Steak Night - Stoney River

Last night the group convened for a extemporaneous Wednesday night Steak Night at Stoney River in Duluth, GA.

Drinks at the bar were well poured by an attentive staff. No snacks available, though many order appetizers and even full meals at the bar.

Once seated we were greeted immediately. The breadbasket arrived shortly thereafter filled with their delicious, miniature poppyseed rolls and honey butter. We went through the first heaping basket with ease, though the second basket was more of a challenge than we could meet.

We ordered their version of bleu cheese chips. They started with good quality homemade chips then topped them with a bechemel based bleu cheese sauce with a hint of nutmeg. Garnished with chives, this variation on this often overdone dish was excellent. (For the best bleu cheese chips in Atlanta visit Buckhead Diner where they don't skimp on the Maytag Bleu Cheese).

Then came our wine, at the recommendation of our waiter we ordered a bottle of the 2005 Franciscan Cabernet priced at $48, it was a 100% mark-up over retail, a much lower mark-up than many of their other bottles. The wine was good, though could have benefitted from a decanting. It improved as the evening went on. The waiter again made sure our glasses were always crimson and took the extra second to wipe the bottle with a black napkin, fold it neatly, and place the cork on top creating a bit of restaurant still life with every pouring.

My two compatriots ordered the lodge filet, a 10 oz steak, that is their best seller. Its price at $39 is quite fair particularly with the addition of the included starch of your choice. I had the 12 oz ribeye and found it quite succulent and perfectly cooked.

We skipped dessert on this trip due in large part to the sheer number of roles ingested, but enjoyed espressos and lingered over the last bit of our wine.

All in all Stoney River delivered a very enjoyable Steak Night at a relative bargain of <$80 per person including tax and gratuity.

Stoney River Wrap-up

Atmosphere: 4 (a bit loud, though still a comfortable place to settle in)
Drinks: 4 (a good wine list including reserve list, though mark-ups a bit high, our female member raved about the Belini Martini)
Meat: 4.5 (they use their "lodge" seasoning, good if a bit salty, but not for everyone)
Sides: 4 (one startch included with your entree)
Desert: 4.5 (order the Top Hat)
Service: 4.5 (a bit too attentive)
Value: 4.5
Overall: 4.3

Note: A good solid chain steakhouse in the burbs.

Nashville Part I

My lack of posting last week was a reflection of a busy week spent in Nashville. The primary reason for the trip was ostensibly a meal. In my business, as I'm sure is the case in many fields, a large deal warrants a large meal with all the folks involved in the transaction.

We went to Jimmy Kelly's which has been a Nashville Dining Tradition since 1934. The restaurant is in a grand old Victorian home very near Vanderbilt's campus.

The bar was intimate with excellent service and ample televisions to satisy the football fan this time of year. There were a few public dining rooms of various sizes on the first floor and banquet rooms on the second.

We were seated in a good sized private room upstairs and were served by two excellent waiters who could very easily make the switch to stand-up comedy.

While reviewing the well edited menu and rather clipped winelist we were served the house specialty - corn cakes. These were thin, dense, pancakes akin to Hoe Cakes (recipe to follow), but Hoe Cakes beat them out in texture, flavor, and greasiness.

For appetizers we had fried oysters, onion rings, and crab cakes (formed into bite sized morsels at the recommendation of our waiter. These were all fried delights with the oysters being my favorite.

For salads we all bent to the pressure and ordered the house specialty "The Original Faucon Salad From My Granddad’s Good Friend, Mr. Faucon. Mixed Salty Bacon, Hard Boiled Eggs And Bleu Cheese Served On Our Iceberg Lettuce". This twist on the wedge was good if not great, the blue cheese dressing was a bit too thin and pungent at the same time.

For steaks, and everyone ordered a steak, we were across the board. I selected the standard cut of the Bleu Cheese Filet cooked to medium. I made this selection hoping that the ring of bacon surrounding the steak would be crispy, a concern I had with a medium rare order. Unfortunately the bacon was cooked but limp and the cheese had clearly been directly out of the refrigerator when packed around the steak resulting in a room temperature smear of cheese between the bacon and the steak. Several folks ordered the Bootlegger's Ribeye and seemed quite pleased with their selection. Untasted I would still recommend you head in that direction if dining at Jimmy Kelly's.

The only a la carte side selected was asparagus which still had sand in it. It should be noted that at the reasonable entree prices baked potatoes were included. These were old school wrapped in aluminum foil with a small pleated paper cup of sour cream on the side.

Only two desserts were ordered at the table: Death by Chocolate and Chocolate Decadence. I tasted the latter which was a very dense brownie covered in ice cream. I would probably recommend either the Blackberry Cobbler or Pecan Pie judging from the ones I saw coming out of the kitchen and the happy people in the downstairs dining room.

