I've been in a rut, lately. It is funny how you get used to this or that and then it no longer shines with the same luster as it once did. Restaurants are like that for me- unless they are exceptional, I'll tire of them eventually and it might be years before I revisit. So, what's my melancholy? Steakhouses. Or the lack thereof. It isn't that they aren't there, I just didn't know where to find them. Yelp's a great thing, isn't it? Thanks to Yelp I've been eating way better and this is just another example.
Walking into the main (non-mall) entrance, you don't get the impression of a chain-anything; the entry way is quaint, sort of like walking into one of those old homes that had a vestibule and then you entered the main hall. It was like that; kind of swag without being too pretentious. All of the staff were put together well; the hostesses were well dressed and greeted us warmly, the servers all seemed energetic and competent. At 12:30pm on a Saturday the place was already partially full, with more coming in every minute it seemed. We were seated in a comfortable booth relatively quickly, almost as soon as we walked in, in fact. I did a check-in while i was there and took a shot of the main dining area across from where we were seated- the seating arrangements could accommodate any number of diners and not just tables and chairs, but couches and tables in front of the fire place in case you wanted a more intimate, more romantic (despite being in the main dining room) experience. The noise level was very acceptable despite the growing number of guests; all in all, the first impression was shaping out to be a great one.
Service. As important as the quality of food is to the dining experience. This is an area that Stoney River seems to excel at, if our own server Mikaela was any indication. She came by our table within moments of our being seated and introduced herself, took our drink orders and took off. We had those drinks in but a few minutes, by which time we were more or less ready to order. We ordered the deviled eggs because supposedly, they are sublime. (It's true, they are.) I ordered the Legendary filet, wife ordered the rib eye and we sipped our drinks and took a closer look around. I have to say, it is really nice in there.
Salads came first; vibrant colors, crisp ingredients- they make their own dressings, gravies and sauces, apparently. The herb vinaigrette was excellent, and the salad was dressed perfectly; not too much, not too little. When our steaks came out I saw immediately that I was in for a treat. The sear on that filet was expertly done; a good char, almost crispy at the edges, but medium-well throughout the center. I have come to appreciate the taste of a piece of meat for its own sake, so places that overly sauce or season meat usually do so for a reason. It isn't necessary, it isn't done, here. You can taste some seasoning, the garlic butter adds a note to the proceedings but you can taste the meat, the fire that cooked it was hot and fragrant to produce a flavor like that! I ate the whole thing, shamelessly I might add.
When I was a kid, we used to go to this swanky restaurant out in Hicksville, NY. Anyone familiar with that area back in the 80s will probably be able to guess which one I'm talking about. It was one of those places you went to when you wanted to eat well in a classy environment with the kind of skilled service that made you feel special. You would of course like to experience that every time you dine out but that's either going to be a costly venture, or simply not possible. I kind of got that feeling here. Unlike some establishments where each table gets a dedicated server, this one seems to subscribe to the all hands on deck style of service where everyone pitches in to get plates to the table, no matter whose table it was. That's actually pretty cool because it allows your main server to see to their other tables while you're being seen to yourself, and doing it without seeming like they're rushing around trying to put out fires (though there were flames galore in the kitchen, that part's supposed to happen). We saw Mikaela several times over the course of the meal, where she'd gauge the level in our glasses before seeing if we needed anything, checked our plates after another server had brought them out, just these little unobtrusive things that make the difference between a good experience and a great one. Then the floor manager, Hunter, came by our table to ask if we needed anything and to see if we were enjoying ourselves. We gushed about Mikaela, appropriately, and he ensured us that we could expect that level of service from any of their servers. I expected no less but liked the reassurance all the same. As far as first impressions go, they hit it out of the park. We're so going back! Like soon, really soon. read more