We had reservations at seven on a Wednesday for the new hotspot Steel Restaurant and Lounge down in Midtown on West Peachtree just below 10th street. Despite a growing chorus of logic and reason, I continue to confound myself by hanging out with Sporty. I never said I was bright.
Now from 5 to 7 on Wednesdays it's Martini's and free sushi, so when we got there they had patrons spilling out onto the street and I was glad we'd made reservations. Only everybody else was there for the aforementioned promotion and so only the bar was shoulder to shoulder, the dining room behind the string stranded water fixture was blissfully free.
It's a nice place, very well laid out with exception of one support post by the sushi bar in the main dining room. It's got a very nice vibe and Sporty kept commenting on how cool the whole place looked.
The service was swift and professional. I mean they unfolded our napkins and spread them on our laps, they made quiet suggestions when we hesitated, they brought out the hot towels before the meal so that we could clean our hands, the waiter made the simple syrup himself at the bar for my sweet tea, they were quiet, unobtrusive and dropped off and picked up things without being asked or making us feel rushed. The owner came over when we were done and checked on us. As far at service goes, this is one of the best in Atlanta. Kudos.
Oh yeah, the food.
Did I mention that they were swift, the food came quickly, the bathrooms were easy to find and the dining room laid out well?
The small plate crabmeat and mango spring roll was nice. Good mango. Crisp lettuce. Hmmmm.
Our server, man was he friendly. Great guy. And the bar cleared out as soon as they cut off the free sushi. Like whoosh. By the time we were ready to leave the bar area was a ghost town. So the promotion worked...kinda sorta.
Okay, fine. It was such a nice place too. Sporty had the Orange Chicken and I had the Korean Beef. Or the "Shaken Beef". It was hard to tell. It was just food. I mean there was little flavor...no zing. Nada. Maybe I caught the chef on a bad night. Cause the service was excellent!
Drink, appeitizer and dinner might have been thirty minutes. Seriously. They were quick..and since it wasn't that good we kinda picked over it. Sporty put some of her chicken on my plate, which used to be a sign I had to eat it, but even she was forgiving this time when I just looked at it. The rest of the time we just sat and talked. House stuff, family stuff, jokes and whatnot. Felt like old times. That was worth the bland food, that other forty five or so minutes we sat talking.
Then the owner showed up asking how it was...and for the first time in like ever, Sporty didn't speak up! I had to tell him the food was par average. She kept trying to be tactful. What was up with that?
So Steel is lovely, the service is par excellence...I mean like Seegar's good. The food is...well, don't go all starving like hungry.
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