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| - I went in with very high expectations. There's signs around town everywhere. There's a massive social media push. They've hired some of the best people to work there.
We walked in, with no reservations because the place looked relatively empty. Apparently the bar area is not the main dining area, and you can't even see the main dining from the bar, so that's interesting. There is lights for where the future gaming area will be, because, if you aren't offering gaming, you are just refusing to take a simple source of income.
Interestingly, at the host stand, there are cigarettes for sale, however, there is no cigarette butt receptacles in front of the building. I think the cigarettes for sale is trying to add to the 1940's charm. (Not even sure if they are really for sale, but there are cigar cutters as well, so, come patio season, I'd assume they will be going for the sitting out front, smoking a big ole stogie feel).
We got seated at a table by the bar, would have preferred the bar itself, as we are bar folk, but that was all taken by people waiting for their tables in the main dining. The bar was staffed with some great people. Josh, Matt, Mike, another Mike; Josh's touch on the cocktail list was obvious.
I ordered the bone in rib eye, kridz went with the salmon. I got the spinach salad with it, kridz subbed garlic mashed potatoes instead of soup or salad. Bread was provided to the table. (There seemed to be lots of apologizing to other tables about not getting bread sent out).
The spinach salad was awesome. There was croutons, and then what appeared to be croutons, but it was large pieces of bacon, which was very nice. The menu lists the dressing as warm bacon dressing, and I can live with that. The salad was amazing.
It took a while for the food to show up, and the waiter apologized twice for that. I don't think we looked impatient.
Food came out, looked amazing. Large portion of the steak, and the fish looked really good too. The salmon had a nice crust and was a pretty shade of pink (medium). There may have been a little too much (raw) pink in it for kridz in the very middle, but the rest was cooked enough for her. The lemon butter wasn't that great. There were flavors of lemon in it, but it just didn't seem right, felt more like a seasoned olive oil, and that provided a sort of slimy feel to the salmon.
The steak seriously looked awesome. There was a nice char to it, and covered the plate. Sadly, it seemed to be overcooked. I ordered rare, it was medium at least. The flavors had almost all been cooked out. They list being lightly seasoned, and it was very lightly seasoned. I didn't get one of the crusts on it, because I wanted the straight meat without anything to hide it.
The service was great. The people are great. It's something that downtown Champaign needs. But, opening night, packed house, so I'll forgive and try it again. (who the hell am I and why should anyone care about what I think). I would love to go back again and change my rating.
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