Sunday Dinner Club - Big Steak Dinner

 

While I have been regularly going to their smaller events at Half Acre Brewery, it has been a while since I have been to one of Sunday Dinner Club's dinners at their main space above Honey Butter Fried Chicken.  When they announced their Big Steak Dinner though, it was a given that I would go.  Knowing the stuff that Sunday Dinner Club does, I was sure that what we would be getting would be similar to what you might see at a steakhouse, but with a spin incorporating more Farmer's Market Fare and generally more creative.  A look at the menu for the evening confirmed my thoughts.  As Sunday Dinner Club is a BYOB space, I decided to bring a variety of beers, two from local breweries, Ten Ninety Sharp Wit Sour Belgian-Style Ale with Coriander and Orange Peel, and Marz Rhubarb Rain American Brown Ale with Rhubarb and Strawberries, Old Nation M-43 a highly rated New England-Style IPA from Michigan.  All of the beers were very good and contained fruit flavors, I imagined that the fruit flavors would match well with the gresh ingredients that we would be seeing at dinner.  All of the beers were very good and different and did go well with dinner.

For our first course, we got a spin on Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion.  Called a Bloomin Market Onion, it was a small and oblong-shaped onion from Green City Market that was cross cut like the original, Breaded, Fried, and served with a Remoulade Sauce made with Herbs from their Patio.  It was smaller than the standard Bloomin' Onion, but generally, more than one person is going to try to finish an Outback Bloomin' Onion and if you do finish it, you really won't want much else.  This was tender, crunchy, and perfect for one person.  The Remoulade Sauce provided some additional herbal flavor.  It was a great start for a dinner aiming at Steakhouse Fare.

After the Bloomin Onion, we had to have a Shrimp Cocktail.  While it wasn't precisely Shrimp Cocktail, it was a spin on that idea.  We had Wild Gulf Shrimp served with a Green Tomato Cocktail Sauce (instead of the standard red cocktail sauce), and Pickled Horseradish.  The shrimp was tender and the green tomato sauce was sour.  The pickled horseradish provided some heat, though less than fresh horseradish would.   

Another standard in Steakhouses is the Wedge Salad.  We also were served a Wedge Salad of sorts.  While it shared many of the same ingredients as a standard wedge salad, Greens, Buttermilk Blue Cheese, Bacon, Fresh and Pickled Cherries, and Pecans, the greens were not left in a wedge and actual cherries and pecans were used, as opposed to Cherry Tomatoes.  The cherries paired well with the blue cheese and the nuts added a nice crunch.  Lettuce doesn't have much more than a slight bitter flavor so it can go with anything.  It was a good salad that went well with a steakhouse theme.

With the standard appetizers and sides covered, we then came to the Steak.  We were served a Thick-cut Grilled Strip Steak served with a Panzanella Salad of Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Torn Bread, and Grilled Onions, and a Homemade Worcestershire Sauce on the side.  The steak was served medium rare and had some nice grill marks in addition to being very juicy.  The Panzanella was flavorful and great for adsorbing the steak juices, and the homemade Worcestershire Sauce was something else.  It apparently had 32 ingredients and took several days to make.  While the chef said that because of the amount of work it took to make it, it probably would not be made again, it was worth it.  It was sweet, spicy, flavorful, and went very well with the steak.

To finish things off, we were given a brownie.   This was a Tahini Brownie with Halva Cremeux (a creamy pudding made with Sesame Seeds and Cinnamon), Dark Chocolate Sauce, Raspberries, Feulletine, and Sesame Crunchies.  The brownie was prepared the way I like it, a little more on the crispy side and it was obvious that good chocolate was used.  With the tahini, the halva, and the sesame crunchies, there was a lot of sesame flavor, that moderated the bitterness of the chocolate.  The Raspberries added some tartness to round out the flavor and the fuelletine and sesame crunchies added a crunchy texture.

This was a lot of fun.  The food was both familiar and surprising and was very good.  I really enjoyed the meal and my experience and I will definitely return.