bourbon steak

what's sogreatabout bourbon steak? first, it's the drinks. the bartenders are amazing and always are coming up with new cocktail experiences. second: the snack mix at the bar is the best in town. third: the burgers and fries are always top quality and worth every penny.

great restaurant!!! i actually went two days in a row while in washington dc.

the first day i went was during the evening and the sun was still up. there was a decent crowd. i tried the lobster pot pie which was amazing. the server came and prepared the pot pie in front of us which amazed me even more. the service was excellent and off i went.

i went back the day after and went a little later in the night with the restaurant being completely packed. even with the heavy crowd, our server managed to provide excellent service with bringing all dishes out in a timely manner and givinggreatsuggestions for drinks.

bourbon steak is now open in the los angeles area so i'm i don't have to travel far for it.

visit dates 6/1/2013 and 6/2/2013

this is definitely a "special occasion" place, as their entree prices range from $29 to a whopping $85 dollars a piece. bourbon steak would be agreatplace to bring a date that you really wanted to impress (if you are paying, that is). overall the service was spot on, the atmosphere was hip and sophisticated, and the food was great. definitely somewhere i plan on dining again, although hopefully not out of my pocket.

a michael mina restaurant in the four seasons hotel in georgetown. my gf i and i decided to split michaels signature dish which is the lobster pot pie. priced at $68 i was hoping for the dish of my life. what i got wasnt the dish of my life, but was agreatmeal. i give the dish a 7.5 out of 10 which wouldnt exactly scream the most expensive dish in the restaurant. a cool part about the dish was that it came out in the pot and one of the servers prepared the dish to serve next to the table. that the side dishes we ordered were the gnocchi made with beats and the mac and gorgonzola. both i'd give a 9 out of 10. the servers were friendly but the clientele (moreso at the bar area) was your typical dc bigger than life, middle age, power suit yuppie who would sit at the bar ordering his martini and talking loud for attention. so if you don't mind the typical annoying rich dc type then i'd suggest checking out this restaurant if you want a nice romantic upscale dinner.

could have been better for the price. we decided to check out bourbon steak for restaurant week. i made my reservation before i ever saw the menu, but was disappointed when i realized i was going to be spending 20 dollars on a hamburger. i put that disappointment aside and decided it was going to be an awesome experience anyways.

as far as decor, environment, etc it was top notch. the staff was extremely friendly- despite the fact that my partner and i are two twenty-somethings dressed for causal friday, we were made to feel very welcome.

the truffle butter rolls were positively yummy- so that was agreatstart. my partner ordered the steak burger and duck fat fries and i decided on the salmon burger with the onion rings.

the break down-
the salmon burger was... good. the other ingredients on the bun were a little strange... but maybe that's just fancy restaurant stuff that i'm not used to. i ended up tossing aside the seemingly cheap bun to enjoy the salmon on its own. the onion rings were to die for! the pickle ketchup, not so much. it tasted a lot like someone poured pickle juice in bottled ketchup.

to the steak burger- absolutely delicious! the cabot cheese was perfect with the flavor of the beef. again though, the bun only took away from the overall flavor. i was jealous of her choice, but i got a few bites, so i was satisfied.

the duck fat fries-- while tasty, obviously, i'm a little surprised that bourbon steak took such a shortcut with them. they were very obviously frozen fries. with all of the good fries in this city, how can they get away with that? i was also a little disappointed with the dipping sauces. i have already discussed the pickle ketchup, but we also had the michael whatever bbq sauce- which tasted suspiciously like the v-8 juice i had for breakfast and nothing like bbq sauce. my favorite was the french onion dipping sauce, but i'm pretty sure i could easily replicate it in my own kitchen with a packet of the powdered french onion soup mix and mayo.

the brownies with the ice cream at the end were absolutely delightful. a perfect finisher.

so, while i wasn't blown away with the food, it wasn't bad. then came the check. now i'm not a cheap person- but i'm 2 years out of college in an entry level position. i'm at a restaurant for restaurant week, thinking i'm getting deal. for two burgers, dessert, and 2 non alcoholic drinks, tip, and tax- $65 bucks.

i know the food didn't cost that much, and i can do just as well, if not better, in my own kitchen. you're definitely paying for the name here- and if you're any sort of capable in the kitchen, you can do better. if you want burgers, save your cash and head to five guys, good stuff, or rays hell burger. there are definitely better picks for restaurant week.

perfect anniversary!. our wonderful experience started when we walked into the four seasons. right away the staff was courteous and respectful. our waiter was on of a kind, he was helpful and extremely nice. he met our very need. we were given duck fries, truffle rolls, and 2 glasses of champaign to start out on the house. there was even an anniversary card on the table to us from the manager of bourbon steak. our bibb wedge salad and cavitellis were fantastic appetizers. the filet mignon and the pime rib were cooked to perfection. our side dishes were as you guessed wonderful. the entire evening was well worth the cost for us but this is not a cheap place by any means. for the one down side, the cocktails were not very enjoyable. basil is a spice better left in pasta. after trying two of their signature drinks we decided to challenge the bartender to a few complicated drinks that were not on the menu. he was more the happy to oblige and made very enjoyable drinks exactly to our requests. i would go back again in a heartbeat and i recommend bourbon steak to anyone with the time and the money to spend. give the truffle mac and cheese and the magical mushrooms a try for somegreatside dishes.