Monty's Steakhouse, or Where's My Dinner?

Cathy's View

Something is missing from this scene

After moving back to West Springfield from a couple of years out of state, we were excited to learn that Monty's had opened with the intent of bringing some upscale meals and service to the area. We typically have Thursday restaurant night at our favorite spot in Alexandria, but we were tired and had had a decent lunch at Monty's earlier (see Dan's view) so thought we would give it a try for dinner because it was close. We got there at a little after 6 and there were only a few tables busy. And we waited. Around us, others got water, bread, and drinks. We waited. Tired and hungry. About 20 minutes in, our waiter arrived, without water or bread, and gave us the specials. We ordered drinks and main course. And waited. 

After a long time, adult beverages arrived, but no bread as at other tables. We asked for some. And waited. My wine was good, but Dan's beer was tepid. He joked that we would probably get our entrees at the same time as the bread. He was right! (Nice zucchini bread, btw.) Dan's ahi tuna steak was

Nice zucchini bread

awesome. My petit filets were over done. Thankfully, the waiter asked if it was ok, when I expressed doubt, he sent it back. While Dan ate, I waited. After a short time, my new plate came out. It was a little UNDER done, but better. The meals all around were tasty and creative. 

After that, service was better, in fact, good! Then the owner went table to table asking how things had been. She was good to ask specific questions, otherwise we might have demurred. Then she whisked up my check and said they wanted meals to be right and took off my steaks. NICE. I think they intend to be a really nice, family place. Because of the owner's devotion, we will be back. But maybe not when we are tired. 

Perhaps growing pains are to be understood.

Dan's View

An upscale steakhouse in an area seemingly devoid of cuisine that's of higher quality than Popeye's or Chipotle, Monty's is a welcome addition, or at least it hopefully will be.  We have been to Monty's twice; once for lunch, once for dinner, and both experiences had their share of good and not so good moments.  Cathy has shared our more recent dinner there so I'll focus on lunch, which was a couple weeks ago.

We were somewhat spoiled by downtown Ann Arbor, where along Main St. there's an abundance of outdoor dining to select from.  So it was nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the weather.  There are over a dozen tables to choose from.  Our waiter was dressed all in white.  Too bad his fine uniform had food stains here and there. But let that pass.

What to order? The menu has a variety of fare, starting with appetizers -- French onion soup, crab & corn bisque, and calamari as standards; shrimpcargot and aurbergine paté as somewhat unique.  Being a steakhouse, the menu contains a number of different cuts of meat, which can come dressed with one of a number of sauces.  Kudos for a beer and wine list with lots to choose from, although they don't have any draft beer.  Bummer for me.

We split an onion soup.  Very good, and more than enough but perhaps a bit too much cheese.  

Cathy ordered the croque monsieur, a French take on a grilled cheese sandwich (I make it sound so gauche); ham, gruyere cheese and a béchamel sauce. I had a bite, very tasty. They tout their burgers, so I tried the blue cheese variety, that came with a hefty portion fries, and a pickle to boot.  I ordered it medium rare, and it was served to me more on the medium well side -- surprising for a steakhouse.  Oh well.  Needless to say, it was less juicy than I prefer.  Perhaps because of the overdone-ness of my burger, there was an overly charbroiled aftertaste to it.

No complaints on portion sizes, which if anything are a bit too much.  All in all, Monty's Steakhouse could be a great restaurant if they are more consistent on meat that is medium rare being truly medium rare, and not keep their customers waiting to be served.

Having said that, their selections and ambience together with their acknowledging our bad experience at dinner warrant another meal there.  We'll try back in a couple months.

Monty's Steakhouse

8426 Old Keene Mill Rd Sprinfield, VA 22152 (703) 942-8676 www.montyssteakhouse.com (their website needs to get rid of the 'coming soon' on some of the pages)

Shucking Oysters -- The right tool matters

Dan's View

Years ago I was starting a new job as a software developer, I remember Tim Martin, the head of software implementations telling me something that has stuck with me ever since: "you can't build a house without a toolbox". The context he was referring to translates roughly into "before you do a software implementation, make sure you have the procedures, utility programs, etc., to install the computer system quickly and efficiently.  The same thing applies in the world of shucking oysters: you can't shuck an oyster unless you have the right tool.  Of course, the right tool may turn out to be a hammer, if you're shucking oysters at the Chincoteague Oyster Festival, where speed is of  the essence since the shuckers are contending with a few thousand hungry people who want to take advantage of the all-you-can-eat venue.  However, when serving oysters to friends and family, presentation is almost as important as taste...so a hammer (or screwdriver for that matter) might not be the best choice.

Now I reached a point where I wanted to bring the oyster experience into our own home, but I didn't know the first thing about preparing them for consumption.  So one Saturday morning, I did a little Googling and found a few videos on YouTube that gave practical demonstrations.  Looked easy enough.  The next step was to find an oyster knife.  Oysters are shut tightly when they're healthy and alive (which is exactly the way you want them to be!), and the place to pry them open is where they are hinged.  It takes a bit of work to get the blade in the correct position and use a firm vibrating, or twisting motion as the hinge becomes freed...until there is ultimately a popping sound.  Because of that, it is important that the blade be thin, but also have some surface shape that suggests a fulcrum.  I was very anxious to get started, so I went to the nearest kitchen specialty store that had a variety of knives -- Bed Bath and Beyond.  The sales associate directed me to where their oyster knife was located.  It was an Oxo Good Grips Oyster Knife and it was a bargain at $8.99; it even had a curved tip, which satisfies the fulcrum requirement to aid in prying open the two valves.

Oxo -- A  so-so shucking tool

The final step in this quest was to secure some oysters.  Whole foods is a good source -- especially on the east coast -- and while their selection is not overwhelming, they usually stock a good, middle of the road Blue Point oyster.  I bought a dozen and went home.  My first attempts yielded edible results, but not very pretty -- the bottom shell would frequently break, spilling some of the precious liquor that is usually enjoyed as part of the oyster-slurping experience.  Many of the top shells broke as well, although these are discarded.  My technique improved with time, that is, the percentage of broken shells in the shucking process decreased, but not to an acceptable level, in my estimation.  Oh well.

Then Cathy and I got married, and we received some gift certificates from friends -- one of which was for Williams-Sonoma.  After we moved to Ann Arbor, we were shopping one day with gift certificate in hand for a sushi knife, which proved to be a bit more expensive and daunting (about 10 inches long and VERY sharp), so we decided against it.  I must have had seafood on the brain, because I immediately thought of checking out their oyster knives as an alternative (and less expensive) purchase.  What I found was a Lamson & Goodnow High Carbon Oyster Knife.  It was a tad more costly, at $14.99, but still reasonably priced.

Lamson & Goodnow - A great tool

As in my previous experience I acquired another batch of willing victims, this time a dozen Pleasant Bays from Monahan's.  The results this time were amazing: not one oyster shell broken!  Why the difference?  For one thing, the blade on the Lamson & Goodnow knife was much thinner than the Oxo blade.  Also, it does not bend, so all the energy of twisting and maneuvering goes directly into the task at hand -- namely, said oyster.  There's something about the wooden handle that makes it feel more comfortable in my hand.  I still have then Oxo blade as a backup, but the Lamson & Goodnow is my tool of choice.  Tim Martin would be proud.