Tonight (6/1) we chose to dine at Morton's Steakhouse in King of Prussia. I have dined here several times over the years and chose to return here because of their Savor the Summer specials for $49. This is a four course meal for this price.
I chose the Baked 5 Onion soup as my appetizer while my dining partner had the Ahi Tuna Tower. The soup is served with swiss cheese and is served as a regular cup of soup. The cheese was baked on nicely, but the soup was not very good in my opinion. It lacked flavor and seasoning that I would expect in a soup. My partner's Tuna Tower was much better and was a nice mix of avocado and tuna. The taste of this appetizer was far superior to mine.
The next course was the salad one. I chose the tomato and mozzarella salad and asked for some blue cheese crumbles on this along with a blue cheese dressing on the side. This salad was terrific-- the dressing was delicious and perfectly accentuated the tomatoes and cheese. My dining companion chose the Morton's salad which was an iceberg lettuce with chopped egg, bacon bits and anchovies. This salad was extremely good as well.
For my main course I selected the 6 oz Filet Mignon. The steak was done to perfection and was the perfect size for this new Foodie's life style. Mr Foodie from yesteryear and 70 lbs ago would not have been as happy with the size of the steak! The steak had a wonderful flavor and had the perfect accompaniment with the creamed spinach vegetable that I ordered. The spinach was served as a full family sized side and was a nice complement to the main course. I have been told in the past by some that you can judge a good steakhouse by the quality of the creamed spinach!
My dining partner had the Chicken Christopher which consisted of 2 lightly breaded boneless breasts of chicken in a garlic beurre blanc sauce. This dish was very good and there was an abundance of food served with this in comparison to the steak. My companion chose Lyonnaise potatoes as the side dish and these were very good as well. The potatoes were crispy and served with a very small amount of onion for additional flavoring.
Dessert was a bit of a disappointment. I chose the chocolate souffle. The souffle came out nice and puffy which is an art unto itself; however, there is very little flavor in this dessert. The souffle almost tastes like a popover because there was virtually no chocolate in it that could be tasted. One of my other companions ordered the raspberry souffle and said similar things about his. This is a big miss for a steakhouse with this fine of a reputation. My dining partner ordered the chocolate mousse and this was extremely tasty in comparison to what mine was.
Overall, this was an up and down meal because there were some very good items and also some big misses. This was my second visit within the month to this place and both times it has not been crowded which makes me wonder if other patrons are feeling the same way about the restaurant.
Dinner for 2 with one glass of wine was $109 before tip.
Overall Rating 3.25 Brownies
Monday, June 9, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Vincente's Restaurant
Vincente's is a restaurant located at 5914 Kirkwood Hwy in Wilmington, DE. This is a restaurant that I had been to several times before making the plunge to lose weight in January of 2013. Conversely, we had not visited this restaurant during the last 17 months as a result.
Upon arriving, we were told that the waitress we had requested (Danielle) was no longer there. Also, I noticed someone other than Vincent making the renowned table-side Caesar Salad. When I asked our server (Nicky) where Vincent was that night, she was a bit confused and asked, "who"? I responded, "the old man who owns the place". She then said, "he died". This really saddened us because Vincent was a showman and really solicited participation from his diners in making his Caesar Salad, offering his "walking menu" and preparing his table-side bananas foster.
Vincent's son has come out of the kitchen and taken over his Dad's role as the "front man". His brother is the main bartender.
Vincente's always starts the diner with a complimentary hors d'oeuvres which is a small piece of flounder with a few bread crumbs over it and perfectly seasoned. It was delicious as usual-- this is accompanied with a half of a roll with a cheesy beer spread over it. Again, quite good.
We then chose our dinner without using the menu and not waiting for Vincent's son to come over to provide the walking menu. Let me just explain the walking menu briefly for those who have never encountered it-- he will come over and ask you what you feel like eating that night. The choices are endless (steak, seafood, veal, chicken, pork, etc.). Once you make that decision, he will ask spicy or not spicy. He then zeroes in on a dish and will suggest that. This is how I found my favorite Vincente's dish which is named after one of the grandchildren-- Chicken Leah Brie. This is how the walking menu is presented and it is unbelievable to watch as a chef decides with you the diner what you are going to eat that evening.
