Wednesday evening was spent with a supplier having a business dinner at the Council Oak Steakhouse, located within the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL.
The restaurant was named to honor the sacred oak tree around which the tribal council would gather. It is located close to the lobby and has a good size bar/waiting area. Live music was playing a bit loud for my taste but enough to block the slot-machine noise from the casino.
We were lead to a table rather quickly despite having no reservation, cool purified water and a bread basket came onto the table top post haste. Our server provided whipped butter and a sun-dried tomato tapenade, as well as French seas-salt, Hawaiian salt and a mixture of black and yellow pepper.
We got started with a couple of blue-cheese, iceberg-lettuce salads and oysters on the half-shell. The oysters were very fresh but a bit sandy; a proper rinse would have done them justice. The salads were full of blue-cheese so if that’s your thing, go for it.
Entrees were a 12Oz New York Strip, two double chops of Colorado Lamb, three 4Oz Filets each finished with a different crust and an interesting salad with watermelon chunks and feta cheese.
The meats were all cooked perfectly as ordered. Tommy and I made short work of his steak and my lamp chops. However, the other two at the table had more mixed results. The salad had very little watermelon and feta (the star ingredients), while one of three filets had a horseradish based crust which really did not work.
No one had room for dessert and the one bottle of 2005 California Merlot held up well to the meats.
Conclusions:
-Ambiance is visually relaxing but quite loud due to the high ceiling and glass wall.
-Service is prompt, friendly and professional if a bit forgetful
-Value - expect to spend around $100.00 per person if wine or spirits are consumed moderately; I suggest focusing on the meats as they are the strength of the kitchen, forget sides and appetizers.
Overall not my favorite but if red meat or lamb is what you crave these are aged well and served cooked perfectly. I would not recommend this restaurant for a romantic meal as it is too loud and lacks in intimacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment