Live To Nibble: Highlight #108: Birthday feasting (Part II)

Continuing with the old school theme from La Grotta the night before, Dad and I celebrated our joint birthday (really, it's the same day. It gets even better, grandpa also shares the day) at Bone's, a place where the staff really strive to take care of every guest without hovering.

While our bubbly was being poured and my BYO bottle of Silver Oak was breathing in the decanter, we ordered some simple starters to snack on. First up was the scotch smoked salmon. Not too salty and rather lean, the flavor spoke of wild waters even though I don't know if the fish was actually caught in the wild. What I didn't taste much was the scotch, an element I was quite looking forward to experiencing.

J, as usual, ordered a salad to start. His mom taught him well about the balanced diet. My mom particularly liked the dressing, a light blend of blue cheese that didn't drown out the greens. The toasted pistachios added some welcomed crunch.

In my sneaky way, I didn't order the steak knowing that J will always go for the porterhouse and I'll get my share from his plate (he is good about sharing the tastiest bites near the bone with me). Instead, mom and I asked for the mixed grill and the king crab legs for sharing, which the staff nicely split for us onto separate plates. My mixed grill included lamb chops, pheasant sausage, and fillet (medium rare). Everything was well-seasoned, but not too salty, a problem many have reported at Rathbun Steak. I preferred the lamb to the fillet for its more pronounced earthiness. The fillet was quite tender, although still not at the juicy level of my favorite - the T Bone.
Speaking of the T bone, we had one sitting next to me in front of dad. He asked me to choose for him and I naturally went for my favorite (medium rare). In some ways I would have preferred a more crusty outer layer, but the tenderness and juiciness of the meat took my mind off that quickly. Of course, I was offered the bites near the bone from both dad's T bone and J's porterhouse and they were both as melty as I remembered. J was in awe when Dad finished the big chunk of meat in record time. Being a very trim man, I have absolutely no idea where he puts all the big meals he eats. Maybe it's link to the same good genes that prevent him from going grey at almost sixty. Let's hope I have inherited those genes.

Besides decorating our table with glittering confetti, the staff also brought out a slice of ice cream cake with two candles for our joint birthday. While I was busy looking into the camera like J asked, Dad jumped the gun and blew out the candles... Hmm... More luck to him. I guess I can live with that. :)