Highlight #167: Popped over for popovers - Restaurant: BLT Steak

Everyone who's heard of BLT knows about the free popover, which is really why I come over here to eat. But this trip was prompted by J, not me. You see, J is not a steak all the time kind of guy. But once in a while, the craving hits, and when it does, he NEEDS a fix. This time he said, why don't we try something new (normally we head to Rathbun Steak). So to BLT Steak we went.

Service here is worthy of a good steakhouse and comparable to Bone's, which I hold as the golden standard for the best and most consistent service in this town. The servers at BLT were warm, but not aggressive, always attentive, but never hovering. It's an art, this service thing. When it works, it's a beautiful thing.

The popovers came out pipping hot and did not disappoint. You may think that for them to be so big, they'd be hollow in the middle, but that is not at all the case. These are dense things. Each one is hefty enough for breakfast but it's easy to eat a whole one. J did just that before the appetizer. Seriously, how the man manages to not have an ounce of extra fat on him, I will never know.
A dish of seared scallops was on the daily special menu. I love scallops and haven't had any in awhile, so this was the obvious choice. The scallops were naturally sweet and not cooked too done. Enough butter went into the polenta to achieve the very creamy and luxurious mouth feel. But something was missing, maybe a little salt and pepper. It just was short a little oomph to get the dish to the highest level.

J's steak was nothing short of beautiful in looks, perfectly charred and crusty. Medium rare as orders, there was no bone to pick with this one. Although, I have to say that Rathbun Steak's ribeye still edges this out by a hair, if only because of the more aggressive salting and the fattier, therefore, juicier pieces near the bone (I always ask the husband to share those pieces and, like a good spouse, he always obliges. )

J was in charge of sides this time and he quickly fell for the specials of risotto and fiddlehead fern. As if cream was not enough, the risotto was also completely covered in cheese. For that, nothing bad can be said about it, except, again, for the slight lack of salt. Salt, however, was not a problem with the fiddlehead fern, which seemed to have robbed the other dishes for it.

J had been in a chocolate phase, so we ordered the dense flour less dessert, which tasted of wonderful high quality chocolate. The meringue was made with skill, fluffy and lightly toasty. Not being the biggest chocolate dessert fan, I was happy.

BLT Steak
Downtown W