Places to avoid like the plague

I like to think of this blog as advice and tips rather than reviews. I don't want to go through a list of things that were great and criticize every little thing that was wrong. This isn't a place for restaurants to see how they can improve or what not - I want to leave that up to the pros. It's a little different for the diners, isn't it? Instead, I hope to give you a general feeling about the place and point you in a certain direction. Or, if you feel adventurous one day and need a place to eat, I hope you can turn here and find something fitting.

Or in this case, not-fitting.

Like I've mentioned before, I'm a steak-eater. I love it. It's probably what I have and am willing to dish out the most money for because truly good steak is expensive (but truly, truly amazing!). I'm lucky enough to say that I've had pretty damn good steak before, but it certainly wasn't at Morton's Steakhouse (in SF) or Smith & Wollensky (in NY).

Let's start with Smith & Wollensky. It was a huuuuuuuge letdown. If you have $200 to spend on dinner (which is around how much it's going to cost you), please don't go here. I'm not exaggerating when I say everything was awful. Our steaks were practically well-done (practically sinful) when we requested medium and medium-rare. Our sauteed mushroom side was tasty, but not edible since whoever they so wrongly named the head chef there left all the rosemary leaves on their stems. But you know what? The dinner could have still been salvaged if the service was not so terrible. Not once did our server come back to check on us. When my co-diner asked our server to suggest a tequila drink off-menu, the server looked at us as if we were retarded and suggested a margarita. But perhaps what made this experience the most frustrating was that it seemed like we were being discriminated because we were young (all other patrons were businessmen and/or over the age of 50). It seemed like everyone else's steaks and service was fine, if not very enjoyable (maybe they don't know how to eat? Possible). It's silly because who do you think will be eating there in 30 years?

Morton's was also another mistake. The experience wasn't too bad relative to Smith's but if you are looking for a great steak, you won't find it there. The fact that both of these restaurants are major chains is what I believe to be the problem. When each restaurant isn't being babied by the founder/owner/executive chef, it just isn't as special to them, which shows in the food and service. Therefore, I always suggest to find the top local steakhouse in your area. If you're in the Bay, Alexander's is definitely it. If you're in NY, Ben & Jack's is great (more on that later)! And, if you're in LA, I heard Mastros is also very good.

Plus, it's always better to support the little guy (like The Oven =P).

Hope this helps.

--fatty regina