Morton's is the Chicago-based chain of high-end steakhouses with over six dozen locations all over North America. They refer to themselves as the "legendary" steakhouse and they go to great lengths to get themselves on top restaurant lists in major cities around the country (yes, that sort of thing can be manipulated). Their locations all have that dark, clubby atmosphere and they reward their frequent patrons with their own wine lockers near the entrance with the patron's name prominently displayed on the locker. They also pride themselves on being expensive—their Web site proclaims "[t]he average check for a full dinner for two is about $170 not including tax and gratuity."
Well, I'm not sufficiently profligate as to plan a $220 dinner with nothing special to celebrate. So, why Morton's, then? Because I had a $100 gift card to Morton's.
So, our challenge for the evening was to try and eat without spending more than the value of the giftcard....and I knew that would be a challenge, since Leo always insists on a cocktail and a high-dollar appetizer every time we go out to dinner. And, we almost made it: our pre-tax and pre-gratuity total was $101.45. We'd have made our goal if he hadn't caved and petulantly insisted on ordering a glass of wine (that he ended up not liking).
So, let's talk about the food.
They began by bringing us a great big, round loaf of delicious bread with a little onion cooked into the top of it. A large square pat of butter came on a small plate on the side. The only problem was that they never brought us a butter spreader or butter knife, so we had to use our great big "gaucho" style steak knifes. By the time we had finished our appetitzers, they cleared the bread (we had about half a loaf left) with the plates and didn't bring us any more. Alas. I liked it.
Leo started with a jumbo crab cake appetitizer. It didn't look particularly jumbo to me; actually, it was pretty average for D.C. He said it tasted fine, but, again, average for D.C. It came with a dollop of plain mayonnaise as a dipping sauce. He drank a glass of Cavit pinot grigio with the crab cake.
I had the Morton's salad, which is their version of the classic steakhouse iceberg lettuce wedge. They took a two-inch thick full slice from the center of a big head of lettuce, laid it flat on the plate, sprinkled it with blue cheese crumbles, diced tomatoes, and crumbles of crisp bacon, then drowned the entire plate in blue cheese dressing. It was easily a salad more than big enough for two. I was a little disappointed with the salad, because the slice included an awfully lot of the "core" of the lettuce. I also noticed that they provided no salad knife; I was forced to cut my salad with my "gaucho" knife that I'd had to use as a butter spreader.
A slab of grilled salmon made up Leo's main course. It looked very pretty on the plate and appeared juicy, seemingly cooked about medium. While Leo ate it, he did note that it had a strong onion taste and he said that it was way too salty. The salmon rested atop what Leo called a "hollandaise" sauce, but what the menu calls the "chef's sauce beurre blanc."
I had a New York strip steak, one of the specialties of the house. Now, I've eaten at all the major high-end national steakhouse chains like Ruth's Criss and Fleming's, plus top quality elegant and mid-range local steakhouses throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri, and even top steak places in D.C. like the Capital Grille and Charlie Palmer's, so I had some idea of what to expect here. Generally, the steaks arrive hot and sizzling on a heated plate with that wonderful scent of burning cow flesh fragrancing the air. Not here. I didn't smell the steak. I gingerly touched the plate to find it normal room temperature. And, as I cut into the steak, it wasn't hot-hot. Obviously, they had plated the steak and let it sit in the kitchen before bringing it out to the table. Then I tasted it. It tasted fine, obviously a cut of aged beef, and it was cooked to the "medium rare plus" I had requested. But, the steak was not a top quality cut; it had grizzle and connective tissue in it beyond what I would normally expect that made it overly chewy and somewhat annoying. I didn't eat all of it. When the waiter came to take the plate at the end of the meal, he asked if I wanted him to box it up for me. I waived it off with my hand and said, "It wasn't that good," and, rather than addressing that comment, he immediately went into his canned spiel about "Can I interest you all in some coffee or espresso?"
And, such was the problem with the whole evening. The service at Morton's was significantly substandard for a restaurant of its price point. Even though there were empty tables the entire time we were there, the service was rushed. I've mentioned my issues with the knives. While taking drink orders, when I told the waiter I wasn't drinking (alcohol) that night, he didn't suggest any iced tea or mineral water. The waiter had a long, memorized litany describing the meats (with examples wrapped in plastic wrap and displayed on a big tray) and showing off a large, four-pound, live lobster, that he quickly recited, and when I interrupted to ask a question, he was clearly annoyed to have to answer before continuing with his speech. Twice during the evening, a waiter pushing the meat cart around bumped my chair; only one begged my forgiveness. Another staff member came to get wine from the room divider and squeezed between Leo and the table behind him and clanked bottles together with no comment or apology. When we ordered, our waiter didn't make any suggestions or attempt to sell side dishes like baked potatoes or vegetables (all à la carte). When plates were removed from the table, it was as though the staff was just grabbing them in passing as they continued to walk on. They have a stated dress code of "business casual" but pointing out that "many of our male guests will be wearing a business suit" that they didn't follow, as we saw people in faded blue jeans, casual shirts, and sneakers in the dining room. We had no sense that staff or management was concerned with us having an enjoyable evening. Rush rush rush. Morton's was just an assembly line to get 'em in and get 'em out.
As you know, I try to match my comments and critiques of a restaurant to the image they try to portray and to their price point. I compare them to similar restaurants. I'm not going to expect some high school kid waiting tables at an Outback to have the same fine points as a professional waiter at a high-end steakhouse; nevertheless, I have actually had much more enjoyable meals at Outback Steakhouse than did I last night at Morton's. And, comparing this particular meal at this particular Morton's to their national competitors Fleming's, Shula's, and Ruth's Criss, Morton's isn't even in the same league.
Ordinarily after such a less-than-satisfactory experience, I would have visited with the manager about my disappointed expectations, but as this was a "free" meal for us, it just wasn't worth the effort. I'll just simply remember not to go back.
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