Husband and I have our own great tradition. You see, when working in the restaurant industry, one rarely has any holidays free. This means one is never free for Valentine's Day - those of you whose significant others are employed in the restaurant industry probably know this better than I. A coworker was lamenting this past Valentine's Day that his girlfriend had gone out with her ex for dinner on Valentine's Day, out of spite. My fellow restaurant widows and widowers should take heart, and not embrace bitterness - just make your own holiday, like we do.
Husband proposed to me the week after Valentine's Day, so now, we celebrate the anniversary of our engagement. It's our own Valentine's Day, and neither has to feel slighted when we're apart on real Valentine's Day. See how nice that is?
When it came time, this week, to celebrate our own personal Valentine's Day, we spent awhile stumped on where to go. Apparently, we both had retro on the brain, because I suggested the Top Steakhouse, and he mentioned he'd been thinking of Milano's Steakhouse; we settled on the Top.
I've heard a lot of things about the Top Steakhouse - it's uber retro, there's a piano bar, they eschew bread service in favor of a strange pickle plate (it has to be the only restaurant in Columbus where "Cream Cheese Filled Celery" is an appetizer option), there's prime rib and giant baked potatoes; it was finally time for us to find out for ourselves.
The Top is dimly lit (explaining the sub par pictures), and screams 60s supper club. At least, it did to me - I wasn't alive in the 60s, so I can't really say for sure, but there's a piano player, with the requisite bar attached to the piano (complete with hangers on), there are lots of round booths, there's a lot of black and white, and Husband said everything in the loo was Autumn Harvest brown. You really have to order a martini to start, in this setting. The bartender was of the stirred gin only variety, so if you believe that the phenols in gin are destroyed by shaking, perfect. If, like me, you like a cold martini with a layer of ice misting the top, you'll have to order it Bond-style - shaken, not stirred.
If you're going to go retro, you might as well go all the way, right? In keeping with the theme, I ordered shrimp cocktail to start. This might be one of the best shrimp cocktail values in Columbus ($13.95). Served in a zinc caviar server (the center is filled with ice, the lid contains the cocktail sauce), these babies are huge - probably U15s (under 15 per pound), meaty and perfectly cooked. They were ice cold and nicely crunchy, all scary bits of intestine and vein were removed. I'd have liked a little more horseradish in the cocktail, but that's just me. I like things hot.
Husband opted for the crabmeat cocktail (also $13.95), which featured the nice fat kind of lump crab which costs $40 retail. It was accompanied by a creamy, almost 1000 Island style dressing. Also a good value, considering the high cost of shellfish these days:
I told Husband I was pretty sure I could eat the shrimp cocktail and a salad, and have two bites of his steak and be full, but he wasn't having it. He insisted he'd be eating his entire steak and I'd better order my own, thank you very much. He chose the strip, I chose the small (that being a relative term here) cut of prime rib.
Husband's steak was good. Really, really good. Seared to a meaty (and salty!) crust on the outside, it gave way to a meltingly tender, well-aged interior. It was full of intense meaty flavor but was never chewy or stringy. It literally melted in your mouth. It's been a long time since I've had a steak this good; I don't typically order steaks in restaurants because, well, they're pretty easy to do well at home, and they tend to be expensive when dining out. The problem is, one can't really age one's own steaks at home. I would put this steak up against any from the bigger houses, and its $29.95 price tag includes two side dishes (home fries, onion rings, or baked potato, along with a salad or veg):
My prime rib (12 giant ounces for $22.95) arrived with its very own boat of jus, not that it was needed. True to form, I ate only the delicious top (the best part of any rib or ribeye) and, of course, my entire potato. The potatoes here deserve special mention; rolled in salt and baked (the salt helps draw out the moisture, leaving behind only fluffy, starchy goodness. When your potato is served, your server will come around with a condiment tray, offering large globs of butter and sour cream - there's really no trying to be "good" here, just give in, and eat the potato. Potatoes are good for you. They have fiber, iron (eat the skin), and loads of potassium. Viva potatoes!
The prime rib had the nice crusty and well-seasoned exterior one expects, and the interior was pink and succulent. Horseradish sauce had to be requested. In a (tiny) effort to curb my caloric intake, I opted for raw horseradish instead of the creamy option.
I could have stuck with my original plan and foregone the prime rib entirely, Husband gave me a few ounces of his steak and we boxed up most of the prime rib to be eaten at a later date (bonus points for packing extra jus in the to go box, for successful reheating). As a server, I don't typically advocate sharing entrees, but it could easily be done at the Top.
I feel I should make special mention that, as "retro chic" as the Top is, the broccoli was served surprisingly - and pleasantly - crunchy, just the way we like it. Unfortunately, the potato and beef won out, and most of my broccoli ended up in my carryout box.
Being a meat and potatoes Midwesterner, I had an immediate craving for cake and ice cream after giving up my plate, but we were stuffed and resisted, so I can't speak to desserts in any way. I can tell you the coffee is really bad, and, judging from how I jolted awake precisely at 3 am, wasn't the decaf I'd requested. (I realize I sound like a 70 year old grump right now, but I like my nights full of sleep, not rolling around cursing people in the serving industry.) And don't e-mail telling me there's no such thing as true decaf, I'm aware of that, thank you.
All in all, I enjoyed the Top. The service seemed a bit terse, I felt like the bartender was rolling her eyes at my requests for shaken martinis and the like, but her role seemed to be to talk to the regulars at the bar - we were primarily served by the young barback, who was very pleasant.
The atmosphere is fun and quirky, if a bit cramped - but that's part of the fun of a piano bar, right? We felt at home in our jeans and sweaters. Unfortunately, I'm won't be giving the Top the desired 2-3 visits before reviewing; it's been open forever, and I think it's pretty safe to assume they prime rib will always be delicious, and at the rather high price tag, it's a little prohibitive without someone else paying; I just thought I'd throw that in for full disclosure. That's not to say it isn't a good value - these are expensive ingredients we're talking about, I just can't be consuming $30 steaks on a daily basis.
The bottom line is, the Top does what it does very well. The next time you're craving a really great steak, consider skipping some of the usual suspects and heading east to the Top.
Info: The Top Steakhouse 2891 E. Main St (east of Bexley) 614.231.8238 - special bonus, the Top is open on Sundays, when everyone else is closed.
