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| - Ooof! What tough cookies there be in this room! I must be mentally ill for mostly enjoying our recent experience at GoS.
It was last week (I know, I'm still getting caught up), and Kay wasn't up to cooking. I also had a federal tax refund to work with. Thus, we met up in Downtown Pittsburgh for traditional steakhouse eats.
I'll get the following caveats out of the way, all of which add up to one subtracted star:
1-The lettuce in my garden salad was slightly wilted and didn't taste fresh enough. A nice house vinaigrette made up for what was a not-so-great salad.
2-Our sodas lacked proper carbonation, I.E. "fizz" if you will.
3-Decor surely isn't edible, but the scuffed tables at the very least could use some reconditioning or a touch-up. We did, however, appreciate the vintage, framed Hollywood movie posters on the walls.
And there were bright points to our meal, enough of which to soften the impact of the aforementioned gaffes and bring my rating to a healthy 4:
1-Our appetizer, which I cannot recall the name of, consisted of a trio of dips and spreads for fresh pita triangles and brittle pita chips to be dunked into and slathered with. The Spinach Artichoke dip was an easy, gooey, molten winner. The Roasted Red Pepper Hummus was chunky and not without zing. The Warm Goat Cheese Spread was my favorite, however, with its synthesis of tartness, luxurious cream, and crunchy, nutty texture.
2-The main course of Surf 'n Turf was as classy and timeless as a John Huston-helmed film. Accurately seasoned and grilled, the medium-rare sirloin hemorrhaged when cut and evanesced into beef-flavored brie when fork met kisser. The steamed, not overcooked broccoli was as bright as a pile of emeralds and glistened with a precise, buttery sheen that only complimented the natural flavor of this beneficial cousin of cabbage, one I should be eating more of. The shrimp was cooked and seasoned as exactingly as the steak, resulting in chubby, briny morsels of crustacean that popped and squirted when bitten into. Very little needed to be done to prep either protein.
3-The hearty, lardy dome of garlic mashed potatoes that accompanied the steak, shrimp, and broccoli were as lovingly lumpy as what you'd get at your granny's Sunday dinner and not only with unskinned spud but sweet, roasted bits of allium as well. Both elegant and rustic in its simplicity, the addition of any gourmet ingredients would have only lowered its tone. Who needs lobster and truffles?
4-Dessert was a fanciful plating of chilled Chocolate Cheesecake. As decked-out as a birthday cake, the fluffy cocoa-imbibed cheesecake was velvety rich, had an Oreo crust, a flap of fudge topping it off, and was garnished with whipped cream, chocolate syrup (both white and dark), and chocolate chips. Only Cherries Jubilee would have been a more fitting finale.
5-Alex, our skillful waiter, also happened to be an exceptionally personable gent, acting as if we were trusted friends who stumbled in cold, lost, and famished. So cordial to us he was, we almost didn't want to leave. No inappropriate conversations could be heard, unless the subjects of Van Halen, hockey, and MMA offend people.
6-GoS explicitly states on its menu that substitutions are accommodated without a fuss and that steaks can be cut to any size as per a customer's wishes. I didn't feel the need to take them up on any this, but I appreciated the restaurant's willingness to please.
Olden and dark, it's unknown to me how long this restaurant has been around, but hopefully, GoS will remain a fixture in the city's concrete-and-steel heart for years to come.
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