September 27, 2006

There is Such a Thing as a Free Meal

Ted Turner "brought the Big Sky to the Big Apple" today with the opening of the NYC branch of Ted's Montana Grill. And when an invite landed in my inbox about a complimentary pre-launch training dinner, I had to say yes. Helloooo, free steak from Ted's personal stock!

So a quartet of hungry ladies descended on the Time-Life Building last Friday. Having lived off caffeine for most of the day, I easily put away some grilled shrimp, clam chowder, steak , garlic mashed potatoes and and a piece of kahlua brownie under the watchful eye of a mounted bison head, drilling its gaze into my back.

Service was excellent and the food was alright. Nothing mindblowing and the huge portions did put me into a food coma when we left the restaurant two hours later. When one of the waiters encouraged us to be honest about our opinion, we let it rip ("the steak was tender, but really salty," "the smoky flavor of the salmon was just plain weird, almost bitter"). The waiter was appreciative of our comments and commented that these dishes are prepared thusly in Montana, and that other New Yorkers had similar opinions.

Given the location of the restaurant (midtown, smack in between the Rockefeller Center, MOMA and Radio City Music Hall), I'm assuming that the chefs don't need to overly worry about catering to NY tastes, but to the tastes of tourists mobbing that area. Will I be back to plunk $ down for a meal? Not likely. Need better culinary motivation to trek uptown and battle tourists for a table. Salty steak, no matter how tender, is not it (though the chowder and garlic mashed potatoes were delicious).

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