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| - While Red breaks free from the image of the traditional dark, wood-paneled steakhouse staffed with grizzled, veteran waiters, it still offers a fairly traditional steakhouse menu supplemented with a little extra taste and a little extra style to each dish. The result is high quality food served in a refreshing environment.
I had the fortune to sample several of the appetizers at the table: The Steak Tartare offered a decent start: a fist-sized chunk of raw USDA Prime appropriately flavored with shallots and capers. The Oysters were pretty average and maybe even a little on the small side of what you might expect at a steakhouse. The Lemon-Garlic Shrimp was a little messy to share as an appetizer--I'd probably opt for the Shrimp Cocktail on a future visit. I probably enjoyed the Calamari the most: relatively large pieces of squid, lightly and not overpoweringly seasoned that were minimally greasy.
The main event is the steak, and I chose the Aged USDA Prime Ribeye cooked Medium Rare. The steak was cooked to absolute perfection. The act of cutting into it could have easily been turned into a "Beef. It's what's for dinner" commercial. I was a little disappointed with the cut of meat. I expected a little bit more marbling for a ribeye, and I know I've had better cuts (though admittedly not as perfectly cooked) at Cabin Club in Westlake.
For sides, I tried the Truffled Mashed Potatoes--potatoes thickly whipped with butter and truffle oil--which are not on the menu but apparently always or almost always offered as a special. I am a little biased against mashed potatoes so I thought this side was just okay, but a lot of the people at the table were big fans. I was pretty disappointed with the Parmesan "Tater Tots." I had my mind set on an inventive take on the school house classic, but instead these were basically just cheesy croquettes. The Sauteed Asparagus with Bearnaise Sauce was about par for the course, but the Seared Killbuck Valley Mushrooms were quite good--a side I would definitely get to accompany a steak on a potential next visit.
Save room for dessert and order the Fresh-N-Hot Doughnut Holes. The second they are set on the table, ignore both your fellow diners and the trio of compliments (chocolate, caramel, and raspberry sauces), and take a bite out of one while its hot. It is like biting into a warm, heavenly pillow of powdered sugary goodness. If I had not already been stuffed with a big chunk of tartare, other appetizers, a 16 oz. ribeye, and sides, I'm pretty sure I could have taken down an entire order. The provided compliments are okay, but really, when the doughnut holes get cold, the magic has worn away.
Service was about average for a nice restaurant. Missing was chummy warmness that often characterizes other top level steakhouses. Our server fumbled through the menu and specials a little bit, but I'm not going to take off too many points for that (mostly because I wasn't pay that close attention having already perused the website and knew exactly what I wanted to have).
Red is definitely at the top level as far as Cleveland-area steakhouses go: The quality of the food takes the restaurant a step-up from Hyde Park and Cabin Club (and several steps ahead of XO). But, while Red is impressive, I think it falls short of my current Cleveland-area No. 1: Morton's.
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