Dinner at Malone's

Since I knew from experience that we would be without Internet

for the duration of the stay as we are too cheap to spend the $12.95 daily fee

to be hooked up to the iBahn High Speed Internet™ service the hotel provides,

I was careful to do all my research prior to arriving in Lexington.

My husband had heard about a steakhouse from some of his friends

and suggested that we try that place this time.

So Malone’s it was.

We went with another 33rd Candidate couple to the restaurant

and were immediately seated,

despite it being just after 6 pm on a Thursday evening.

The restaurant was busier by the time we left,

so Lexington is likely a late-dinner town.

Our server, James, was quite personable and had a quick sense of humor.

So persuasive was he that both C and I changed our minds on our orders

after hearing his spiel on the specials and the specialties of the house.

After getting our drink orders,

James returned with the drinks

and a cutting board with a small loaf of white bread and a bowl of flavored butter.

We bandied different flavor suggestions back and forth between ourselves

before finally asking our server what was in the butter.

As it was a proprietary recipe, he could not divulge the exact recipe,

but he did give us some hints; enough to confirm some of our guesses.

There was whipped cream cheese, garlic and onion powder or salt,

margarine, some herbs and

perhaps some special Kentucky ingredients in the mixture.

Next the salad arrived.

It was a large bowl of iceberg lettuce with diced tomatoes

and chopped bacon tossed with the chef’s dressing.

Once again we struggled with the flavor profile,

as the dressing was obviously white and creamy and

ever so very slightly sweet (but only if you squinted just the right way),

but other than that?

We got nothing.

That is not to say that it wasn’t good.

We just could not tell you that it actually tasted like anything.

All I can tell you is that the salad itself –

the lettuce, the tomato, the bacon –

tasted good.

So perhaps it was the world’s perfect salad dressing?

In the end, I chose the special of the day:

two Filet Medallions stuffed with a Crab Rangoon mixture,

served on a bed of Fried Wonton Strips and glazed with a Sweet Chili Sauce.

My dinner also came with a side

beside the communal loaf of bread and the bottomless bowl of salad,

so I chose the whipped potatoes.

As always, I asked for my filets to be cooked medium-rare

and they were done to perfection.

They were moist and tender,

though the stuffing didn’t lend all that much flavor to the party.

The wonton strips were a nice surprise,

but the real star of the party was the sweet chili glaze.

It paired nicely with both the meat and the wonton strips.

The only thing lacking on the dish was the “whipped potatoes”

as they were more dry and dense than whipped.

Or perhaps they had been whipped within an inch of their lives?

At any rate, even a pat of butter on top might

(mind you, might) have rescued the poor things.

My husband ordered the Prime New York Strip Steak,

cooked to medium, with sautéed mushrooms as the side.

His steak was nicely pink in the center and looked to be tender and juicy.

My best guess is that the mushrooms were the standard white button variety.

Personally, I would have chosen Crimini mushrooms

as they are more intensely flavored,

while often not costing any more than the buttons.

If you are going to do it, do it right.

C opted for the Filet Medallion with Fried Shrimp

with the side of sautéed mushrooms.

She enjoyed her steak,

but I believe she would have enjoyed the shrimp more

if they had been grilled or sautéed.

It is too bad that restaurants do not offer that as an alternative.

C is like me and isn’t all that fond of battered, fried shrimp.

M went for the Prime Ribeye with onion rings as his sides.

As promised the onion rings were huge, being a couple of inches thick,

with a crunchy breaded coating.

However, his ribeye only had about one inch of the nicely marbled meat

that one looks for in a ribeye

while the rest was dry and tough as it lacked that marbling.

That piece should never have been labeled “Prime”

and it definitely was not good eats (™ Alton Brown).

One thing -

okay,

the first thing I noticed when I printed out the dinner menu from the web site,

was the blatant name-dropping that this restaurant seems to revel in.

Okay, I get it.

Famous people come here to eat.

It just seems rather pretentious and snobbish.

I just have one thing to say to you.

You just better remember my name.

Foodies Untie.

Got it?

Good.

Just remember that name.

One odd thing I noticed during the meal was that all the servers

– as in every single one - was male.

In this day and age I found that to be odd.

To be sure, I kept looking and even noted the apparent fact to my companions,

but we never found any contradiction to the conceived norm.

When we had entered the restaurant

we had been greeted by two female hostesses,

but those were the only two female employees we saw during our visit.

Further investigation is warranted.

C and M did seem intrigued about the fact that I photograph

and then blog about my dining experiences.

I am glad that my food paparazzi activities

did not make them uncomfortable.

Many thanks to C and M for a very enjoyable dinner.

The company was delightful.