I was really excited to try this one. I had three different people highly recommend it. Although we had driven by this place a thousand time (on Fourteen mile rd, just east of Farmington), I never really noticed it. Being that it was Friday night, traditionally "Steak and Martini" night in our house, we had the Chateaubriand for two. Ordered, Medium-rare, it came with mulitiple courses; an antipasta plate, minestroni soup, and pasta bolognese. We had a bottle of 2007 Viticcio Chianti Classico Riserva. Don't worry, martinis were done at home before our 7:30pm seating.
The funniest thing was entering the restaurant in the bar area, where sitting with her back to us at the bar was "mutton dressed like lamb" (older women dressed like her daughter and not pulling it off) with her thong totally hiked up (and showing some butt) over the band of her short skirt. Hilarious! J almost took a pic to post on FB. (we didn't)
The decor and dining room reminded me of a place that took over for a Cooney Island and tried, with very limited budget, to make it a fine dining place. The place looked a little "tired" with it's framed posters on the wall, black table cloths and napkins, banquet chairs, etc. Not what I was expecting. The staff was very attentive, but all their uniforms (white shirt, bow tie, black pants) needed pressing and most of the busser had dirty uniforms.
The food; you get enough to feed a small village. I have to say without a shadow of a doubt, the star of the evening was the Chateau, which was excellent. It was cooked perfectly, sliced table side on a sizzling platter and the zip sauce made it a solid 10. Unfortunately, they "mailed it in" on the mashed potatoes and broccoli that came with it. The potatoes were gluey, a little salty and the broccoli, although cooked perfectly was bland. The wine complemented the Chateau well and was very good. The bread basket was unremarkable. I had a Caesar, instead of the house salad, which was good, J. said here salad was "a little warm, not crisp", (House). Pet peev, both salad plates were warm, not chilled. I know, small detail, but it definately makes a difference and is so easy to pull off. This also helps the salad for being "a little warm". The soup and pasta were both ok to good, nothing to write home about.
All said and done we got out with tip for just under $150. We were both a little disappointed with the place. I would give the place a C+ to B-. With so many other terrific places in town that do very similar type fare (Lelli's and Steve Lelli's on the Green, Andiamo's, etc.) I would not go back to this one. I'm glad we tried this place because, life is all about the exploration, experiencing new things, and loving the journey. We will continue to do all of that and can't wait to see what's up around the next bend.
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