$100 lunch, Boston, October 2011

One steakhouse on the list when The Phlap was in New England was Abe and Louie's. But instead we did our bit for the global economy at Grill23 (see previous post). In the spur of the moment on an Indian October summer's day, however, Xu and I had lunch chez Abe and Louie's.

We skuttled through the entrance to the maitre d'. It was typical American - try hard to make the place classy but over do it. The maitre d', donning a useless suit, was perched on a make-shift balcony flanked with two female assistants whose jobs were to cross tables off on a white board. After a short wait we finally got a table outside on the patio. After being slightly bullied by the brash waiter for our drinks we sat back and people watched the Bostonians go about their weekend business of spending money. Our people watching was pleasantly interrupted by a delivery of a medley of bread/cake/muffins. They were really rather good. However, they would have been just perfect over an afternoon tea. Being served before a steak deserves some Sepp Blatter points of bizarreness. Anyhow, we shook hands and forgot about it.

I ordered the Prime Delmonico - 14 oz of prime goodness - medium rare. My bombelone ordered the Filet Mignon, which complemented her mignon-ness. I had to dig around in search of the real steak, the rare pink interior but I eventually found it. This steak had character. This steak was American muscle. This steak, dressed in greenback, spat in the face of the anti-capitalist protestors who blotted our lunch. I enjoyed my steak very much. It was fun like those at Texas Roadhouse but was a definite upgrade on Texas Roadhouse. I was slightly disappointed, however, that our table was slanted so only half my steak could swim in its jus de vivre. I tasted a morcel of the Filet Mignon. The two steaks were like chalk and cheese. The Filet Mignon was more delicate and witty with twinkle toes that danced on my palate. On a side note, the sides were good too. My grilled asparagus was, as always, Mr reliable. Although, the chef whacked on too much oil. Come on, Mr. Chef. Prudence is the key. Less is more. The side of fries were actually proper chips - chunky and fluffy. Whilst they were good I would have still preferred French fries. The chunky chips felt more like a juxtaposition than a complement.

The Ho Down says: In the Parthenon of steaks, these steaks were quality. It certainly belongs to the Premier League but maybe a Europa League position.