No after dinner drinks were ordered though quite a few ordered capuccinos and were disappointed to get milky coffee in the bottom of a too large coffee cup.

Jimmy Kelly's Wrap-up

Atmosphere: 4

Drinks: 3

Meat: 3.5

Sides: 3

Desert: 3

Service: 5

Value: 4.5

Overall: 3.7

Note: Still a better experience than Morton's Nashville.

Here's a recipe for Hoe Cakes from Paula Deen inspired by the trip to Jimmy Kelly's:

Ingredients:
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup self-rising cornmeal, or from a mix (recommended: Aunt Jemima's)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup vegetable oil or bacon grease
Oil, butter, or clarified margarine, for frying

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together, except for the frying oil, in a bowl until well combined. Heat the frying oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop the batter into the hot skillet. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter per hoecake. Fry each hoecake until brown and crisp; turn each hoecake with a spatula, and then brown the other side. With a slotted spoon, remove each hoecake to drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Chef's Note: Leftover batter will keep in refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Yield: 16 hoecakes (give or take)

Recipe and Photo courtesy Paula Deen

At Last

Steak night was a raving success. Here's why:

We woke a bit late Saturday morning, straightened up the house, then plopped down on the couch for some Netflix therapy - the 2nd disc of Season 2 30 Days. With the house looking great and a bit of relaxation we went upstairs to get ready. I donned my summer in Atlanta staples: cream linen trousers, linen shirt (this one blue), and loafers ready to hit the town. My lovely wife outdid me looking wonderful in black capris, a striking purple silk blouse, and black shrug.

Our dinner companion arrived and after a few minutes of chatting we headed to dinner with the clear intent of being sufficiently early to have a cocktail or two at the bar before dinner. Upon arriving at Bone's we checked in and found seats in the full but not overly crowded bar. The gentlemen had Grey Goose & Tonics while the lady had a glass of some American bubbly (no menu was available, so the wine will have to go unidentified).

When dining or entertaining one unexpected surprise (of the pleasant variety) can generally turn a good or great evening into something quite memorable. In this case it was the Silver Oak, or its lack. Apparently our companion left the bottle on the counter several days in advance to allow for any sediment to move to the bottom of the bottle (not likely, but always the excellent dinner and/or drinking companion he took no chances). While he was out on Friday night the bottle was, quite by mistake, opened by a woman in his home who shall remain nameless during a girls' night in. Needless to say he was quite perturbed, but a substitution was almost immediately offered up: Bodega Catena Zapata, Nicolas Catena Zapata 2004. Being a lover of Malbec and a fan of Catena Zapata I was quite excited about the substitution, as was my wife. Our companion seemed a bit dubious, but was heartened by our enthusiastic reactions.

Once seated at a good table in the cozy, if dated, dining room we were greated by a very friendly and informative waiter - Alexi, request him, he was excellent. When we told him we had brought our own wine he was excited with our choice and when asked to decant it he told us he was glad we had asked.

Our first course was a lobster and crab napolean. A simple affair of lump crab and lobster meat layered with triangles of puff pastry and sitting on a plate covered in a layer of a white wine cream sauce. A bit heavy to start a meal, but delicious none the less.

On to the meat. My companions stuck with tradition and ordered the filets - medium. I held to my own tradition and ordered something unique on the menu, in this case a mixed grill of beef filet, lamb chops, and pheasant sausage. All three meats were spectacular, but the pheasant sausage was the highlight. Even as I write this I can smell the fragrant spices and succulent meat.

The sides were mashed potatoes, french fries (off of the menu, and clearly designed for the kiddies, these were still quite good), and a macaroni and cheese made with white cheeses, bacon, and topped with fried onions. If you're excited about the mac and cheese reading this so was I, but alas we never got ours as the last of these were gone by the time our order was submitted.

Over our steaks we enjoyed great conversation and even better wine with excellent service from our waiter and his assitants.

We ordered desert and after dinner drinks: Balvenie 15yrs, Balvenie Double-Wood, and Fonseca 2001 Port for the drinks and a pecan pie (made by the same woman since the restaurant opened in 1979) and creme brulee for the sweets. We also had excellent espresso and capuccinos (incredible foam).

After all this it was time to go home for a few games of Sequence.

Bone's Wrap-up

Atmosphere: 4.5
Drinks: 5 + 1 ($10/bottle corkage fee)
Meat: 5
Sides: 4.5 (the mac and cheese sounded '5' worthy)
Desert: 4
Service: 5
Value: 4
Overall: 4.71

We'll be back to Bone's.

