HDC REVIEW: STEAK 48, MAY 2018
May’s club meeting took place at Steak 48 for dinner.
Filet Mignon with blue cheese and brussels sprouts at Steak48
Attire: Business casual to cocktail.
Ambiance: Sexy, modern, and cool. You feel like you are in a very fine establishment right away. The lounge area is very nice, and there are different levels to the restaurant. We were in a smaller room off the main dining room, and even on a Tuesday, the place was packed. There was a lot of energy in the restaurant, and because it was kind of loud inside, it felt more upbeat than romantic.
Food: Let me put it this way – we ALL ate until we were incredibly stuffed, because the food is just THAT delicious. For the bread service, we had the option of adding garlic and parmesan, or salt and pepper, or some of both (which is what we did), and it was served in a cast iron pan. We ordered two appetizers: the fried deviled eggs and the braised pork belly with sautéed spinach. Both were perfection. Our waiter also recommended anything with the crispy shrimp, and although we didn’t get that as an appetizer, one of us got it as a steak topping, and let me say, you should not leave Steak 48 without trying the crispy shrimp. Someone at Steak 48 is going to cringe when I say this, but the flavor of the seasoning for the shrimp reminded me of Cajun seasoning for KFC fried chicken in the best way possible. While I am sure their shrimp seasoning is much fancier than anything KFC serves, the crispy shrimp were life-changing, and I can’t recommend them more highly. So go and order them now. Okay, moving on… the steaks came, and we were warned that the plates are brought to the table at 500°F – they are not joking about this, so don’t play with the plates. We ordered the filet mignon (one with shrimp, one with blue cheese), the bone-in ribeye, the NY Strip, and the scallops. For sides, we ordered the au Gratin potatoes, the corn crème bruleé, the roasted brussels sprouts, the double baked truffle potato, and the asparagus fries. (Side note: There were five of us, so we ordered one side per person and shared. This was more than enough with everything else we ordered.) The steaks were all cooked to perfection and melted in your mouth like buttah. The bone-in ribeye was recommended to us, and while it was truly excellent, if you prefer a different cut, you will not be disappointed with any of the other ones either. The seafood dish was also very well executed. The sides were also all incredible, with no clear favorite. If you are curious about the corn crème bruleé, it is one of Steak 48’s signature sides, and I would describe it as very delicious creamed corn that has been caramelized on top. The entire meal was very rich – cheese, butter, steak, eggs, scallops, fried goodness. But did that stop us from enjoying dessert? Heck no. We made room for, you guessed it, butter cake. Butter cake is essentially a vanilla caramel cake, served warm with praline pecans, whipped cream, and vanilla bean ice cream. And we finished the whole thing between the 5 of us, even though we all declared we could not eat another bite after finishing our steaks.
Drinks: We stuck to beer and wine, though there were many delicious looking cocktails. The wine menu is very extensive, with many options by the glass or by the bottle. We were pleased with all of our beverages.
Service: Excellent. Our main waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and informed us politely about the restaurant, since it was our first time visiting. Everyone who came to our table was very professional.
Overall: Steak 48 completely lives up to the hype and should certainly be considered one of Houston’s finest steakhouses. All of the food was incredible. The service and environment are top-notch. While it may not be an everyday-dining establishment for most of us, it is a great place for an extravagant dinner or special occasion, and we had a wonderful, memorable evening. Thank you, Steak 48, for a great dining experience.