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| - I got a $100 gift card to Houston's restaurant for Christmas. I decided to save it for mine and my boyfriend's 7th anniversary in February. The friend who gave me the gift card recommended I go the the restaurant in 26th Street and Camelback, rather than th one in Scottsdale, which I live next to. Houston's and HIllstone are the same company, they just name their restaurants different things. Anyway, my friend recommended the one on Camelback, so we went there.
My guy and I arrived around 6:30-ish, and we had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. When they called our name, we went inside, and the place was packed to the gills and it was NOISY. Like, techno-dance club noisy. We had to raise our voices pretty high as we leaned towards each other over the table to discuss what we were going to order. We gave up on conversation at that point.
There's not a whole lot on the menu, and it's really straight-forward. IF you look on the Hillstone restaurant website, you can browse the menu before you go.
We both ordered the same thing: the hawaiian rib-eye that came with the side of loaded baked potato, both of us ordered a caesar salad, and I ordered us a plate of the grilled artichokes as an appetizer.
The artichoke came out before the salad, which was weird, but no big deal. And, the artichoke was heaven on a plate! Seriously, I could have made a meal out of those things alone. I think there was olive oil drizzled over them before they were grilled, and then then I'm not sure what seasonings they used, but there was definitely sea salt sprinkled over them before they were brought out. They aren't on the menu, which is surprising considering how many of them we saw being delivered.
My only concern was: how to properly and politely eat it in a nice restaurant. Rather than look ill-mannered, I simply asked our server how to politely partake of this dish, and she laughed and said there wasn't really a polite way, ya just gotta use your fingers and dig in. I can get behind that! So, I thanked her and we happily dug in, and it was just delicious.
The caesar salads were also delicious, and the dressing was unlike any caesar I'd had before. Most caesare dressings tend to be more cream-based, or at least have a creamy texture, while this one seemed more oil-based, and wasn't really creamy at all. But, it was still good, and I'd order it again.
Our entrees came out after that, and the baked potate was really big and covered with sour cream, grated white cheddar cheese, chives, and real pieces of chopped up bacon.
The steak was a nice sized. We ordered them done medium, and I think they were a bit more medium-rare, but that's a chance you take at steakhouses. Everyone has different ideas of what rare, medium and well mean. But, my boyfriend likes his steaks pretty pink, and I like mine REALLY pink, we we were both fine with it. There wasn't a description of what "hawaiian" meant, but usually it means a sweeter flavor. I'm not big on sweet flavors combined with meats, so...it was a little off-putting when the steak had a sweeter flavor, but it was still really good. I'm not a big rib-eye fan, as I prefer leaner cuts like sirloin and filet mignon, but this one was pretty good. The baked potato was definitely generous sized, but there was no butter on it, and the cheddar cheese and the bacon pieces really overpowered the flavor of everything else, plus no butter meant that the inside of the potato was dry. However this is easily remedied: next time, I'll tell them to hold the cheese and bacon, and ask for some butter. Problem easily solved.
All in all, the only issues I had were small ones that weren't really a big deal. The staff was very efficient and courteous.
Prices: the grilled artichokes: $11, Rib-eye entree: $28, salads: $4, soft drinks: about $3, I think. Altogether, with tip, the bill came to about $110 for two people. And, for some reason, when you order soft drinks, they bring them to you in a glass bottle, with a glass of ice. Never seen that before in a restaurant, especially not a more upscale one like this.
Bottom line? I'll be back. Terrific service, terrific food, but be prepared for a long wait time for a table. And due to the noise level, and crowd, DON'T go if you're trying to have a nice, quiet, romantic evening with someone special.
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