HowChow: Cuisine

Showing posts with label Cuisine - Steak. Show all posts

Monday, October 3, 2011

Tournedos Of Filet At Venegas Prime Filet

We eat out infrequently so I tend to prefer dishes that I know that I can't make at home.

That's how I ended up ordering from the "chick" part of the menu at Venegas Prime Filet in Fulton. Mrs. HowChow went true "steak house" with a filet and a side of macaroni and cheese. But that empty plate style -- a steak and nothing else -- seems odd to me. I was captivated by dishes where the skills are more obvious.

"Tournedos of Filet Mignon." I had to ask how to pronounce the dish, and it was obvious from the first bite that I wouldn't know how to whip it up. Slices of steak, cooked perfectly, layered on top of sauteed spinach and potato pierogies, then topped with garlic butter shrimp.

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Monday, November 23, 2009

First Reviews of Venegas Prime Filet in Maple Lawn

No one should issue a final judgment on a restaurant from its first few days, but it's great fun to hear about the new places like Venegas Prime Filet in Fulton, which opened last Friday.

The beaujolais nouveau of restaurant reviews arrived this weekend, and Cathy & HowICook both spent real time to write their opinions -- and even snap cell phone photos.

First, HowICook reports on Venegas meal from beer to dessert. He highlighted that golden chocolate dome, which makes me file a complaint against Venegas about its lighting because the dessert photo looks more like a fuzzy UFO. Clearly, they're not lighting this place to maximize cellphone photos. It's a common failure. I can't snap a single roll

in Sushi King. How can they expect food bloggers to work in these low-light conditions? But enough about me. On to HowICook's comment about Venegas:

I took the family to Venegas Prime Filet tonight, Sunday (11/22/09). Sadly, the tree that was the trademark of Oz is gone and replaced by a modern oversized light. Being a beer guy, they have 4 drafts available with 2 from clipper city which was nice considering Ranazul (owner’s other restaurant just across the street) has none. Beware the price of a draft beer is a bit steep. They served 4 different complimentary breads with honey butter which were all good.

The menu has a nice variety of fish, meat and prime beef. The prime beef appears to be reasonably priced. We ordered the cheese plate (2 out of 3 were special) and 5 entrees (monkfish, rockfish, prime flat iron steak (wow!) with truffle butter (too subtle), citrus pasta & French short rib). All the dishes were nice presentations with nice garnishes. Additionally we ordered the reasonably priced accessories, cauliflower gratin (a really nice puree), mashed potatoes (still not serving the roasted garlic variety) and the brussel sprouts (wow

The standouts were the monkfish, flat iron steak and the short rib (actually a bit too fatty but wonderful beefy taste with nice fried shallots, and ‘to die for’ gnocchi). For dessert, we all got a taste of the unbelievable decadent golden chocolate dome. It too was ‘to die for’. The service was very good and almost too attentive. Finally, I asked the waiter about the chefs and the sous chef showed up at our table. She asked about our meal details (commented on the beef short rib dish being hers from beginning to end) and showed real interest in our comments.

This is a place where you need to savor the details. It’s not the overall great experience they’re striving for yet but if you look close, the details add up to a good experience. Trying to keep costs reasonable, we didn’t try any of the appetizers, soups or salads. Next time, I want to sit in the bar area and order these especially the interesting appetizers. They remind me of Ranazul.

Second, Cathy reports some hiccups on Saturday night at Venegas. Liked the bread. Liked the atmosphere. But nothing really grabbed her.

We tried Venegas tonight (Sat 21st.) Since I was familiar with the layout of Oz, I requested a table that was not near the kitchen on our Open Table reservation Thus, we were seated a table away from the kitchen. Perhaps Open Table does not forward our comments? It wasn't too bad, though.

They were out of an entree and side dish we wanted (chicken, and garlic mash (but they had regular mashed potatoes?) This was an early evening reservation, so not sure why they were out of these common items. Bread was good, and the honey on top of the butter was a nice touch. Atmosphere was decent, more modern casual than romantic. Staff was very pleasant, but I would have expected the owner to visit the tables on it's opening weekend. No personal touch.

Overall, it was an average experience, and there are not enough items on the menu that I personally liked, and nothing really special to make me want to go back. Still looking for a restaurant in Maple Lawn that I want to frequent!

Please do add your opinion below if you have eaten at Venegas. I love that HowChow is a place where people can exchange their views. I'll caution anyone that a restaurant changes over its first weeks and months. But it's still good to know what people are saying . . .

