Annie's Paramount Steakhouse, Washington, D.C.

Last night, I was going to meet a friend for dinner, but after two postponements she ultimately ended up having to cancel due to her work things, so I went ahead and went to the restaurant by myself. I was already in the neighborhood, so I'd been killing time browsing at Whole Foods. Annie's Paramount Steak House is on the 17th Street strip, and has been around over fifty years. It's in an old building, and I was seated in what is now an enclosed patio. My waiter was sort of an older, scary-looking, biker type guy with a shaved head, big moustache, tattoos, and black clothes, but once he opened his mouth to talk, he turned out to be a great big old queen who called all (male and female) his customers "Sweetie" and "Hon." All he needed was a beehive and a pink apron.

It was a steakhouse, so I stuck with the program and ordered a big ribeye with a salad and baked potato, and a big Sapphire martini to wash it down. The iceberg lettuce and tomato salad was large and basic, with the addition of a few yummy ripe black Greek olives and a pepperoncini pepper. The bleu cheese dressing was ok, but commercial. When my steak arrived on a hot hot platter, it was juicy and flavorful, but cooked a bit more than the medium rare I prefer. It was edible, nonetheless. Didn't do dessert, cause I was quite full and the stock dessert selection (cheesecake, chocolate cake, etc.) didn't inspire me.

Annie's is a good, basic place for a simple, unpretentious meal, so I'm sure I'll go back.