All Entries in the "Steak Houses" Category
Restaurant Review: Bascom’s Chop House
I recently received a gift certificate for some photography work I did and decided to use it at Bascom’s Chop House (3665 Ulmerton Rd Clearwater, FL 33762-4257, (727) 573-3363), a family owned and operated steak house on the other side of the bay. I was looking spiffy that day and wanted to go some place a little nicer than I’m accustom. After being there, I realized that rich people aren’t smarter or better off culinarily, they’re just throwing money away on food that is lackluster at best.
I write this review stating up front that I didn’t order a steak. As it was, the meal was over $70 with Kara picking the cheapest steak on the menu and me picking Chicken, one of the cheapest things on the menu. With the $50 gift certificate, this cut the cost down to a more Denis-complaint price level, but as far as I’m concerned we overpaid. Let’s start with some of the base issues.
High end steakhouses all do this “everything is separate” thing these days. You want mashed potatoes? $15! You want a salad? $10! Remember back in the day when you got a whole meal when you ordered an entree? That concept seems foreign to a number of these classy joints and Bascom’s is amongst them. If we had both ordered a steak and a side each, our meal would have run well over $100. That seems uncalled for, especially considering the quality of the food.
One thing to mention is the strange demographic that this place seems to attract. There were a few of the kinds of people I’d expect, business people and their spouses having a nice dinner. Then there was the elephant in the room. Right beyond us was a family with a bunch of screaming children. Not once did the parents try to quiet them down. Not once did the staff say anything. They continued to annoy me and the other guests throughout the meal. Why not take your brats to Chucky Cheese? All of the kids complained about their food and continued to get more cranky as the meal went on. It took all the self control I had not to go over there and punch their oldest one in the skull for being a brat, especially in a place like this.
Back to issues within the control of the management, their food quality. Kara ordered their sirloin and I ordered the half chicken. She managed to get a baked potato (bringing her total up to almost $40) and I made off as cheap as I possibly could, with a $20 piece of chicken piled on potatoes. While we waited, they brought out a basket of bread and butter. Unlike bread I’ve had at many places before, this wasn’t hot or soft. The butter was just butter. No garlic, no chives, nothing to distinguish it from any butter I’ve had in any fast food place. The rolls themselves were rock hard on the outside and cold throughout. One of them was plain, the other two filled with seeds and some kind of nuts. I made a point of not filling up on bread, as it was appalling that a place of this stature could possibly consider this acceptable even for “free” bread.
The entrees came out after about 30 minutes, a bit of a wait but not too unreasonable. The roast chicken I ordered was covered in gravy and draped over a pile of potatoes and asparagus. The presentation was haphazard and reminded me of the KFC “throw all this shit into a pile and you can eat like a pig” Bowls. I put aside the way the dish looked and decided to dig in. What a disappointment.
The chicken was bone dry and cold all the way through. The gravy covering it lent nothing to keep the moisture in the bird. The more I dug into it, the more I realized that the breast look like it had been under a heat lamp the entire day. It was chewy and dry from skin to bone. I cut it up into small pieces and worked it into the potatoes and gravy, hoping I could salvage it. Every bite made me more furious. I can make juicy, succulent amazing chicken at home and it would only cost me a few dollars. How is this incredibly over priced bird the centerpiece to a meal that is bordering on the absurd?
As I continued to dig at my chicken, I realized that they must have picked the smallest chicken they could find. After stripping the carcass clean, I realized I had probably less than a half pound of actual meat. I discarded the structure and suffered through about half of the meat before I gave up on it, disappointed. The mashed potatoes were alright, but they were relatively flavorless. How can something covered in gravy not be delicious? I honestly don’t know. The asparagus was better than expected, but it could not save this tragic meal.
Kara’s steak came out as she ordered it with a side of fried onions. While she had no complaints, I watched as she cut up the steak. It looked tough. It looked burnt on the outside, with a huge chunk of gristle lining the outer edge. At best, I would call this a Select cut. If I would have ordered a steak, paid over $30 for it and had it come out like this, I would have exploded on someone.
The potato looked tough too, a symptom I’ve seen all too often in high end steakhouses. The potato is such an overlooked asset to the meal, and this one looked unappealing. Drowning an overly done potato in sour cream doesn’t make it better, it just makes it messier. Again, Kara had no complaint.
From a service perspective, they did a decent job. Our waiter came back several times to refill my water and Kara’s soda. I have no issue with the quality of his service, and he was a friendly guy. The manager came by, but I honestly feel like it was to spy on us. In all fairness, I did bring a camera into their establishment and was taking photos of my food. When I identified myself and my purpose, he seemed to turn his nose up and me and say, “OK, so what are you going to write about us?” I gave him a smug, “I can’t divulge that.”
He seems unimpressed with that answer and took a few steps back, watching nervously as we finished eating. The whole thing felt really forced and unnecessary on the part of the manager. When it was obvious that I wasn’t happy, he said, “You really should have ordered the steak. I was surprised to see the chicken come out.” I looked at him to see if he was offering an admission of guilt, or atleast of poor quality. He stared me down for a minute and I remarked, “It’s fine.” and left.
In conclusion, Bascom’s is the very definition of low value for high price. I had heard this before from people I know in the area, but had to see it first hand. If I had another gift certificate, I may consider going back to try their porterhouse. Then again, at $40+ for just the cut of meat at Bascom’s, I think I’m better off just making my own.
Restaurant Review: Gallagher’s Steak House
While in channelside, Kara and I decided to use up a gift certificate that I had for $25 off dinner for two at Gallagher’s Steak House (615 Channelside Dr, Tampa, FL 33602-5406, (813) 229-8000). Long known for being a high end seafood and steak house, I knew going in to expect high prices. I wasn’t quite expecting the a la carte nature of their menu.
Gallaghers is the kind of place where you can see and be seen. Lots of famous and semi famous people eat here, and the atmosphere is dimly lit and powered by booze, so you can only imagine the kind of shenanigans that actors and politicos get into around here. The staff is proper and attentive and eager to answer your questions. As far as service goes, I was very pleased with their attention to detail.
When ordering from the menu, you order a meat (or set of meats, as the surf and turf implies) and all side items are served in large sidebars, enough to share. At $25+ per meat item (as much as $45 for the surf and turf) and $10+ for each side, this can add up quickly. Our total bill, even after the $25 off was $54.34 and we ordered to two lowest end items on the menu, the chicken and pork chop. We decided to split a Caesar Salad and some mashed potatoes, as that was about all our budget could allow in such a fancy place.
The salad came out quickly and was exactly as I expected. Fresh cut lettuce, crispy bread wedges, creamy caesar salad dressing and grated parmesan. The dressing was particularly satisfying, not sour or oily. Was this salad worth $9? Probably not, but it was pretty good.
The entrees came out within 20 minutes and they were both grand in size and smell. Before I even broke into my dish, I was impressed with how large they were and the fragrant aromas that filled our table. I dolloped out a few heaping spoonfuls of potatoes onto my plate and began eating away at the chicken.
The chicken was very moist all the way through, a delicately slow roasted bird that had just enough crusty exterior to hold in the juices while not being overly done. They covered the chicken in a creamy broth and pepper, bringing out a great mouth feel and subtle but proper taste from every bite. The breast and thigh were both creamy all the way through. Even the wing meat, a portion I usually consider to be tough, fell off from the bone when pulled with a fork. The potatoes were creamy and buttery, if perhaps a bit too watery. I prefer mashed potatoes with a bit of lump and starch to hold them together. These were far more blended and whipped, much more like pancake batter. All and all, it was a delicious combination of meat and starch, especially considering I was scooping the potatoes up with the chicken pieces and taking both in with each bite.
Kara’s porkchop was massive in stature but didn’t hold up to the taste level either of us had expected. It was dry throughout and burned along the edges. Normally a seer on pork makes it taste better, but these char marks were overly done and lead to a tough pork that was burned on the outer edges and dried out throughout the cut.
After she picked from it what she wanted, I cut the pork chop into much smaller pieces and coated each one in potatoes, making it palatable. Once the steam from the potatoes coated the meat, it brought back some of the flavor and tenderness that the chop needed. Even with the potatoes, the burned taste couldn’t be overcome.
As a finer place to go, Gallaghers has everything you might want for a night out, assuming you have a larger budget to work with. Everyone around us was heartily enjoying the steak and lobster. Though the pork chop fell short, if the chicken was any indication of the quality of their specialties, I’d give Gallagher’s another try.
