Saturday after work my wife and I had a nice evening to ourselves and decided that dinner out was the choice. I did the Run from the Cops early that morning, then worked until 3 pm and had no desire to cook dinner. So I ask the wife what she would like and Prime Rib was the answer. The big plus in this scenario is that Saturday is a Prime Rib day in Watertown. I suggested Steve's Bar on Hwy 26 just north of Hwy 16.
The reason that Steve's popped into my mind is, that in my shop when people come in and tell me they are new to town I always say if your hungry and need a suggestion feel free to call me. Friday my shop phone rings, I answer, the voice on the other side says " Where should I go for a Fish Fry?". I have a few favorites in town and mentally rolled through them and said, "Steve's Bar." a quick "take Hwy 26 north out of town look on the right" for directions and hung up.
When we go to Steve's it is usually about 6:30 on a Friday, they have a great fish fry so there is always a little bit of a wait. Saturday we got lucky because of the rain for the first time we didn't have a wait. I want to tell you up front that I have never had a bad experience at Steve's, we tend to visit on Fridays and Saturdays. I saw their pizza for the first time when we sat down at the bar. The wife and I then discussed if we were going to change our plans and have pizza instead, it looked that good. So we fought that temptation and stayed the Prime Rib course. We ordered a beer at the bar then waited to be seated. We ordered the small and large Prime Rib, one with baked potato one with fries and both with salad.
Let's start with the salad, I'm use to a standard Iceberg lettuce salad and really have no problem with them. I do enjoy fancy greens, red and green lettuces as well as radicchio and other blends, but as some people are afraid of lettuces they don't see often, I understand a restaurants choice to use Iceberg. That said, it was a nice looking salad. What really made me look forward to my experience was seeing the tomatoes. First thing I see is two beautiful half moon slices, deep red and meaty. Then I see their golden twins gracing the bowl as well. Mind you these are not the same tomatoes that you find all year round, the bland and a sorry dull reddish hot house tomatoes. These came from someones garden and in my book if your cook cares enough to get away from Cisco or Dierks any chance they can, then my friend you are in good hands.
On to the potatoes. The fries were done well, nice crisp on the outside and warm soft on the inside as well as being not greasy. The baked potato (which in my opinion are usually overcooked and dry) was spot on. Moist and steaming hot, had a great smooth texture to each bite. In fact with the right amount of sour cream and butter it was almost as if you were eating mashed potatoes.
Prime Rib was the star of the show. Both sizes came out to our table at the medium that we ordered and they looked picture perfect. First thing I noticed was the cut, nice thickness and great season coating the outside, the right amount of fat visible and shining in it's own juices. My first bite was nice edge piece. The seasoning was wonderful, I tend to find Prime Rib gets salted too heavy. Not the case here, a very tasty blend of spices added a great flavor to the beef. The aujus was also deliciously rich without having the all too often over salted taste of bouillon. I would like to believe that it was made on sight. From first bite to last I enjoyed every bit of this steak. Tender, moist and juicy. The best test on if you got a good hunk of Prime is whats on the plate after your done and I had a great piece little fat and no gristle.
Over all, I had a great meal. I think that the tomatoes are going to get me out to Steve's again soon to see what happens on their week night menu. To the cook out there I look forward to seeing what else he does with fresh and seasonal. Hope green beans make it. And the pizza is going to have to be tried soon as well. read more
