I was very excited to have the opportunity to preview Chops Steak, Seafood & Bar for my Dine Downtown preview dinner. Now, to be fair, I would have said that about most any of our downtown restaurants because I LOVE to eat, I love to dine out, and I love the unique experience of non-chain restaurants. But what really made me excited to eat at Chops was experiencing first hand the love and passion that is poured into this restaurant.
As DSP marketing manager, earlier this year I had the pleasure of meeting two of Chops owners, Denise Flemming and Trisha Flynn for a business meeting. While we sat in the lovely bar area of Chops next to the open patio, and discussed all kinds of business-y things, I watched both Denise and Trisha greet regulars with a familiar “hi” and personal interactions most would give their close friends. I heard them share with us their favorite specials to offer and what they feel sets them apart. I saw them enthuse about Downtown in general and Sacramento patrons especially. And I felt their love as they described to us some of their favorite cuts of meat. I thought to myself, how have I not eaten a juicy steak at this restaurant before now. Dine Downtown proved to be the perfect excuse to visit.
When my fiancé Chris and I arrived we were warmly greeted by Casey, who turned out to be our server. As we looked over the menu to select our three courses, Casey returned with a fantastic foccacia bread served with a sun-dried tomato butter. The combination of rosemary on the bread and the earthiness of the butter was really tasty, and got us off to an enthusiastic start. Its always nice to be presented with something other than a how-hum bread basket.
Rosemary Foccacia Bread with Sun-dried Tomato Butter
Chris and I are both steak and potato people. While we love food in all forms (a little too much) you will never do us wrong with steak and potatoes. What better way to start off a dinner like that than with a nice, fresh salad. Because Chris is a huge blue cheese fan, while I am decidedly not, he chose the mixed green salad with a blue cheese vinaigrette. I decided to start with their Classic Caesar. Not only were the salads satisfyingly crisp and flavorful, we both noted how hearty the portion size was for a starter salad. The blue cheese vinaigrette, according to Chris had all the flavor of blue cheese that he loves in a lighter application than you would normally expect and the salad was chock full of veggies including big cucumber spears, tomatoes, carrots and onions.
Please excuse the wayward cucumber. That was all me.
For our entrée, we were given three different choices: Filet Mignon, Atlantic Salmon and Chicken Paillard au Poivre. The best part was all 3 came with mashed potatoes. Now, I love variety and really enjoy unique and interesting sides. But there is nothing worse than really wanting one entree only to be less than thrilled with the accompaniment. I can honestly say there have been plenty of times that I’ve chosen my second choice meal because it came with a side that sounded better than my first choice meal. With mashed potatoes (a favorite!) all around that made the choices easier.
Chris chose the filet mignon which was served over the mashed potatoes and topped with onion straws that were almost closer to onion rings than straws… in a good way. The thicker slices of onion that were crispy on the outside while still juicy on the inside were apparently so good that Chris ate them all off the top of the steak before taking a bite. I’m a big proponent of trying to get a little bit of everything into each bite, but he just couldn’t help himself. The steak was prepared medium rare to perfection and was topped with a very delicate trufled French peppercorn demi-glace. The best part about this sauce for me was that it did not overpower the delicious flavor of the beef itself, simply complimented it with peppery-goodness. I am always a fan of peppery-goodness.
Grilled Filet Mignon
Now, lest you think I was beginning to regret not ordering the filet myself, fear not! I’m a big seafood fan, and while salmon can sometimes be a throw away geared toward non-steak eaters, I figured if this place is called “Chops Steak SEAFOOD and Bar”, then they better be good at steak, seafood, and bar. The salmon proved this to be the case. First, it is noted on their menu that unless specified seafood would be prepared medium rare. Amen! As it should be to avoid the travesty that is an overdry flavorless filet. This fish was moist and delicious with a crispy bottom that gave fantastic texture. My only kvetch is that I felt like while seasoned to perfection, the salmon wasn’t actually blackened. Which was fine by me, I think those blackening seasonings often take away from the wonderful flavor of the fish, but if you were really wanting it to be blackened with seasonings, you might have been disappointed there. Consider yourself informed.
Blackened Atlantic Salmon
While the perfectly cooked and season filet could have stood on its own, Chops elevated the dish with a wonderfully light and citrus-y lemon chive hollandaise and french fried leeks. The leek straws were crispy and hinted at a mild onion taste without being too powerful. The lemon chive hollandaise gave the dish a bright note that served all the components well. Paired with their signature mashed potatoes, I’m not ashamed to admit that this girl cleaned her plate.
While we finished up our wine and began to contemplate the fact that we still were facing a desert course, a table of Texans next to us were just receiving their entrees. You should have seen their faces light up as their 32 oz. Porterhouse steaks started to be delivered and heard the raves as they hungrily dove in. Any steakhouse that is good enough for hearty businessmen from Houston, Texas is grade A in my book.
For dessert, we had only one option: the New York Cheesecake with raspberry coulis. We figured they had to be pretty confident in this particular choice if it was the only option, and as cheesecake lovers, it was fine by us. That said, we had been to New York just this past august and delighted in the Cheesecake of Carnegie deli. We wondered how Chops’ “New York Cheesecake” (as don’t they all claim to be?) would stand up by comparison. Then Casey arrived with two very tall, very generously portioned beautiful pieces of cheesecake. One bite Chris and I agreed that they were not misusing the name “New York Cheesecake”. Firm, rich and decadent with just the right amount of creaminess, the cheesecake was definitely a home run. After the first bite, Chris declared “I’m extremely full right now…. this is the point when I should stop.” Then he proceeded to finish the entire thing. Lord help him. I put up the white flag halfway through, but really, I just wanted to be able to eat some again the next day.
New York Cheesecake with raspberry coulis
Our dine downtown dinner at Chops was overall a joy. There was no plate that wasn’t cleaned (except for my half cheesecake to go) and no bites that weren’t savored. Especially for those that think fine dining has to be all exotic ingredients, funky vegetables, and weird embellishments let me be clear. Sometimes fine dining is just very good food done right, with just a few well executed surprises (like our sun-dried tomato butter, french fried leeks on the salmon, or truffled peppercorn demi-glace.) Which is exactly what Chops is serving up for Dine Downtown.
Slow claps to Megan’s server Casey, who not only gave exemplary and knowledgeable service during their dinner, but also recognized her two days later after a Saturday morning run at an N street coffee shop. Even then, he didn’t hesitate to ask how the meal was and whether or not she’d be returning to Chops in the near future. Now that is impressive customer service. For more info on Chops, their Dine Downtown Menu, or the event itself head over to Downtownsac.org/dinedowntown.