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

oz Chop House in Fulton

(Update: Oz appears to have closed in August 2009. At the time, the talk was that it will be replaced by a steakhouse by the owners of Ranazul and Jordan's.)

oZ Chophouse is a steakhouse where I haven't eaten a steak, but it's still a place that I enjoy going back.

oZ is one of the three upscale restaurants that anchor the Maple Lawn developement in Fulton. They're all classy places. More like city restaurants than almost anything around. We go to oZ's bar because it's a great place to walk in on a whim. We make our own dinners from the appetizers and salads.

It's an up-and-down experience. The calamari and the crab dip are delicious, but my favorite dish -- the tuna tartare -- was actually off the menu last weekend. The house salad and the shrimp/scallop skewer didn't replace the tuna, which I remember as an imaginative twist on sushi. We also go because the bartenders and the waiters are really nice, letting Mrs. HowChow sample a wine before we order or letting us sit in peace when we're just enjoying ourselves. But then we realized after our last dinner that no one had brought us a bread basket, one of the highlights of an oZ meal.

People do talk up the steaks. With a few detractors, oZ gets good reviews, and you can customize your meal with the cut, the sauce and the side dishes that you prefer. I'm just inclined to eat different food when I'm ready to spend $30 per person. I enjoy oZ as an imaginitive joint. Good beers and wine. Good food. Friendly people. On a quiet night, it's a nice, upscale dinner -- even better if you can enjoy a cool evening at an outdoor table . On a Sunday afternoon, the bar is a great place to watch sports.

If you're in Maple Lawn, also check out Trapeze and Ranazul. We created a progressive dinner one evening -- grazing at all three in a single night. Also check out the i.m. Wine liquor store, which is in the same building as Trapeze. Or click for a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County.

oZ Chophouse

8191 Maple Lawn Boulevard

Fulton, MD 20759

301-490-4003

http://www.ozchophouse.com/

NEAR: The Maple Lawn development is on Rte 216 just west of Rte 29. From Rte 29, you pass through one traffic circle. Then you'll see the development on the right and enter from the second traffic circle. There is parking behind any of the restaurants.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Progressive Dinner: Walk The Street of Maple Lawn To Trapeze, oZ Chophouse and Ranazul

Choose your own adventure by staging a progressive dinner at the three upscale restaurants in the Maple Lawn development in Fulton.

Trapeze, oz Chophouse and Ranazul are each worth their own visit -- and their own review -- but the trendy, comfortable bars in each joint invite you to start by sampling your w

ay through all three. They're on three corners of the same intersection, so it's almost a city night walking from door to door.

We started with Trapeze's "New American" menu for a crab-topped fried green tomato and the "Bluestone" salad highlighted by bacon and a mustard dressing. Next time, I might try the flat iron carpaccio. (I love calamari, but we once were served the most rubbery disaster. Be stronger than we were and send that back.)

You could visit in any order because all three have nice selections and idiosyncratic beer/wine lists. But we crossed next to oz Chophouse for the tuna tartare, the calamari and a side order of macaroni and cheese. The tuna was the best savory dish of the night, and the waitress recommended a wine -- even let Mrs. HowChow sample -- with the fun, relaxed air that makes all three of the Maple Lawn places inviting. The crab dip has also been delicious. But realize that oz is the only bar where they blared the televisions. Sounds great if you're there for the ballgame, but it did cut down on the "night out" atmosphere of the other two.

We finished at Ranazul. Order the sopapias. Don't argue with me. We tried other desserts, and even though Ranazul has exquisite tapas, I recommend the good coffee and these fried triangles, dusted with sweet spices and drizzled with honey. (Ask for extra honey. Sometimes, they're drier than others.)

Overall, this is an expensive night. With three drinks, five small dishes, coffee and two desserts, I think we spent close to $100. But it was a slow night where we talked and adventured more than we would in any single restaurant.

(Update: Trapeze closed.)

Click here for a full post about Ranazul. If you're in Maple Lawn, check out the i.m. Wine liquor store. Or click for a working list of the best restaurants in Howard County.

Trapeze
8180 Maple Lawn Boulevard
Fulton, MD 20759
301-498-4411http://www.trapezeonline.net/

oz Chophouse
8191 Maple Lawn Boulevard
Fulton, MD 20759
301-490-4003
http://www.ozchophouse.com/

Ranazul
8171 Maple Lawn Boulevard, Suite 170
Fulton, MD 20759
301-498-9666http://www.ranazul.us/