On Saturday, my wife and I dropped our younger child off with her grandparents, who already had our older child. We wanted a good meal and were both very hungry. Last year, for my wife's birthday, my Mom gave her a gift card good at the Sole Proprietor, Worcester's premiere fish restaurant -- a card also good at its sister restaurants. So, when deciding on where to go for supper, I told her I'd prefer Sole but I wasn't wedded to it. She said, "Let's go to the chophouse. I want meat!" Off we went to the Sole's sister restaurant, the 111 Chophouse, located at 111 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester.
At some point we will clearly have to try the third restaurant of the group, an Italian place just up the street from the chophouse, called Via. You might be able to watch just one part of a trilogy, but after you get the second part you have to check out the third.
Returning to the tale: we made reservations on the phone, which was vital given how busy the place is. We arrived a few minutes late, but they were still dealing with a line of reservations that had shown up shortly before us. We stood near the entrance, a little cramped since one group in front of us was a party of eight and was taking up most of the foyer space. We were seated relatively quickly, though, and got to perusing.
This is not like an Outback or a Bugaboo Creek. There's no music running in the background, no adorably creepy talking stuffed animals, not even a trace of kitsch. Despite the lack of music it gets a bit loud in the background, but not so loud that you can't talk with your dining companion. There's a very classy-looking bar section, a kitchen visible behind clean plexiglass, and there are a few different dining areas. While there are a few flat-screen TVs showing various sports, none of them had the volume on and were not in routine eye-level. The staff dress in short, stylized butcher jackets along with their white button-down shirts and black ties. It is, all in all, classy and comfortable.
The waitstaff work in teams for your table, with two people looking after even a table for two. While uncommon, this system allows for extra eyes and hands to help at a table. They initially brought over a small loaf of what looked like Italian bread or a thick baguette, cut into slim slices, wrapped in paper.
Our meal was definitely very good. We each started out with a bowl of Vidalia French onion soup au gratin ($7.99). It arrived very quickly but was still impeccably done, with plenty of very good cheese, some of their baguette for the crouton, and a tasty beef stock fortified with wine and properly cooked onions. We both felt it was slightly salty for our palates, but it is one of the best French onion soups we have eaten out of the house ever.
After the soup came the salad. My salad - comprised of a wedge of iceberg lettuce, large-chop tomatoes and (for me) Caesar dressing - was tasty, properly dressed, and came included with the cost of my entree. Normally it comes with Stilton cheese (think good bleu) and a bleu cheese dressing, but I am not a fan of bleu. The tomatoes were not quite as tasty as I might have liked, but it was the very first time I have ever eaten tomatoes that come with a salad so I cannot be considered a good judge for that. My wife ordered a baby arugula salad ($4 extra), which came with goat cheese, candied walnuts and a lemon vinaigrette. She was extremely pleased with it, remaking on how the walnuts were only lightly candied and thus still recognizably walnuts.
For our main plates we both had beef. I got their prime rib special ($21.99), which came with oven-roasted red bliss potatoes, peas with mushrooms, and a small amount of au jus; my wife ordered the Wagyu flat iron steak ($28.99), with sauteed asparagus, roasted red bliss potatoes, oyster mushrooms and a cabernet sauce. We also ordered a side dish of au gratin potatoes ($8.99) for the table. My boneless prime rib was slightly grainy in a couple of bites, but it was quite tasty and aside from those couple of bites properly done. The sides were good, but I felt the potatoes were (again) slightly salty for me. Given that I have been cutting down my salt over the past couple of years, it is probably still in the range of good for people with normal salt counts. My wife said the special breed of beef, Wagyu, was lost on her. For those of you who don't know, Wagyu beef is very well marbled. It's the US breed of Japanese Kobe beef, considered some of the best in the world and astoundingly expensive. While she felt it was wasted on her, I could tell that this was the best flat iron steak I had ever had. The cabernet sauce was exceptionally good, although when I dipped a piece of my prime rib in it, the sauce did not pair up properly with the beef. She enjoyed her asparagus greatly.
For all that the place is centered around great beef, I felt the stand-out dish was the au gratin potatoes. The potatoes themselves were cut much the same way the roasted potatoes were, in pieces rather than the traditional slices. They were served in a gratin sauce that was, simply, the best I have ever had in my life. My wife said that the next time we go we should just order lots of sides and appetizers, just to sample all the tasty food.
Our total bill, including tax and tip, came out to over $100 for two people. We didn't have any wine, cocktails or hard liquor, so those of you who enjoy such should prepare to pay more. That said, it was thoroughly enjoyable and we will go back after we've held the charity fundraiser to afford it. Beef of this quality would run at least 50% more in Boston, and the parking would be hard to find or outrageously pricy. Frankly, this place is about an extra 50% more than your Outback or Bugaboo Creek and it is more than worth the price difference.
As we walked back to my car, we passed by the lot for the valet parking. I had passed it up at the time because I figured it would be expensive - I'm used to Boston prices. The sign said: Valet Parking, $3. Since there was on-street parking at the time I am not sorry we skipped it, but if the street gets crowded when we return we'll pay the extra.
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