152919 Fri Jul 29 00:49:00 -0700 2005 9 12 Boston Area 0 821238 Got a late-ish reservation on fairly short notice, enjoyed really extraordinary Sidecars while waiting in the bar. Our table in an upstairs dining room was way preferable to any of the first-floor seating we saw; I'd say the wait for this was worth it. A really top-notch bread basket; especially liked a super-salty, heavily sesame-seed encrusted flatbread. We proceeded to somewhat overorder: asparagus (easily 18 thick, undertrimmed but properly cooked stalks), excellent onion rings (I only half-believed Joanie when she said this was big enough for six; it's no joke), a Caprese salad (plenty for four, but with surprisingly inferior, supermarket-quality tomatoes). Two gorgeous-looking meat entrees, each with a nice char: a perfectly medium-rare 14-oz sirloin (the smallest steak I could get that wasn't filet), and a big on-the-bone ribeye veal chop (considerably underdone from the requested medium, a bad mistake with a thick cut of veal). The cellar was out of our first wine choice, but we found a decent-priced Oregon Pinot Noir on the next try. I was pleasantly surprised by the breadth of the wine list, the fair number of under-$60 bottles, and the lack of obvious gouging except on Rich Idiot wines like Opus One. The coconut cake for dessert was huge and dryish and underwhelming, a distinct disappointment. Service was very solid throughout. At about $100 a head with tip, I'd call this a C+/B- kind of luxury steakhouse experience, with far too many little misfires, mostly on the kitchen's part, for this price point. Hardly, as they love to quote Riechl, "a steakhouse to end all arguments", but a small notch above the many sub-par outings I've had at other high-end chain outlets in Boston. I still think most of these places are for suckers and expense-account types entertaining unadventurous clients. I can't imagine hurrying back here when places like the Grotto can floor me at half the cost. We will go back to that bar, though; Michael has some real talent with a shaker, and charm to boot. Fri Jul 29 00:49:00 -0700 2005 0 MC Slim JB 1 821245 Glad to hear about yor wonderful meal, and the fabulous bar...... Please don't bitch about pricing! they spent over one million getting this restaurant ready, and their rent is about $25,ooo per week... Yes, per week..... So the guy down the road with prices about 1/2 the cost is good too, but this is a experience, and not a weekly visiting restaurant. Fri Jul 29 08:09:06 -0700 2005 821238 0 Irwin 2 821254 I have to disagree about "don't bitch" about the prices. I think restaurants that charge these prices HAVE to make the food worth it. I don't care about your rent, I doubt people choose to spend this money because the food is mediocre and the room is pretty. Pretty rooms (in my mind)are down the list after food and service quality. Granted, going to a steakhouse for $100pp and expecting haute cuisine would be out of order, however, there are steakhouses in town that are serving meat that is better than you can get yourself (unless you go to a farm in the Berkshires). All natural, farm raised dry aged beef for example is worth the price. To that end, having whatever you ordered cooked exactly the way you like it (maybe even better) is worth the price. And of course outstanding service is worth a heavier tag. So, if the ultra expensive restaurants aren't delivering anything special on the plate - I agree with Slim....go to the places that are. Who cares if the room didn't cost some conglomerate $25,000 a week? Fri Jul 29 09:19:18 -0700 2005 821245 0 foo-dee 3 821262 Yeah..I should feel badly for them b/c they spent a million dollars getting this place ready and now have huge rent costs? And that's my problem, why? I don't think MC was 'bitching' about the expense; he was simply comparing the expense with the value. If he's gonna pay alot, he wants to get alot. If I'm out to have a great experience, and I'm willing to spend a lot of money to get that, it's all good. But it SHOULD be all good; if it's not, well, I'll go elsewhere. End of story. Fri Jul 29 10:10:40 -0700 2005 821254 0 twentyoystahs 4 821964 $25 k per week in rent? Hmmm. Breaking out the old trust calculator, it seems that if they average $100 pp, they would have to sell 35.7 meals per day (it's open 7 days a week) to pay the rent. Since they seat 400 comfortably, something tells me they are able to cover the rent. IMHO, for $100 pp, your meal should be memorable as the surroundings. Mon Aug 08 15:31:37 -0700 2005 821262 0 Dapper Dave 2 821266 It sounds like you didn't read my post very closely. I would not call what I just described as a C+/B- experience as a "wonderful meal". It was just above average for luxury chain steakhouses in Boston, which I think almost without exception fail to deliver the whole package. I keep hoping that one of these meals will justify their expense, and keep getting disappointed. Smith and Wollensky falls squarely into this category. Serving a high quality dry-aged strip steak for $40 is not enough. I admire the upper-level dining rooms, but it's hardly Chowish to be in awe of the decor and then ignore serious kitchen lapses, or having to wait a half hour beyond a reservation. To get me coming back and bringing friends, a restaurant has to deliver on food, service, and decor (in that order), all at a good value relative to its category. Smith and Wollensky doesn't even make my Top 10 list of local places to drop $200 on a meal. Fri Jul 29 10:24:30 -0700 2005 821245 0 MC Slim JB 3 821281 Absolutely agree with your priorities. I'm curious - what local places make your top 10 for the price, excluding steakhouses (not a steak fan)? Fri Jul 29 12:12:29 -0700 2005 821266 0 JRL 3 821324 I'm a huge fan of a good dry-aged beefsteak; I just think most of the luxury steakhouses in town fall down one way or another. Off the top of my head, here are a few places at around $200/couple (including a nice bottle of wine) that I'd choose over Smith & Wollensky: Rialto, No. 9 Park, Bricco, Sage, Union Bar & Grill, the Oak Room, Troquet, Fugakyu, Prezza, Pigalle, Arrows, and Il Capriccio. Fri Jul 29 15:45:27 -0700 2005 821266 0 MC Slim JB 2 821359 At first, i thought your post was tongue in cheek...now I see that it's not...so, what you're saying is that we should not 'complain' (which he wasn't) about spending ridiculous amounts of money for an average experience because a corporation spent money on the decor? Sort of goes against the entire spirit of this board. Just my opinion.   maybe we should get back to the food...which is what the post was about Sat Jul 30 11:48:57 -0700 2005 821245 0 NickCambridge 1 821247 Maybe onion rings and a drink is the way to go. Altho our meat dishes were done correctly and creme brulee was a good ending. I thought about trying them again during Rest. Week but they only had very early and late times available. Fri Jul 29 08:12:42 -0700 2005 821238 0 Joanie