I took my friend to dinner to celebrate a special occasion. He is a big steak fan. I was running a bit late and called him to tell him so. He said that he would order an appetizer while he waited but when I arrived 15 minutes later, I was certain that he had elected to wait for me, and instead had chosen to have a glass of wine as an aperitif. It turned out that a shrimp appetizer had already come and gone, and now since the precedent had been set for ordering a glass of wine, a bottle seemed a bit risky given the establishment’s reputation for high end dining. Dismayed that I was beginning my experience with a 30.00 surcharge, I ordered myself a glass of wine, as well, and proceeded to try and enjoy the rest of the meal.

My friend did not understand the concept of ‘a la carte’ side dishes, most of which are comfortably shared by two people. Except the onion rings which could probably feed a starving family of six. Running at 7.00 a “side”, the bill inched little by little to a gastronomical 170.00 for two people, with a total of 45.00 for three glasses of wine, the latter of which could have almost bought a respectable bottle of wine (I happened to be sipping Chateau Greysac because I wanted Bordeaux and not Shiraz or those hybrid reds). I justified it by noting that each type of steak had been paired with a different type of wine on the menu, and since we didn’t order the same type of steak, having different wines between the two of us would maximize our individual experiences, and thus the entire experience as a whole. Or so I thought. I couldn’t get to the loaded baked potato (this 7.00 side is meant for one person), and I was beginning to get anxious about the butter that was dripping off my steak. The combination of what I was ingesting and the actual bill should have given me cardiac arrest, but I lived to write this review.

I will say that the service was outstanding, much in the style of European restaurants that have several servers waiting on their guests. Having made a reservation on line, and indicating that this special occasion was a birthday, they offered a complimentary dessert of choice. Armagnac appeared on the dessert/drink menu, but apparently their supply was momentarily depleted (which is fine because I really didn’t need to push the bill up to 200.00). Coffee with dessert was brought out in a large pot (unnecessary and, frankly, quite unattractive). I can’t comment on the grilled shrimp appetizer because I didn’t see it, but the sweet potato casserole “side” was simply out of this world. I would actually go back just for the latter, but at a time when I felt like spending that much money to dine without trying to cut too many corners (you can’t really enjoy it if you do; on the other hand dining here without abandon is likely to put you in the poor house, so do make informed choices!) I also think that romantic dining seems oddly to justify that kind of a bill, but that friends should should stick to restaurants where they can happily, and easily, go “dutch”.

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