| rev:text
| - Donovan's is one of those places you would never go to unless you're trying to impress someone, or someone is trying to impress you. In my case, I think it was a little bit of both.
It was a Thursday night, and we were late for our reservation. The parking lot was packed, save for a couple spaces in the back, and I figured we had lost our reservation, however on walking in, it surprised me to see that only a handful of tables were occupied. Where did all those cars in the parking lot come from? I will be eternally grateful to anyone who figures it out. I digress....
My intial experience was not good. On walking in, the manager very kindly asked me to remove my hat (I wear my newsie hat practically all the time, reference profile photo), which I had no problem with. But, after the hostess led us to a booth, and we had sat down, he came over again, and insisted, very politely, and very insincerely, that we sit in another booth, in our best interest. We slid out, walked over to the other booth, and slid back in. Sure, it's a minute detail, but this passive act of disrespect/rudeness really got under my skin. What kind of restaurant tells you (not asks, mind you) to move to a different booth, after you've already been seated?
The restaurant itself is what you would expect when you're paying $50 for a 12oz steak. Polished wood, brass fixtures, overweight, overpaid businessmen (me in 10 years), and old money on double dates (cuuuute).
Beyond my initial experience with the manager, the service itself was excellent and they took good care of us. The calamari was fresh and crisp, the sauteed mushrooms were sauteelicious (did you see what I did there?) and my sliced potatoes with onions and peppercorn gravy were illinnnn. And the steak? The steak was pretty good, but given the venue, not as good as I'd hoped. It further reinforces my belief that the best steaks aren't in the fancy steak/chophouses with suited waiters and over-priced wine - on the contrary, the best steaks are in the shack by the road, the local butcher, or the little house by the railroad track.
Good atmosphere? Yes. Good service? Yes. Good food? Yes. Worth the price and pomp? A resounding no (unless some sort of need to impress is involved as previously mentioned). Honestly, I'd rather be at the Outback across the street drinking cheap beers and boxing kangaroos...that's what happens at Outback, right? It's been a while since my last visit.
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