is smooth, almost porter-ish, and I would say overall this beer seems to me to be almost the result of a marriage of a porter and an IPA.  I will be searching for this at my local beer stores.

When it came to the food, I needed a little help, so I relied on Timmy's knowledge of the menu.  I was struggling to decide between the Clams Casino (clams on the half-shell cooked with butter, bacon and breadcrumbs) and Lobster Bisque for the appetizer, and the Slow Roasted Prime Rib versus the "Angry" Filet Mignon and Jumbo Shrimp, all of which sounded fantastic.  Timmy suggested pairing the Clams Casino with the Prime Rib or the Lobster Bisque with the Filet, matching light with heavy in the first case and heavy with light in the second; at his recommendation I went with the former, because, as he put it, "I like fat in my steak," and the Filet lacks that.

The Clams Casino were well cooked, with the breading crisp but not to the point of shattering when you touched it.  The clams themselves were juicy, though a couple had a little grit to them.  With a little Tabasco sauce and lemon juice, they were perfectly tangy.  The clam shells were nestled into small piles of whipped potatoes, which were really good, but could have used more butter (but then, what couldn't use more butter?).  Overall a really good, but small, appetizer, that went nicely with the beer.  (I thought I had a picture of this, but apparently my phone crapped out on that one.)

The Slow Roasted Prime Rib was truly incredible, the best I have ever had, beating out even Lawry's The Prime Rib (I went to the Beverly Hills location) and Kimo's in Lahaina, HI.  They won't serve it less than medium rare, because the method they use to cook it, a very long, slow roast, actually makes it extremely difficult to get a true rare, but this was closer to rare than medium rare anyways (Timmy put in the ticket a request for "As rare as possible"), and it came floating in a lake of au jus so strong it tasted like beef stock.  So tender that it essentially melted in my mouth, the prime rib tasted of just three things:  beef; salt; and pepper.  This is exactly as it should be.  Nothing else is necessary to make a quality hunk of beef perfect, and Burke Prime embraces that.  Along with the prime rib itself came a large baked potato crusted with kosher salt, served with butter and what I believe was homemade sour cream.  The sour cream was the best part of that, as the potato just tasted like...well...a potato.  Nothing special there.  I didn't finish it, but that was less because of how it tasted than the fact that the portion was huge, and I was attempting to save a little room for dessert.
 
I don't particularly love super sweet dessert, and I was already so full that I didn't want someone too rich, so Timmy suggested that I go with the Carrot Cake, which I agreed to.  Carrot cake as a general rule isn't my favorite, but it sounded perfect in this case, since it's typically very light and airy, and since this doesn't come with a super heavy cream cheese frosting, sweetness wasn't as big an issue.  This was probably the best carrot cake I've ever had, but it was a little sweeter than I was hoping for.  It was served with shredded carrot on top, which was the saving grace in this case, as it cut the sweetness to a manageable level.  That little smear in the bottom left corner of the plate was pineapple sauce (there were also little chunks of it in the cake itself) that was absolutely freaking divine.  Seriously, if they could bottle that I'd pay exorbitant amounts of money for it.  I was so full by the end I couldn't even finish the cake.

The service here bears some additional mention.  Timmy was probably the best waiter/bartender I have ever had.  His knowledge of the menu, beer list, scotch and wine was impressive, he was entertainingly funny (I was eating alone, so it was nice to have him occasionally stop by to chat), and he was happy to discuss all of the above.  He easily earned his tip (about 30%, and honestly, he should have gotten more) and I made a point of finding one of the managers on the way out to ensure that he received some recognition.

Overall this was one of the finest meals I've ever had, at an exceedingly reasonable price (except the beer; the beer was expensive) considering what I got.  I'll definitely be going back, and I highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves at Foxwoods and hungry for some meat.

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