I had not been to Delaney's in many years. My brother worked there in high school bussing tables and chopping onions for their famous onion strings, so we would go there as a family on occasion to support the local business that would employ him. It is about the same place as it has been for years on Madison's west side.
I had a decent vodka gimlet at the bar before dinner. They didn't have a ton of beers to choose from, but they had a couple decent beers. I got a Lake Louie APA with dinner. We had to get the famous onion strings as an appetizer which are good but filling. I saved some to mix with the steak and hash browns. Salad and sourdough bread also came with the meal and was pretty standard. I got the ribeye medium rare for 34$. It was well cooked, and served on a hot skillet with a big slab of butter.
We had a server in training, so we had lots of people checking in on us between him and his trainer. They were both nice. Delaney's is a pretty good value for the dollar like Outback. It was a bit more expensive than Outback, but we got better sides, salad, and the drinks options were better. I give it a B-.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Wonder Bar
Wonder Bar was a delightful little place. I used to frequent it when it was the Bar Next Door for drinks before it was converted into a steakhouse. The bar gave a generous pour on their drinks, and had several fun specialties. I had a vodka gimlet as is becoming my norm, and a Key Lime Pie Martini.
Dinner was the Tomahawk special for 45$. As you can see in the photo below the steak is aptly named. It came with salad (I got the baby spinach with hot bacon dressing, while others got the wedge), and side ( I went hashbrowns with cheese and onion). It was a well cooked medium rare. Dirk added on some scallops which I sampled and they were spectacular.
I was too full for dessert but Pat and Dirk got cheese cake and Creme Brulee respectively and I sampled both. The kitchen staff came out to talk with us and told us they like to put bacon on the creme broulee when they make it for themselves in the back. Dirk did not hesitate to request added bacon and it does indeed make everything better. Pat then asked to do the same with his cheesecake with similar results.
The staff was super nice and I thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Bar. Pat agreed, while Dirk and Phil did not seem as impressed. It was not quite as good as the Tornado, but I think this place was a solid 2nd place in our Steak Club nights so far. Grade B+.
Dinner was the Tomahawk special for 45$. As you can see in the photo below the steak is aptly named. It came with salad (I got the baby spinach with hot bacon dressing, while others got the wedge), and side ( I went hashbrowns with cheese and onion). It was a well cooked medium rare. Dirk added on some scallops which I sampled and they were spectacular.
I was too full for dessert but Pat and Dirk got cheese cake and Creme Brulee respectively and I sampled both. The kitchen staff came out to talk with us and told us they like to put bacon on the creme broulee when they make it for themselves in the back. Dirk did not hesitate to request added bacon and it does indeed make everything better. Pat then asked to do the same with his cheesecake with similar results.
The staff was super nice and I thoroughly enjoyed the Wonder Bar. Pat agreed, while Dirk and Phil did not seem as impressed. It was not quite as good as the Tornado, but I think this place was a solid 2nd place in our Steak Club nights so far. Grade B+.
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Steak Club so far
I will follow this up with posts about subsequent Steak Club events (hopefully while drunk), but for now this is a quick summary of our 4 nights so far.
1) Smokeys Club. This being my first Steak Club I had to order the biggest steak on the menu as is tradition. I was not disappointed with the T-Bone (20oz, $45). I got it medium and it was well cooked. Smokey's gives you no shortage of other stuff as I got soup, salad, a relish dish and I got fries instead of the hash browns. The hash browns are great, but I've had them before and wanted to try something else. I started the evening off with one of the many specialty martini's (I went with banana), before switching over to one of my favorite beers, locally made fantasy factory. Overall I think I like Smokeys a bit more than the rest of the group. I give it a solid B.
2) Tornado Steakhouse. After enjoying my T-bone so much at Smokey's I got another at Tornado (21oz, $39) . Plus I'm angling for a nickname like Costanza (hope I don't get stuck with Koko). Got it medium again and it was perfect. This was a great piece of meat. All the sides are a la carte here which is fine. The bill ended up being about the same as Smokey's after salad and sides were added. I went vodka gimlet here before switching it up to beer. I think this was the top Steak Club event so far, and I think others would agree. The quality of the meat was spectacular, which made this place the best. Grade A.
3) Outback. We went cheap and saved some dough on this one. You get what you pay for. They had no T-bone on the menu so I got a porterhouse (18oz, $24). The meat was pretty good, but the rest left something to be desired. They had only the corporate allowed beers, which meant they all sucked. I had one crappy beer then switched to their specialty margarita which was decent. The sides were pretty shitty but the price was right. If they had put this piece of meat with the sides and drinks at another place it would have been great. Grade C+.
4) Johny Delmonico's. Went back to upscale and was very disappointed, I went with the tenderloin (10oz, $41). Everything was a la carte again here. We got the calamari which was decent at best. and the garlic mashed potatoes were not significantly better than what I make at home from a bag of dehydrated mix. The specialty drinks were only so so, but they had a couple decent beers on tap. I ordered the tenderloin medium rare and it was borderline medium well. Grade D.
1) Smokeys Club. This being my first Steak Club I had to order the biggest steak on the menu as is tradition. I was not disappointed with the T-Bone (20oz, $45). I got it medium and it was well cooked. Smokey's gives you no shortage of other stuff as I got soup, salad, a relish dish and I got fries instead of the hash browns. The hash browns are great, but I've had them before and wanted to try something else. I started the evening off with one of the many specialty martini's (I went with banana), before switching over to one of my favorite beers, locally made fantasy factory. Overall I think I like Smokeys a bit more than the rest of the group. I give it a solid B.
2) Tornado Steakhouse. After enjoying my T-bone so much at Smokey's I got another at Tornado (21oz, $39) . Plus I'm angling for a nickname like Costanza (hope I don't get stuck with Koko). Got it medium again and it was perfect. This was a great piece of meat. All the sides are a la carte here which is fine. The bill ended up being about the same as Smokey's after salad and sides were added. I went vodka gimlet here before switching it up to beer. I think this was the top Steak Club event so far, and I think others would agree. The quality of the meat was spectacular, which made this place the best. Grade A.
3) Outback. We went cheap and saved some dough on this one. You get what you pay for. They had no T-bone on the menu so I got a porterhouse (18oz, $24). The meat was pretty good, but the rest left something to be desired. They had only the corporate allowed beers, which meant they all sucked. I had one crappy beer then switched to their specialty margarita which was decent. The sides were pretty shitty but the price was right. If they had put this piece of meat with the sides and drinks at another place it would have been great. Grade C+.
4) Johny Delmonico's. Went back to upscale and was very disappointed, I went with the tenderloin (10oz, $41). Everything was a la carte again here. We got the calamari which was decent at best. and the garlic mashed potatoes were not significantly better than what I make at home from a bag of dehydrated mix. The specialty drinks were only so so, but they had a couple decent beers on tap. I ordered the tenderloin medium rare and it was borderline medium well. Grade D.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Summer time suggestions
We need to come to a consensus about our steak excursion this summer. Please post comments here and we will figure it out.
Next Steak Club
Current ideas which are all mine, which is all I can remember are:
Wonder steak something (used to be the Bar Next Door)
Rare
Please add other ideas in the comments.
Wonder steak something (used to be the Bar Next Door)
Rare
Please add other ideas in the comments.
OH, Patty, We knew the well
It is a shame that one of our founding members has bowed out from such a great institution in such short order. We all hope that you come back to us some day Patty. We'll all remember you just as you were:
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