GCNOF was treated to another of Philly's fine restaurants last night. Butcher and Singer is a Stephen Starr Steakhouse, that had some strong points and some weak points. It ranks as a decent steakhouse in Philly, but didn't measure up to the best.
A couple of things of note: we ordered a porterhouse for two, which was decent, if undercooked. We ordered it medium rare, the middle part was definitely just "rare." The outsides of the cut, were perfectly salty and scrumptious, while the gentlemanly Bearnaise sauce made the middle and very raw parts delicious as well. The butcher salad was decent. I had a hard time deciding between that and the tomato and roquefort salad. Had I done it over again I would have chosen the latter. The best side dish we ordered was the mushrooms and onions. I never had room for the potato side dishes, but they looked good.
I was disappointed in the large seafood/shellfish dish we ordered. The cold prawns (or very large shrimp) disappointed. the shrimp salad was decent, as was the crab. I didn't particularly care for the one oyster. I think the appetizer was the worst part of the meal. Unfortunately it came first.
The dessert was without peer or at least without superiors. The cheesecake was just about as good as cheesecakes come and I might still be selling it short. The carrot cake, had (for me) the unfortunate timing of appearing near me after I had eaten half the cheesecake. So in fairness to the carrot cake. I will not rate it... but I'm sure it wasn't half-bad. I've heard the chocolate cake doesn't quite measure up.
Besides the disappointing appetizer, Butcher and Singer suffered from poor design, bad seating for a party of seven, and popularity. The poor design included not having enough space in the waiting area. Besides constantly being in people's way, while waiting for your seat, after we checked our coats, we assumed we would be immediately seated. Now on a pleasant day, this would be no problem. But with the temperature in the single digits, every time someone came in the door, a nice draft made us regret checking our coats at all. Of course I didn't realize that at our sofa chairs, there would be nowhere to put our coats anyway.
The loveseats/couches we sat on made me wish I was a little taller. I assume that would have made the dining position more comfortable. The table was really made for two groups of four, so our dinner of seven was really a dinner of four and three, which in a way was nice. But really it was like having two different dinner parties, seated very, very close to each other.
The other complaint was that the bathroom are not that clearly labeled. It wasn't as bad as Tao in Las Vegas, where you have to wait until someone walks out to know which restroom to use. I believe there was an M and a W, but I'm not sure. I went into the bathroom with a squirrel peeing standing up. I just like when it is really clear in one glance which restroom is for you.
Overall, according to the local Philly restaurant connoisseur, Butcher and Singer doesn't reach the elite echelon of Philadelphia Steakhouses. But had our group been smaller, eaten on a weeknight or Sunday, when it wouldn't be as crowded, and passed on the large seafood appetizer we would definitely have an experience worth paying for. We would have been able to enjoy the huge expanse that is Butcher and Singer with ceilings 40 feet tall. Also, next time I'm just going to order the New York Strip.
A couple of things of note: we ordered a porterhouse for two, which was decent, if undercooked. We ordered it medium rare, the middle part was definitely just "rare." The outsides of the cut, were perfectly salty and scrumptious, while the gentlemanly Bearnaise sauce made the middle and very raw parts delicious as well. The butcher salad was decent. I had a hard time deciding between that and the tomato and roquefort salad. Had I done it over again I would have chosen the latter. The best side dish we ordered was the mushrooms and onions. I never had room for the potato side dishes, but they looked good.
I was disappointed in the large seafood/shellfish dish we ordered. The cold prawns (or very large shrimp) disappointed. the shrimp salad was decent, as was the crab. I didn't particularly care for the one oyster. I think the appetizer was the worst part of the meal. Unfortunately it came first.
The dessert was without peer or at least without superiors. The cheesecake was just about as good as cheesecakes come and I might still be selling it short. The carrot cake, had (for me) the unfortunate timing of appearing near me after I had eaten half the cheesecake. So in fairness to the carrot cake. I will not rate it... but I'm sure it wasn't half-bad. I've heard the chocolate cake doesn't quite measure up.
Besides the disappointing appetizer, Butcher and Singer suffered from poor design, bad seating for a party of seven, and popularity. The poor design included not having enough space in the waiting area. Besides constantly being in people's way, while waiting for your seat, after we checked our coats, we assumed we would be immediately seated. Now on a pleasant day, this would be no problem. But with the temperature in the single digits, every time someone came in the door, a nice draft made us regret checking our coats at all. Of course I didn't realize that at our sofa chairs, there would be nowhere to put our coats anyway.
The loveseats/couches we sat on made me wish I was a little taller. I assume that would have made the dining position more comfortable. The table was really made for two groups of four, so our dinner of seven was really a dinner of four and three, which in a way was nice. But really it was like having two different dinner parties, seated very, very close to each other.
The other complaint was that the bathroom are not that clearly labeled. It wasn't as bad as Tao in Las Vegas, where you have to wait until someone walks out to know which restroom to use. I believe there was an M and a W, but I'm not sure. I went into the bathroom with a squirrel peeing standing up. I just like when it is really clear in one glance which restroom is for you.
Overall, according to the local Philly restaurant connoisseur, Butcher and Singer doesn't reach the elite echelon of Philadelphia Steakhouses. But had our group been smaller, eaten on a weeknight or Sunday, when it wouldn't be as crowded, and passed on the large seafood appetizer we would definitely have an experience worth paying for. We would have been able to enjoy the huge expanse that is Butcher and Singer with ceilings 40 feet tall. Also, next time I'm just going to order the New York Strip.
No comments:
Post a Comment