Critic's Review
In the Early 90s, TGI Fridays was the place to be, at least on Long Island. This TGIF location shutdown last year and has been taken over by a chain restaurant that lets you cook your own steak on a hot rock. I cook steaks at home all the time; I thought the idea of going out was not having to cook? At least I wouldn't have to do the dishes.
I got here at 2:45; late by design. I wanted it to be fairly dead.
The full makeover of the restaurant is immediately apparent with the new hipster patio, complete with high tops and modern wicker. I questioned why anyone would rip a perfectly good restaurant; TGI Friday's was an outdated concept but the restaurant had been renovated about a year earlier. Arrogance partly, and the need for cookie cutter chain restaurants that are all the same is another.
The entrance is big and very unlike the small waiting area of the former restaurant. The hostess asked the obligatory question of whether I wanted to sit at the bar.
The center bar is open and has been lowered from it's former raised location; they went with more smaller TVs rather than the big ones; we'll see how that goes over. The Black Rock logo is taking up space that could be use by larger TVs.
I was then seated at the worst table in an empty restaurant; not only with a view of the service station, but practically right in it.
On the table are ridiculously overpriced specials; apparently the "Certified Angus Beef" costs twice as much as the regular steaks. I didn't bite. Who is going to pay $38 for a Sirloin that isn't even USDA Prime?
My server greeted me smelling of smoke and breath mints. I ordered an Iced Tea with extra lemon; I generously received 1 extra lemon wedge in my $2.99 glass of colored water.
I ordered a 6oz Sirloin with a side salad and asparagus; most places have an upcharge for asparagus; this place offers a side salad but charges $3.50 for a caesar salad; I guess romaine is more expensive?
The only condiments on the table are salt and pepper; I wouldn't need more than that.
The salad came in advance, which is good, since there wasn't enough room on the table for everything otherwise. I don't know why anyone would put yellow cheese on a salad (since it doesn't pair well with most salad dressings), but this was ok. A pedestrian chunk-less blue cheese dressing; better than a load of fries.
The steak came out on a cart, which was unexpected; I didnt like that the server started the steak on both sides so I didn't get to see the quality of the raw meat. He instructed me to slice it and then cook it on both sides for a few seconds, which is not how you want to cook a steak.
I convinced him that I knew how to cook a steak, so he cut his spiel short and left me with the meat. It looked like a pretty good portion of asparagus, which was properly cooked.
The steak comes with the secret Black Rock Steak Sauce (my server had no idea was was in it), and 1 additional topping of your choice. The herbed butter was more than enough for a 6oz steak.
The Black Rock sauce was awful; it was at this point that I realized that I didn't have a plate. Was I supposed to eat right off the rock? I wanted to get the piece he cut off the rock before it was well done. I asked for a plate and got a side plate.
The steak was sticking to the stone; I scraped it off and flipped it, and I noticed the orange on the stone. Had my server put some of the awful steak sauce on the stone?
Luckily it seemed to have burned off as I didn't taste much. My view of the service station made me privy to "other" sauces that were available but not offered to me. The "new" restaurant model is to not offer anything unless you ask for it. I'm not a big steak sauce or hot sauce guy anyway.
Obviously this is a "Bring your own Ketchup" restaurant.
The stone cools considerably as time goes on; I left the steak on the stone the whole time and it was never over done. You in fact have to slice it; I think it would take 20 minutes to cook through on this stone otherwise.
I got the idea of sauteing the steak in the herbed butter; definitely added some flavor.
It's a good thing that the steak cooked slowly, because eating off of these side plates was awkward. A real high class dining experience!
It took forever to get a good char once the stone cooled. But even with this char the steak was still nicely pink.
Conclusion
In 1990 a place called Coco's in Huntington, NY (on Long Island) had a shish-kabob appetizer that you could cook yourself on a "hot rock"; really fajitas on skewers. It was kind of fun, and new, but it was just an appetizer, so it didn't take over the table for the entirety of the meal.
This concept is awkward and kind of annoying; I don't want to have to worry about my steak overcooking while I'm eating. Usually I read my phone or engage on twitter while having lunch, but today I had to concentrate on my steak.
I didn't get an offer of a refill for my iced tea; which cost my server $1 on his tip.
The problem here is that there is a huge flaw in the concept; meat needs to rest before you eat it; eating it right off the grill is not the right way to do it. There's a reason you don't cut a steak right off the grill; the meat fibers need to relax, which makes the steak more juicy. To do this concept correctly, you have to wait for the steak to cook, take it off the grill and put it on the side, and then eat it, which would take 20 minutes. Nobody slices meat and cooks the pieces as you eat the steak.
On my last visit to longhorn I got a perfectly cooked flatiron steak; a better quality steak for $13.49, and I was perfectly happy with it. I didn't feel like it would be better if I cooked it myself. I really don't see the need for this. I haven't tried the make your own pizza places, because I don't want to make my own pizza; I want to open a box and start eating;
What I got was fairly priced; a decent quality steak with the 2 big sides; although their pricing is odd; the premium sides are WAY overpriced and they charge $8.99 for a side salad add on. I just don't see why I'd want to do this again for another decade or so.
They're not open until the fat lady signs off on the permit. Stay Tuned....