This year's Restaurant Week led me to a couple new places - one of which was Grass Fed. Having read about this offbeat little steakhouse & seen photos of its adorable interior, I couldn't wait to try it out - plus, their restaurant week menu looked simply delightful! However, my excitement started to fade not long after walking in the front door...
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| Front of the house in Grass Fed |
We waited for our table for two in the large, charming front room of the restaurant - no longer than three minutes went by before we were led to the back...where it was not charming...where it was cold...and where a few tables seemed crammed into extra space that should perhaps only serve as a walkway to the back patio. A couple times during our dinner random patrons found their way into the restaurant from the back patio door - even though the patio was closed - which didn't help the already bleak ambiance of our dining area.
We were only further turned off when we were greeted by someone who seemed to serve as a host - and who said he'd get us drinks but that our waiter would be along shortly. A few harried minutes later this same person returned and said, "Are you ready to order?" Well sure...if it's you we're supposed to order from now? As soon as we said "We'd like to do the restaurant week menu" he paused for several seconds and then nervously, and seemingly without an ounce of confidence replied, "Uhhh, OK." Wow - don't sell it too hard, it's only the first time the restaurant you work for is participating in restaurant week...
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| Grass Fed's Restaurant Week Menu & Standard Menu |
We only saw who we thought might have been the guy who was supposed to be our server twice, when he brought out our first & second courses. In between courses it was a bit difficult to get a new drink order in to either person helping us - confusing for sure. Nevertheless, the first course at Grass Fed was great. We had the brussel sprouts salad & roasted beets. I'm a beet lover & these beets were stuffed with goat cheese, served cold with greens & a garlic-infused vinaigrette - very tasty. However, that's pretty much where the goodness ended.
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| Stuffed Beets |
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| Brussel Sprouts Salad |
Since we were both craving tender, flavorful steak we both ordered the Grass Fed Sirloin Steak as our second course. The garlic fries on the side of the steak far out-shined the steak itself. The meat was served sliced and appeared to be cooked medium-rare just as we had ordered, but with each bite it was painfully clear that the only flavor you could taste on this steak was the over-charred outside. Barely discernible at first site, but certainly noted by our palates. The inside was mostly tender, but unseasoned and virtually flavorless.
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| Steak & Fries |
Our third course wasn't redeeming - after being told they were out of the butterscotch and the pecan bread puddings, we settled on the chocolate lava cake & what we think was a butterscotch pot de crème (we never got a description or explanation of the understudy dessert). The lava cake was served barely at room temperature. After breaking into it the chocolate that should've been inside flowing like lava (hence the name) had hardened and was barely detectable. The pot de crème itself was delicious, but the salted caramel scoop of ice cream on top had a bad case of freezer burn. We had to scoop it off the top to finish the dessert, as we couldn't even chip into the ice cream with our spoons.
After our frazzled host/waiter had asked us if we were okay, or if we needed anything else - about five times in 15 minutes - we decided it was time to go (and it wasn't even closing time). I was pretty bummed to have had far less than a stellar experience at Grass Fed. Maybe it was just an off night. Maybe it was a fluke. I just hope if you've been there or are planning to go that you have a much better experience - just be sure you start your night out by asking to be seated at the front of the house!
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| Pot de Crème |
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| Chocolate Lava Cake |
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