Don't get me wrong, I love going to the pretentious restaurants in Tremont -- admiring the dishes that look like beautiful works of art and cocktails dreamed up by mixologists all the while listening to people at adjoining tables debate what is required for the perfect brunch or talk about their recent work in France.
But sometimes I want to relax in a more casual atmosphere while still enjoying food that doesn't insult my senses (OK, that sounded pretentious). And in Tremont, one of those place is Prosperity Social Club.
Jeannene and I were there on Thursday and it really is the perfect spot for a rainy autumn evening. Drinking Old-Fashioneds (no special ingredients -- just the classics) and listening to old men at the bar talk about what OSU needs to do to win it all this year, we settled into a table where I could see a couple of TVs tuned to ESPN and TMC, I think.
As for the food, I think it was actually better than I remember. Our appetizer was the potato pancakes with apple and cranberry chutney ($9) and there wasn't anything fancy to it -- three dense pancakes with a thick chutney that came with a bit of a kick to it.
As for the main courses, I had the fish fry ($14) which came with several pieces of battered whitefish and thick-cut sweet potato fries. The batter on the fish was unbelievable light though I probably should have used the salt shaker on the whole dish. Jeannene ordered the pork loin ($15) that came wrapped in bacon on a mound of smashed potatoes and spinach. I tried a bite when it arrived and then spent most of the meal figuring out how soon I could get back here to order it myself. The pork was a moist medium well and the thick-cut bacon was nice and crisp to give the dish some bite and the potatoes were just the thing for a cold rainy autumn evening.
We skipped dessert though the bread pudding sounded perfect for the weather.
This is the type of place where every aspect is 3 stars but when combined it generates a truly 4-star experience on a non-pretentious evening.