Best Steakhouse/Restaurant ??

[debw1946]

I'm getting my stitches from recent oral surgery out today. So, I figure by this weekend I'll be ready to rip my teeth into a big, fat, juicy steak. Where do I find the best steak in the Metuchen/Edison area? I'm so tired of eating wimpy food.

[Applecheeks]

I had a real surprize on Thursday. I felt like having a steak and didn't want to travel far from home. I went to Hodnett's Steakhouse on Midland Ave. in Kearny. I had the best filet mignon I have had in years. Seared on the outside, juicy on the inside and perfectly cooked. It actually tasted like steak. It came with a baked potatoe and sauted carrots, brocoli and stringbeans. I was offered a salad, but refused. All for $19. The people were just lovely, very friendly without being obtrusive. My only complaint was that the place could really use a makeover. Carpets were dingy and had the place had the same decor as the Spanish place that was there before. I wanted to suggest to them to contact Robert Irvine for his Restaurant Impossible show, but they were so nice, I didn't want to insult them.
I will be back because the food was good and reasonably priced.

[angelo04]

Steakhouse 85 in New Brunswick

[yCf]

another vote for Steakhouse 85.

[ellen4441]

Metuchen/Edison not exactly a mecca for steakhouses, but when you DO want to stay in your area, there is always JOSE TEJAS on Rt. 1 in Iselin (by Woodbridge Mall) for some real good steak fajitas .... ...or their chimicharri flank steak.... ...nicely seasoned beef dishes ...

[menton1]

Disagree about Roots. Looks like the only one on coldbeer's list with Dry Aged Beef; Unmatched flavor with that process. Also, a visually beautiful place.

If you prefer quantity over quality, they have these 3 lb beasts in most of the Newark Ironbound Spanish/Portuguese restaurants.

[coldbeer]

Won't argue with the visuals...but the food is more often bad than good. Popovers are nice, but the quality of the steaks is too hit and miss, and in my opinion, much more miss. There is no char on the steaks to speak of...the juices are not sealed in and you get a mushy steak. It is too expensive for what you get, and you are stuck in a sound chamber at the one in Morristown. I have spent thousands of dollars there, and they ain't getting any more of it.

[tommy]

I think the "sealing in juices" thing has pretty much been disproven.

[coldbeer]

Alright Tommy, how bout this. Roots is on par with Sammy's as far as quality of the meat goes. If you like Sammy's, you'll like Roots. Their lobsters are plucked right out of the water as well.

[tommy]

I've been to both Sammy's and Roots. I enjoyed Roots more. I wouldn't run back to either.

[coldbeer]

Sorry I thought you were this guy

http://www.tommyeats.com/tommyeats/20...

[tommy]

Not sure why you're sorry. I'm very confused at this point.

[ellen4441]

u ARE "that guy", right, TOMMY ????? (tommy, aka "tommyeats")
I sure thought so... ....
and the same guy that said hi to me while I was working in my Atlantic City casino poker room last year ....

enjoy reading your posts on this Chowhound !
p.s. I got a "HIT" steak at ROOTS , guess I was lucky...

[big1515]

I spent a week one night @ Sammy/s in Mendum ,waited 2 hours for a ok steak about 15 years ago, have not been back to this mill since .Still would like to know if Root's had any roots with the old clothing store in Summit ? if you know ..

[tommy]

No, it doesn't. It's an homage.

[big1515]

thanks

[chuck98]

I thought most decent places dry age. Anyway, the one time I had a steak at Rooq's (in Somerset) it was really good.

[tommy]

Places that serve dry-aged steak are few and far between. Places that serve USDA Prime dry-aged steak even farther between. Places that serve notable dry-aged steak, even fewer.

[menton1]

Does the highly touted River Palm pass muster?

[tommy]

Depending on who you ask at the RPT restaurants you will get different answers on dry- vs. wet-aging.

Either way it's certainly not as good as Luger or the top places through the tunnel. I've never had an "oh wow" moment at RPT, and I've eaten at all three locations many times over the past 15 years.

You can dry-age a short loin for 3 days and claim it's dry-aged. Whether or not it matters is another story.

[menton1]

Well, RP claims on their website to Dry Age all USDA Prime steaks for 28 days. Gotta be better than Sammy's!

[tommy]

Their website also suggests that their filet mignon is USDA Prime and dry-aged for 28 days. Neither of which is likely true to my mind.

[Foody4life]

Steakhouse 85 in New Brunswick is nearby and gets positive reviews from other CH's. We haven't dined here yet, but it's on our gotta try list.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/579833

http://www.steakhouse85.com

[coldbeer]

Not sure about the Edison Area...but a bit further north the best places are...1) The Strip House, Livingston NJ. 2) Rod's, Convent Station. 3) Fernandes, Newark. The three worst are 1) Roots, Summit. 2) Roots, Morristown. 3) Char, Bridgewater. That is all.

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Strip House
550 West Mount Pleasant Ave, Livingston, NJ 07039

[big1515]

Is this the same Root's family the owned the Roots clothing store in Summit years ago ?