Does date night get better than this??

Last night, date night was taken to the extreme since, well, it doesn't really exist when your boyfriend lives in another state. So, celebrating the fact that it was Tuesday night, Lee and I went to BLT Steak for a true New York steakhouse experience.

We probably shouldn't have started out with two drinks each at happy hour as the wine list at BLT is as long as the distance that normally separates LHM and myself. We started off with the sweet, smooth duck liver pate to amuse our palettes as our 2005 Hardin cab sauv, recommended by our sommelier as a full, not too dry, not too sweet cab, arrived.

Soon thereafter, the infamous BLT popover popped on over onto our table and I showed Lee how to pop the top off, smother in butter and salt and then pick apart the airy, light roll. This is definitely my favorite part of the BLT experience.


Since we anticipated the avalanche of steakhouse abundance about come crashing down, we decided on starting out with sharing the crab cake with spicy, stringy cole slaw and a somewhat sweeter remoulade layered over it. The contrast was pleasing although I'm not sure if it would be a repeat order.

The main event: we both ordered the 12 oz. filet - mine medium, his medium+. Although our somewhat pompous waiter repeated Lee's order as medium, our steaks were cooked slightly differently and just as we preferred. I took the smother-herb-butter-all-over-the-steak approach so the meat was extra tender and moist while Lee complained his was somewhat dry.

On the sideline: creamed spinach and Parmesan gnocchi. Lucky for me, Lee and vegetables are like oil and water so I consumer the entire mini cassoulet while he went to work on the gnocchi with a mountain of freshly grated Parmesan cheese covering the firm pillows of cheesy deliciousness. Our only complaint? Give us more than seven or eight, please!

Finally, dessert. Somewhat of a disappointment, as steakhouse desserts are supposed to be over the top and rich. The chocolate brownie cake with vanilla ice cream was super soft in the middle but the abundance of walnuts at the bottom really threw us through a loop. Our favorite of the night? The little warm, soft chocolate button cookie that they delivered with the check - gratis!

I'd give this one an 8 out of 10. Definitely a great date or group spot but definitely not a Luger's by any means.