#004 – Nicolas Catena Zapata – Malbec, 2004, Argentina. Cork: natural. Color: Obsidian. Nose: Herbs, chocolate, jam. Taste: Jam, tobacco, berries, mint. Finish: Surprisingly subtle, with long smooth berry and herb flavors. Price: $120.00. Recommendation: Excellent, takes Malbec to an entirely different level, but at this price point there are better wines for the money. Literally pick up a bottle at the wine store - it’s impressive, big, heavy, very thick glass with deep punt.

Steak Night Approaches

My computer has been a bit under the weather with hard drive problems which explains the lack of posts for the week. Dell assures that a new one will arrive tomorrow, then it's just a matter of moving EVERYTHING over. The mere thought has had me in search mode for upcoming pleasantries.

Steak Night: It's set for this Saturday at Bone's here in Atlanta. I'm getting really excited about cracking open the Silver Oak and perhaps even more the Turnbull. I will certainly share comments on both and should be able to declare a winner.

One deciding factor in the restaurant selection for this particular steak night was the restaurants' corkage policies as my companions and I have accumulated a few special bottles in anticipation of this upcoming celebratory Steak Night. Corkage policies vary all over Atlanta as I'm sure they do in all cities. They range from the very generous: Ruth's Chris Buckhead where they didn't charge anything to hostile: the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group (Chops, Panos & Pauls, Pricci's, etc.) where they don't allow outside wines, no excpetions. In all fairness the Buckhead Life restuarants have thoughtful lists with reasonable mark-ups, but sometimes you want to bring something not available on their list or a sentimental bottle. In the middle are restaurants like Kevin Rathbun's Steak at $20/bottle, Bone's at $10/bottle, and others going as high as $50. One frustration for those brave enough to try bringing their own bottle is that it's not easy to determine policies. They're generally not stated on the websites, or menus, or winelists. I'm gathering information now and will attempt to post a working list of corkage fees for restaurants in Atlanta in the near future and welcome others to join in and add other cities.

The wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher have hit on this topic more than a few times and as I recall they have laid out a few basic rules for BYOB that seemed to be common sense for the well mannered diner. Following is my list, inspired by theirs: 1) Don't bring a bottle that's on the restaurant's list, 2) Don't bring something so inexpensive that it suggests you're only reason in bringing it was to save money, 3) Offer to share a taste of whatever you bring to the person pouring (waiter, wine steward, sommelier, etc.), 4) if you don't know the restaurant's policy call ahead to find out, and 5) tip the waitstaff as if you had purchased an average priced bottle from their list.

Does anyone have a corkage policy they would like to discuss? Posts are welcome.

Anticipation

"On one occasion some one put a very little wine into a [glass], and said that it was sixteen years old. 'It is very small for its age,' said Gnathaena." Athenaeus, 200AD

Wines to be consumed at an upcoming steak night

Three of us are members of a very exclusive club, with a very simple name: Steak Club. The group formed out of habit and as these things tend to do it has taken on rules, schedules, and other traditions. The premise is quite simple, we gather at a different steakhouse each 3-5 weeks, order the house specialty for steak, or in the absence of a house specialty (already reducing the likely score) two order filets and I order something with a bit more flavor (ie fat). We sample unique appetizers or sides, though we always order mashed potatoes (seeing the word in print just made me think of Dan Quayle, I suppose it has to do with the upcoming vice presidential selections), another barometer of the quality of a chef. Then we finish with dessert, espresso and cappuccinos, and port. While we bask in the afterglow of overindulgence we rate the various dishes, service, ambiance, wine list, and value. I'll include some of our reviews in later posts, and will include reviews in real time as we continue our gustatory march through Atlanta.

The next steak night will take place in the next week or so and we're in the process of selecting the restaurant. This one is special because it is our second "deal night" where we celebrate the achievement of one of our members. The last one took place at the end of last year at Ruth's Chris and we brought wine. The restaurant garnered great marks for allowing us to bring two bottles of wine without a corkage fee (highly unusual). I brought a 2001 Silver Oak I received as a gift from a work associate and one of our other members brought a much older Italian wine (please forgive my not having the name, I'm going to have to look for it in my tasting notes) from the family cellar. There were great expectations for both wines, but primarily for the Italian wine. We were not surprised by the enjoyment we found in the Silver Oak, but were very disappointed by the other wine.

This time our Italian friend, determined not to be bested, and in an exhibit of great generosity has purchased a 2002 Nappa Valley Silver Oak for the occasion. I have done a bit of research talking to several wine merchants and have selected a 2004 Turnbull Cabernet. In rough numbers the Silver Oak Napa is around $100 and the Turnbull is $50. I've been assured by no less than two great merchants that I respect that the Turnbull should blow the Silver Oak out of the water. I'll be sure to let you know, if the Turnbull is even 80% as enjoyable as the Silver Oak the price difference should make it a must buy.

What's your go-to wine for special occassions?