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| - After originally writing this review for Open Table, and not until it was completed was I informed that it had to be trimmed to a brief highlight before it would be posted. FAIL OPEN TABLE REVIEWS!
Morton's The Steakhouse, to the average joe, is a special occasion treat. It's prices are out of this world, especially when everything is a la carte. The restaurant-going public at large has gotten used to dining where choosing an entree entitles you to choose soup or salad, a vegetable and a starch. I've been here before, so I know not to expect anything with my steak besides a plate and flatware. Oh, and a napkin (and to be totally honest, bread and a glass, complete with water).
However, since the star of the show here is steak, it's almost sacrilege to choose anything else. C'mon, the speciality of the house is right there in the restaurant's name! I went with the "Signature Cut New York Strip." To be totally frank, it is quite possibly the best steak on the face of the planet. It comes with a beautiful char, perfectly cooked to perfection, with nary a blemish to be found. You will be using your knife, but never to cut away grizzle or fat. How does a steak taste this good, chew this well, and not have any fat vein? Not quite sure, but Morty seems to have it down to a science. My companion had the "Center Cut Prime Ribeye" and she agreed with my assessment of perfection.
I saw many of the apps and sides being delivered to other tables, but after a soup (which I will describe in a moment) and steak, who could eat so much. The Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail app looked tantalizing, old-school style on a wide-rimmed glass, complete with dry-iced fog effects. The mashed potatoes and mac & cheese looked tempting, and were large enough to feed a group, but I can't attest to the flavor.
We started with a loaf of exceptional warm bread with flecks of toasted onion on the crust. It had a wonderful crumb, and I'd buy it from a bakery in a heartbeat. To begin I started with the Lobster Bisque, and my companion began with a Center-Cut Iceberg, or wedge salad. The wedge seemed perfectly adequate, inspire of it's Flintstones size. We both agreed that the Lobster Bisque was sublime! It had an incredible depth of lobster stock flavor. Speaking only for myself, though the bisque is the main attraction, the lobster island usually found floating in the middle is akin to the cherry topping an ice cream sundae. And I save it for the final sayonara spoonfuls. And in this case, it actually took down with it what went before. It was so overcooked as to be inedible, and rarely is ANYTHING inedible to moi. It had the mouthfeel of an underdone sponge, or perhaps soggy cotton balls. What a disappointment! I really couldn't tell if it was over or underdone.
So that last payoff, combined with the waiter's never-ending push to inflate the bill with dining accoutrements, were the only demerits from an otherwise exceptional meal!
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