Bobby Flay Steak

A plan was hatched and tonight we executed it. With Aunt Kitty in town, we used her as a babysitter to sneak out for an anniversary dinner.

Somehow I have been cast as a Bobby Flay fan. That is not accurate. I did like his show years ago with Jack McDavid. I have nothing against Flay. I like southwestern cuisine and I like grilling. It was my wife who dragged me to the restaurant show a few years ago to see Chef Flay.

And because of her seeming crush on the bad boy of the culinary arts, I suggested we give Bobby Flay Steak a try. We decided this would make a special anniversary present for both of us. We further decided that we would not hold back and just enjoy the night.

To that end I decided I would finally try Kobe. The restaurant serves a strip. I was excited for this dish. I knew I also wanted the mashed potatoes. The appetizer I wasn’t certain of, deciding to let the moment guide me.

Finally the night came. We had had a busy weekend. Gert was tired too. We discussed canceling/postponing the evening, but decided to go.

I’ve never been in the Borgata. This casino came along long after I stopped going to casinos. Everything I have heard and read indicated it was a beautiful place. We drove in for our 8:00 reservation. Parking was a snap and we were soon on the casino floor.

Nothing of particular note stood out about the casino. Things were nice, but not unlike the others in town. The poker room is the room. We were going to go play after dinner, but I passed later. We snaked around and eventually found the restaurant. We were a bit early so roamed a bit so Gert could play the one-armed bandits. We saw Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant. I checked out the menu. I was not impressed.

We then headed to the restaurant. We were seated in a cozy corner that looked out onto the casino floor. We were pleased to see the menu matched the web site. Anthony was our waiter. He is a young Italian guy. Good-looking according to Gert. Yet, he had a casualness to him that by the end of the meal wore on us. He was competent, but not stellar.

And that was the theme for the dinner. We expected this to be one of the finer meals we have had. Certainly based on the price we knew we were going to be forking over, we expected it to be. Somehow, it just didn’t live up to our expectations.

We decided not to have wine since we were driving. We each had a cocktail. My Jack and Coke was perfectly mixed. I pour heavy, so it was not as strong as my cocktails, but it was not weak like most places pour. Gert enjoyed her Kahlua and cream.

We each ordered an appetizer. Gert went with the surf and turf. The filet was excellent, just like a filet should be. The lobster was grilled and served with a fruit sauce. That is not Gert’s style at all. Frankly, the lobster was a touch overcooked; there is a reason why folks boil it. I helped her finish the lobster. She only shared one tiny piece of the filet. :)

I decided on the steamers. I was interested in how Mr. Flay would handle this South Jersey specialty. I was impressed. There were at least two dozen littlenecks. The butter sauce was awesome. Lord only knows how many calories were sitting there. I kept thinking how much my grandmother would have enjoyed this appetizer. While nothing terribly unusual, I was impressed with the clams.

There was not much waiting between courses. It wasn’t rushed, but we noticed we were through dinner in record time. So much for a leisurely evening out.

Gert ordered the Porterhouse lamb chops. She likes lamb chops, but I do not think she was prepared for this cut. Admittedly, it was not what I was expecting either. A Porterhouse contains the tenderloin and the sirloin with the T-bone in place. This was served as three bones with the meat attached, but chopped from the center bone. Probably all the same meat, but presented uniquely. It was served with a mint pesto. Gert enjoyed this but could not finish. I thought it was enjoyable, but propbably would not order that again.

As for me, the Kobe strip was served. Admittedly, it looked a little plain sitting there. Sides are served family-style, so it was merely the steak, a chile, and steak sauce on the plate. This was an $85 cut of meat. The presentation left me wanting. But I can pass on the presentation if the taste is outstanding.

The temperature of the strip was perfect. This is a steakhouse after all, but it is so nice when a restaurant cooks the steak properly. The strip tasted very good. It was tender and sweet. The steak sauce served was sweet and spicy. I very much liked it and would purchase if available. The stuff on Bobby’s web site isn’t it.

Yet, the whole time I ate this strip I kept wondering what made it $40 better than the ribeye or filet. I couldn’t come up with it. I don’t normally eat strip steaks, preferring the filet, ribeye, or T-bone myself. What compelled me to order an $85 piece of meat?

Hype. The promise of something better. Perhaps my palate isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate this beef. Or perhaps . . . it just isn’t worth it.

Again, the Kobe was just fine, I just can’t justify the cost over the “lesser” style of beef.

It occurs to me this is very much what I experience with other endeavors too. I hear how wonderful something is (a geocache, for instance). I experience it and it is fine, but does not rise to the hype that has been provided. I enjoy it, but would describe the experience in much different terms. But because of the hype, there is a certain level of disappointment associated with it. That is very much how I felt not only with the Kobe but the dining experience as a whole.

The restaurant was comfortable, but it is not the finest restaurant I have dined in nor was it the finest meal I had. Contributing to that was Anthony. As the meal wore on, Anthony was around less and less. A three-top of attractive blondes was seated nearby. They were drinking wine and had Anthony’s attention. Our plates that had been served with such preciseness, sat for a long time after we were through. Our table was never crumbed, despite having ordered dessert. Anthony’s casualness began to bother. He approached our table from behind and asked us if we were through while he was attending to something for another table.

It was during this lengthy time that Gert and I began to notice the service of others in the restaurant. I was taught that food was always to be served from a tray. While I recognize that isn’t always followed, I still think it is a sign of better service. Waiters stack their arms with food for the tables. They equally stack them, diner-style, to clear a table. I noted the one waitress was going to drop a plate once she left her table. Sure enough she did, just as they do in diners.

Anthony provided me time to reflect upon our meal. While we were spending probably more money than I have ever spent on a meal for two, the service was equal to that of Olga’s. Dinner in a casino is going to cost more than elsewhere, but when it is going to cost this much, I expect perfection. I didn’t get it.

Gert and I decided to share a chocolate-butterscotch cake with a raspberry sauce. It was very good, although not as butterscotch-y as I would have liked.

We waited some more to have Anthony take the credit card. Sheesh . . .

Gert and I enjoyed ourselves and our meals. We both thought the experience was going to be more than it was. Because it wasn’t, we felt somewhat let down. I can get a perfectly cooked steak at Longhorn for a fraction of the cost of my dinner tonight. Even better, I can grill my own.

Folks will enjoy dining at Bobby Flay Steak. It was fun for us, but not somewhere we are likely to return to as there are plenty of other places to dine . . . and we could probably have four dinners out for one here. ;)

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