Restaurant Review: Argentine Steakhouse by Latin American Grill
On Tuesday night, Dereck and I went to the Argentine Steakhouse by Latin American Grill (3780 Tampa Rd # D2, Oldsmar, FL 34677, (813) 855-0332). If the name is a lot to swallow, you won’t be prepared for the meal itself which is overwhelming both in scale and taste. I’ve eaten a lot of meat from a lot of places, but very little of it lives up to the sheer abundance and decadence of what is offered at the Argentine Steakhouse. Argentina is a meat loving country and the Argentines eat more meat per head than any other country. This is evident at the Steakhouse.
When we arrived, it took a little bit of time to find the place. It’s tucked away in a corner off Tampa Road/Hillsborough behind the “Oldsmar Cop Shop” bar and next to a Hungry Howies. Also, be sure to call ahead to ensure they are there. They have Mondays off and I’ve called other times and not gotten an answer. I assure you that the trouble of making the call and driving out to Oldsmar is worth it if you’re a carnivore like myself.
When we walked in, we were greeted by the manager, who sat us quickly and brought out our drinks. This place doesn’t have fountain soda, only cans, so you pay for every drink. Seating is reasonably comfortable and there’s a good flow of traffic in and out. Music plays, but isn’t overwhelming so you can still conversate over your meal. It’s a humble and accepting environment with photos of customers adorning the walls between soccer uniforms and decorations from Argentina.
We decided to go with the mixed meats plate, which is a combination of 7 different meats on a grill, served with two sides and two salads for $35. The menu says this takes 35 minutes to cook, but we found it was out inside of 20 minutes. I’m always happy when I’m under promised and over delivered.
The first course of the meal was a traditional bread with an oily and bitter tasting spread, a combination of garlic and other herbs. It was a good compliment to the bread, giving it a depth that I wasn’t expecting.
Secondly, we were brought out our salads. They were pretty standard garden salads with a nice dressing which was creamy and sweet on top (such as a honey mustard might be) but with a balsamic vinegar finish.
Finally, the main course arrived. A cup of black beans and a large plate of rice came out first. The rice itself was cooked just right, making it light and fluffy and easy to spoon out onto the plate. I find myself having a love-hate relationship with rice lately, mostly because cooks tend to overcook it or make it very bland. This rice was prepared well and had a good flavor index that is a bit oily, a bit savory and a good base for the rest of the meal. The black beans were a bit minimalist compared to the rice, but a decent sized portion was served and the taste was spot on.
The meat grill was everything I had hoped for. A combination of chicken, blood sausage, roasted pork sausage, skirt steak, flank steak, sweetbreads, flap steak, short ribs and pork chops sat atop a charcoal lined table grill. The meats could be smelled before they even got to our table and they continued to sizzle like a fajita grill as we dug in. It’s important to note that most any facet of this dish could have been a meal on it’s own and still been very good. We were fortunate to try a bit of everything.
The chorizo sausage was a really nice first bite. I’m not usually a fan of sausage, but this was nicely roasted with clean grill marks, a robust taste and just enough fat content to make it delicious. Usually, pork sausage is either too oily or too dry. This was a good middle ground, really packing a lot of flavor into something I don’t usually enjoy.
The blood sausage was what blood sausage is supposed to be. The sausage itself was cooked well throughout and had that robust flavor you’d expect from blood sausage. I’m not a fan of it unless I’ve been drinking beer, but I can account that this is the way that blood sausage is supposed to be cooked.
The chicken was a little overdone for my tastes, but still quite good. One thing I’ve learned about grilled chicken is that it only takes the slightest lack of attention for it to go very wrong. These guys saved it from getting to that point, but it was still a bit more overdone than I like.
The pork chops were amongst my favorite parts of the dish and on par with the chops I had at Carmines. With so many people doing pork chops wrong, I’m glad to find a place that makes them tender with lightly crispy edges, savory all the way through without being too salty or overwhelmed with herbs and spices. These were as close as I’ve had to perfect pork chops in a while and are neck to neck with Carmines.
The flank steak, a specialty at the Argentine Grill, was also a superstar of the platter. Seered to lock in the juices and tender all the way through, the flank steak broke apart as I picked it up with the fork. Now that’s tender! I’ve had flank before in dishes like fajitas, but it’s usually dry and flavorless. This flank was a good cut, a good combination of flavors and melt in the mouth delicious.
