The Mastro’s
In the interest of speed I’ll keep this short. Best. Steak. Night. Ever.
Ok – maybe that’s an exageration and not as legendary as getting trapped in a garage or seeing Jerry Sloan but definitely in the top 5 as far as the meal.
Starters were shrimp cocktail (who describes a shrimp cocktail? You would if you had these shrimp) and an awesome scallop. Salads followed and then on to the Steak.
Steak was great – Hans and I split the Waygu and everyone else drooled in jealousy. Only complaint was the nuclear level plate that you can’t rouch and worse destroys every side that comes in contact with it. I get the concept, but they’ve taken it too far. It also seems like the plate issue overshadows the meal when it arrives.
Other highlight was sitting by what’s left of the 2012-2013 Orlando Magic, I’ve posted the pictures above of who we recognized, you can guess who they are.
Am sure Rick Ray will debate this, but it was great seeing him show up with a red bow tie on and a vest to match.
Scottie and Cole cancelled at last minute so no quorum. Sad. Bubby’s bday, we crushed some butter cake in his honor. Then all rolled ourselves home.
Good times.
Overall: 9.
Filed under: General
Best steak night ever, not even close. Top 5 meal, not so much. Glick, I appreciate the kid on Christmas morning level of excitement for Mastro’s but I disagree. I also realize there is no Christmas tree in your house and you have Chinese food and go to the movies on Christmas so you may not fully grasp my reference. While it was an enjoyable evening and vastly improved from the previous visit to Mastro’s it is not going on any best of all times lists.
The shrimp cocktail was great, huge fully peeled shrimp. The scallops were a garlic delight, loved them. I ordered a lobster bisque and it was top tier, lots of lobster chunks, flavorful and a huge serving. The evening was off to a great start and moving along smoothly.
Unfortunately it came to a bit of a halt (kind of like when you get to O’Hare on my commute home) when it was time for the most important part of the meal the steak. First off the scalding lava hot plate is a moronic concept, not a fan at all. I don’t like being extra cautious when eating so I don’t get second degree burns from my plate. I went with the porterhouse medium rare and it was just alright, lacked any real flavor and was a bit bland. Glick will claim you have to order the bone in filet or waygu at Mastro’s but a porter house and ribeye are steak house staples and you need to be able to make them to hang. As far as sides the mac & cheese was pretty good although it kept cooking while placed on the piping hot plate, another reason why the hot plate should be reserved for seventh grade science experiments. The fries were well fries, would have preferred to try a different potato but they were fine.
Scotty and Cole canceled the day off, a practice that invites mocking from the group. Jevon remembered years ago a rule was put in place to discourage such a practice and inflict a bit of punishment if it did happen. Everyone had kind of forgotten about this rule but if you look at the write up from Stetsons a rule did come up but was never added to the official rules page. The rule states something to the effect of anyone canceling the day of steak night (or maybe it was within 24 hours) has to do a shot of the groups choosing at the following nights steak night. Good luck with that cement mixer after gorging on a steak.
No after dinner drinks, something that needs to change as we enter the warmer months. Good times as always.
April’s Steak Night brought us to Mastro’s. It was my first return visit since it’s inception and not remembering much about the first go round, I had high expectations.
Bubby and I shared a cab and were the first to arrive for cocktail hour. The bar area is nice and open and we were able to secure a table and start the festivities without hassle. We were without quorum this evening due to some questionable late cancellations. This brought up a forgotten rule from Stetson’s from July, 2011.
“NEW RULES: Based on the performance of Mr. Martin and Mr. Holinger, a new rule was passed. If you are to bail, you must do so by responding to the entire list. Further, if you bail within 24 hours of said evening, you are to do a shot of the group’s choosing post dinner.”
Sounds good to me.
We were seated and the ordering commenced. Standouts for appetizers were the shrimp cocktail. They were huge and peeled all the way to the tail, giving you a smidge more meat than average. I had the wedge, and it was a wedge. No more no less.