For my meal this evening, I chose the table-side Caesar Salad for 2 as an appetizer ($9 ea). The salad was prepared by Vincent's son who tried his best to emulate his Dad, but he doesn't have the 50 plus years of being in front of the patrons yet like his Dad did. The Caesar Salad was good still, but just seemed to be off a tad, but that could just be the whole aura of not having Vincent make the salad. Part of the show before you are served the salad is that Vincent would go about 35 feet away from the salad bowl with a few round clumps of romano cheese and attempt to throw it half way across the dining room into the bowl. Vincent had this down to a science and would often yell, "Larry Bird for 3, bang!!" The salad was still very good and provided an ample amount of romaine and dressing.
I am one that tends to like a certain dish at a restaurant and usually do not like to deviate-- this is the case here. I ordered the aforementioned Chicken Leah Brie. This is chicken stuffed with jumbo lump crabmeat with cheese, shrimp and mushrooms in an unbelievable orange cream basil sauce-- the first time this was ever described to me, I had some reservations about it, but my concerns turned into admiration because this is truly an outstanding dish. This is also served with a side of pasta (I ordered angel hair). This dish again did not disappoint and I ended up taking about half home because of the quantity of the food.
My dining companion chose the Veal Marsala and that was a tad bit disappointing. I thought the flavor was off and had never seen a Marsala served with peas before. My companion ended up dipping the veal into my orange basil cream sauce for better flavor and enjoyed that much more.
Normally I would do dessert, but I was too full to entertain the idea. I should mention that the dessert of choice is a table-side bananas foster.
My partner had 2 glasses of wine during the meal-- dinner for 2 before tip was $82.
Overall rating-- 3.75 Brownies
Upon arriving, we were told that the waitress we had requested (Danielle) was no longer there. Also, I noticed someone other than Vincent making the renowned table-side Caesar Salad. When I asked our server (Nicky) where Vincent was that night, she was a bit confused and asked, "who"? I responded, "the old man who owns the place". She then said, "he died". This really saddened us because Vincent was a showman and really solicited participation from his diners in making his Caesar Salad, offering his "walking menu" and preparing his table-side bananas foster.
Vincent's son has come out of the kitchen and taken over his Dad's role as the "front man". His brother is the main bartender.
Vincente's always starts the diner with a complimentary hors d'oeuvres which is a small piece of flounder with a few bread crumbs over it and perfectly seasoned. It was delicious as usual-- this is accompanied with a half of a roll with a cheesy beer spread over it. Again, quite good.
We then chose our dinner without using the menu and not waiting for Vincent's son to come over to provide the walking menu. Let me just explain the walking menu briefly for those who have never encountered it-- he will come over and ask you what you feel like eating that night. The choices are endless (steak, seafood, veal, chicken, pork, etc.). Once you make that decision, he will ask spicy or not spicy. He then zeroes in on a dish and will suggest that. This is how I found my favorite Vincente's dish which is named after one of the grandchildren-- Chicken Leah Brie. This is how the walking menu is presented and it is unbelievable to watch as a chef decides with you the diner what you are going to eat that evening.
For my meal this evening, I chose the table-side Caesar Salad for 2 as an appetizer ($9 ea). The salad was prepared by Vincent's son who tried his best to emulate his Dad, but he doesn't have the 50 plus years of being in front of the patrons yet like his Dad did. The Caesar Salad was good still, but just seemed to be off a tad, but that could just be the whole aura of not having Vincent make the salad. Part of the show before you are served the salad is that Vincent would go about 35 feet away from the salad bowl with a few round clumps of romano cheese and attempt to throw it half way across the dining room into the bowl. Vincent had this down to a science and would often yell, "Larry Bird for 3, bang!!" The salad was still very good and provided an ample amount of romaine and dressing.