The skirt steak continued down the path of delicious meat. The way they cut the skirt lends to this, as it helps seal in the oils and juices that make this lower price cut perform like a much higher end piece of meat. The skirt was also seered hot and fast, leaving a nice pink side clearly defined from the browned edge.
The sweetbreads, a food I’d never eaten before, were a succulent and delicious cut of meat. This was Dereck’s favorite, and will definitely be something I re-order when I go back. As our host explained to us, the sweetbreads are the neck muscle. There is very little use from these muscles in the field, so they stay tender and flavorful. The taste profile was that of a top cut from veal. This was definitely a winner.
The flap steak was a bit of a side note compared to the rest of the selection, but it was a decent cut of meat. Flap steak, like flank steak or skirt steak, can be easily overdone and dried out. This cut was succulent and moist throughout, locking in flavors with a hint of salt.
The short ribs were the last bit of meat that we ate. A bit tougher than the rest of the meat, the barbecue taste really shined through on these. Leaving the bones intact helps hold in the natural flavors which definitely added to these. I’ve eaten a lot of ribs in my day and these were well within what I’d call “decent”, though not groundbreaking by any means. Then again, compared to things like the sweetbreads and the rest of the meal, there was a high bar to compare to as we were getting full.
We finished the meal with fried plantains, which were nothing short of heavenly. I don’t usually like plantains because they’re typically either overly fried or mushy inside. Argentine Steakhouse got them just right, hot and sweet on the inside with a golden crust. To quote Dereck, “I could eat these every day.”
This is one of the few places were Dereck and I have gone and not brought food home. Even though we were given more than a big enough portion, we were both so happy that we continued to eat until we were miserable. This steakhouse is highly recommmended, especially considering the price point (about $40 for 2 people), the quality of service and the exceptionally tasty meat dishes.
Restaurant Review: Cody’s Roadhouse
On Monday, Kara and I went to Cody’s Roadhouse (11202 W Hillsborough Ave, Tampa – (813) 855-2787). While I don’t generally cover chain restaurants, I wanted to try Cody’s because I had never been to it and always heard good things.
When we got there, we were seated immediately. This is where my frustration begins, as the booth they seated us in was not Fat Guy Compliant(tm). I’m a big dude, and always have been. I rarely, if ever, have difficulty fitting anywhere I’m supposed to. Infact, I can’t recall the last time I even had a tight fit anywhere in a restaurant. Cody’s was not so compliant. The booth they sat us in was a squeeze to get into and, because of the height of the table, continued to put pressure on my lungs and gut throughout the meal. This made it difficult to enjoy my meal, and difficult to breathe as I consumed. I noticed I wasn’t the only one, as other bigger guys in booths seemed to be struggling both to the right of me and two booths down. You’d think that Cody’s would know that a steakhouse is going to attract the more voluptuous of us and plan for this, but I digress. I did get a good laugh out of the light hanging above us with the words, “U R FAT, STOP EATING” scrawled into the light hood.
That said, the service was pretty good. The waitstaff was friendly. Our waitress was quick with drinks, reasonably quick with the salad and bread and our meals were out within about 20 minutes. No complaints on her at all.
When the salad came out, they toss it for you on the spot in a large metal bowl, put a portion on the plate and leave the bowl. This made Kara’s single salad serving enough for both of us. The salad was fresh and tasty.
The rolls that came out were hot and they melt in your mouth, though I wasn’t a fan of the cinnamon butter they served with them. The idea of a sweet roll at a steakhouse seems off-putting to me, and I felt it clashed with the salad.
Here’s Kara enjoying the roll and salad. Note her cute new haircut!
When the entrees arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. Kara orders the steak and shrimp kabobs with fresh steamed broccoli and rice pilaf. The meat was really tender, a prime cut that was done medium with light seer marks along the outside of the steak. It was way better than expected. The shrimp were also done just right, slathered in a garlic sauce and cooked to perfection. They weren’t rubbery or overcooked at all.
I ordered the quesadilla, which was really thick and filling. Usually, I’m used to a quesadilla being 1/4″ or so thick with small shreds of chicken in them. This one was overloaded with big chunks of chicken, pushing it to a half inch thick (and more in some spots) and very flavorful. The cheese was abundant and this quesadilla was cooked perfectly. No complaints.
Overall, Cody’s was a decent place to eat. Next time, I’ll make sure I have a table and try a whole steak.