For the main, I ordered the standard Bone in Rib eye, medium rare. It was brought out on a plate that apparently had been set to warm on the surface of the sun. I understand the hot plate concept, but this was ridiculous. It was way too close to cooking the steak too far past its requested temperature. I’m guessing they account for this. What they didn’t account for was the total lack of flavor in the steak. Not a hint of salt, or anything else for that matter. This was the worst steak I’ve had in my entire time attending Steak Night. As for the sides, the plate really hurt them some with the searing temperature, but the creamed spinach was outstanding. The mac and cheese was also top notch in my book.
It was Bubby’s birthday, and the highlight of the night for me, was the butter cake and homemade whipped cream. Sweet Fancy Moses was it good.
No after dinner drinks this time around. Agreed with Rick in his hopes that this changes with the summer months.
Overall – 7/10 and that’s generous considering how bad the steak was.
Well, I have to say, I had low expectations. I still suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder based on what happened to my wallet on the last go.
Boy was I wrong. Lively bar area, diverse crowd and welcoming service was a tremendous way to enter Mastros on this chilly April evening. While I was disappointed with Martin and Cole and their last minute antics, it made for a tight group of 5. A basketball team if you will. We were running the weave, the picket fence and the pick and roll all night. Strong table, great energy from the group and one of the best servers to date. She picked up on subtle cues, answered questions and ease dropped enough to hear of our unfortunate last visit. So much so, that she took $100 bucks off the tab at the end – amazing gesture.
The steaks, bueno. Bone – in – filet. One of the best to date. The apps, mucho gusto. The sides, strong.
Based on our banter, our cagey defense and our cohesive starting 5, I think we could have taken the Magic by the end of the night.
Mastro’s – I stand corrected
Glad to get the group fired up for my cancellation – felt bad about it beforehand and now after reading this I feel worse. Even more frustrating was missing out on the free drinks from Mr. Brad Ray – or did he not pay up?
That said, I will at least point out that I canceled that morning, not so much as the aforementioned Mr. Cole, who shot an email back to the group as he was leaving the office for the day. Still, it was rude of both of us and I look forward to the all expenses paid mind eraser shot next time around.
Mastro’s seems from the writeups to continue to be one of the more easily overrated steakhouses in the fine city of da Chi…not so much on price alone, but on the food itself. Not all that surprised steaks were bland and tasteless (they were that way last time I was there) and not surprised they tried to impress the less steak worthy folks with the “hotter than hell” steak plate presentation.
Looking forward to getting it back to some true basics of steak night once again next month with hopefully a fuller group of gentlemen and some shenanigans afterwards.
I am disappointed that no one has commented yet on possibly the worst music in a steak house ever. EVER. They managed to take tunes from the 80’s / 90’s and somehow make them even worse that they originally were. Furthermore who wants to eat a steak while listening to a lounge singer belt out Alanis Morrissette? The proper answer is no one wants to listen to that crap.
The bar scene was the same as I remember it from last go around. Crowded, dark, and loud. The drinks were adequate and the service was on par. Once seated in the rainmaker booth the evening took a turn for the better. Thanks to Glick for calling in the shots on the table selection, top notch. The shrimp cocktail was delightful. I don’t think I have ever seen shrimp that large. The scallop was overwhelmed by the heavy garlic sauce which in my book you should be able to taste the scallop not just the sauce. There has been plenty of banter about the nuclear plates. I really don’t understand this concept. I split the tomahawk with Glick which when it came out was the best steak I have ever had. It was flavorful, tender, and all around perfect. However, through the course of the meal the steak continued to cook on the plate and by the end had gone from a perfect medium rare to an over cooked medium. I was describing this issue when the waitress overheard me and promptly discounted the entire steak. I protested but was denied. Classy move. The sides were all very good, but the same nuclear plate issue haunted their quality. I was happy to find out it was my birthday. I would place the butter cake at the top of the steakhouse dessert options. There is something really truly incredible about this taste sensation. Fantastical, glorylicious, butterpacked marvelous butter cake, I dream of you. Looking forward to May for Cole and Martin punishment as well as drinks on Mr. Brad Ray.