The name just sounds like they are ready to serve you a delicious steak, doesn't it? That's my type of name.. they just don't mess around! Coming here, I had a game plan... someone better order a steak!
Restaurant is a bit cozy, so please make reservations! Even if you end up waiting for a table, there isn't much of a lobby, so call ahead, get there on time, and be seated! Nestled in the quaint Madrona neighborhood, it's quickly identifiable by the Red Cow sign hanging outside :)
We wanted to try a bit of everything, so here's what we had:
-Pate: A rustic preperation of pate; typically when done this way, it's a bit dry. Not here, pretty good! A bit on the chunky side, but I'm a fan as you can really taste the flavors!
-Chicken Liver Mousse: Super silky and smooth! I love chicken liver mousse as it tends to always be a creamy texture than compared to a pork liver for example. It was like butter! YUM!
-Foie Gras: Served as little rounds, instead of the typical seared and more oily version. This cool, creamy preparation allowed for the flavors to really shine through! Although I've been a bit foie gras'd out these days, I liked their take on this one!
-Beef Tartare: Minced beef mixed up with cornichon and mustard.. a lot of mustard, it tasted like! Was there even yoke in there? No idea.. all I tasted was mustard! If it wasn't for looking at it, I wouldn't have been able to tell it was even raw beef, as the meat so so minced up! Super disappointed in this dish! I like tartare to be a mix of things, but I like to be able to taste the quality of the meat... there was so much going on in this dish that you really didn't even know what you were eating...
-Hanger Steak and Frites: Served with a creamy horseradish sauce, and some mayo on the side with their fries. Asked for medium rare, however when it came out, I noticed it was pre-sliced, and maybe only 2 of the 8 slices were medium rare, the rest were more on the rare side. The flavor of the steak was DELICIOUS, but the overcooked pieces were just not cutting it for me. The fries were served a bit more on the crispy side, but their mayo tasted like real mayo the serve in Europe.. Give it a try, because it definitely doesn't taste like you're dipping your fries into kraft mayo! :)
-Seared Sea Scallops: Tender and juicy, but almost too tender! It would have benefited from more of a sear to it. It was seared on top (I guess the bottom, but the sear was presented on bottom side up), and the part that was seared had a great texture to it.
Will I come back? Yes, I think so.. but definitely not a priority. I would give their steaks another chance, but would definitely recommend to order maybe more rare to medium rare, as it was a bit overcooked. Also, real French restaurants serve a mean chicken, so definitely testing that next time! Simple presentations, good food, and great service. Just a bit of fine tuning on execution would really bring this place from "Meh, it's alright" to "Wow, this is awesome!" read more