I am one that tends to like a certain dish at a restaurant and usually do not like to deviate-- this is the case here. I ordered the aforementioned Chicken Leah Brie. This is chicken stuffed with jumbo lump crabmeat with cheese, shrimp and mushrooms in an unbelievable orange cream basil sauce-- the first time this was ever described to me, I had some reservations about it, but my concerns turned into admiration because this is truly an outstanding dish. This is also served with a side of pasta (I ordered angel hair). This dish again did not disappoint and I ended up taking about half home because of the quantity of the food.
My dining companion chose the Veal Marsala and that was a tad bit disappointing. I thought the flavor was off and had never seen a Marsala served with peas before. My companion ended up dipping the veal into my orange basil cream sauce for better flavor and enjoyed that much more.
Normally I would do dessert, but I was too full to entertain the idea. I should mention that the dessert of choice is a table-side bananas foster.
My partner had 2 glasses of wine during the meal-- dinner for 2 before tip was $82.
Overall rating-- 3.75 Brownies
Rouge
You may have caught my recent theme that I have eaten in a few places that were deemed to have the best burger in the area judged by 94 WIP radio.
A few weeks ago, the esteemed judging panel in the WIP contest rated the burger from Rouge as the best in the area. That of course means a job for the Fat Foodie.
It was interesting that when I attempted to reserve a table for lunch at Rouge that Open Table indicated there were no reservations around 12:00 for the next 2 months! Hmm-- playing hard to get? Not to be deterred, I called last Friday and asked about sitting at the bar and miraculously they got me right in at a regular table for that day.
Rouge is located in the heart of Rittenhouse Square at 205 South 18th Street. We were seated at a nice table just inside the big windows which open fully to look out to Rittenhouse Square.
I ordered the Rouge burger as did my dining companion. This sandwich is described on the menu as a Burger with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, bibb lettuce, tomato and a dill pickle on a challah roll with pommes frites ($16).
The taste of the burger was excellent and it was cooked to perfection. They do not tell you up front how many ounces the sandwich is, but I believe it is 10 to 12 ounces of meat. So while the flavor was good, you might wonder what could be better? For me, the roll cannot sustain this size sandwich with the juices flowing from the burger. The bottom part of the roll was almost gone when I was two thirds done the sandwich. You are left to ponder whether continuing to use your hands or switch to a knife and fork and this is a faux pas that should not be part of the equation.
As aforementioned the burger was delicious, but here are two other small negatives about Rouge. First, the server (Jalina) seemed somewhat aloof and second the fries were not as crispy as one would typically find in a thinner fry like they serve. That being said, the burger sells the place and some of its minor deficiencies.
Lunch for 2 before tip was $34.
Overall Rating: 4.25 brownies
A few weeks ago, the esteemed judging panel in the WIP contest rated the burger from Rouge as the best in the area. That of course means a job for the Fat Foodie.
It was interesting that when I attempted to reserve a table for lunch at Rouge that Open Table indicated there were no reservations around 12:00 for the next 2 months! Hmm-- playing hard to get? Not to be deterred, I called last Friday and asked about sitting at the bar and miraculously they got me right in at a regular table for that day.
Rouge is located in the heart of Rittenhouse Square at 205 South 18th Street. We were seated at a nice table just inside the big windows which open fully to look out to Rittenhouse Square.
I ordered the Rouge burger as did my dining companion. This sandwich is described on the menu as a Burger with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese, bibb lettuce, tomato and a dill pickle on a challah roll with pommes frites ($16).
The taste of the burger was excellent and it was cooked to perfection. They do not tell you up front how many ounces the sandwich is, but I believe it is 10 to 12 ounces of meat. So while the flavor was good, you might wonder what could be better? For me, the roll cannot sustain this size sandwich with the juices flowing from the burger. The bottom part of the roll was almost gone when I was two thirds done the sandwich. You are left to ponder whether continuing to use your hands or switch to a knife and fork and this is a faux pas that should not be part of the equation.
As aforementioned the burger was delicious, but here are two other small negatives about Rouge. First, the server (Jalina) seemed somewhat aloof and second the fries were not as crispy as one would typically find in a thinner fry like they serve. That being said, the burger sells the place and some of its minor deficiencies.
Lunch for 2 before tip was $34.
Overall Rating: 4.25 brownies
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