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| - My husband and I went to Beef & Bottle tonight for our anniversary dinner. It had come recommended to us by co-workers, and we also had a Groupon giving us a discount. It seemed like as a good a choice as any.
Driving into the parking lot the place looked like a dive. Seriously - the place has NO curb appeal whatsoever. I was a bit worried. We walked in the entrance facing South Blvd. and I was afraid I'd fall - it was SO dark inside that it took me a full minute for my eyes to adjust. However, once they did finally adjust I was charmed by the interior. Like it was straight out of the 1960s, this place was all wood - on the walls, the seats, the booths. I love "old man" restaurants, and this one perfectly fit that ambiance bill for me.
Food ordered:
Frog legs and shrimp scampi for appetizer.
We had never had frog legs before and figured we'd go for it. They taste just like chicken! And were delicious. The shrimp was also good - the butter/garlic was great and I was happy that we had bread on the plate so we could dip and enjoy that garlicy butter even after the shrimp was gone.
We also got salads with the meal. As other people have said, the salads are done as "make your own," which was perfect for me. I'm a minimalist with my salads. I just want lettuce and dressing. 99% of the time when I get salads at restaurants I have to scrape off all the junk (cheese, carrots, tomatoes, cukes, etc.) and then I get to "enjoy" two bites of lettuce. Not so at B&B! I got to enjoy a full plate of lettuce with some of their home made ranch dressing (which was delicious as well).
Special sirloin steak with fries/baked potato for entrees.
I ordered medium rare and it came perfectly cooked. My husband ordered medium and it, too, was perfectly good. The presentation was nothing fancy - just a piece of steak on a plate with a large onion ring. The potato/fries came in bowls on the side. This is not nouveau cooking. But then, it's not supposed to be. It's a steak place. And my steak was delicious. Buttery soft and just red enough in the middle to be close to rare - it was fantastic.
Chocolate silk pie for dessert.
The slice of pie was huge - but a perfect serving for two people to split. It had good flavor and was a nice way to finish the meal.
From beginning to end I thoroughly enjoyed our meal. My husband did as well.
The only negatives were the drinks. They didn't have the kind of liquor I usually drink, so I opted to have only water. Their water glasses are very small, so I ended up having 10 refills during the meal. Bigger water glasses would be better for the staff - our poor waitress ran a mile refilling my glass alone! The other negative was the size of their beers. It's a half pint if it's lucky.
But that's literally the only complaint I had. This place is my new favorite steak place in Charlotte. I will be telling everyone I know to check it out at their soonest opportunity!
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