by Emilie L. on Ok, I will admit I went to STK with low expectations. I dislike the neighborhood and read some average reviews. However, I was pleasantly surprised by my experience here. Service: I was a bit turned off by the service when we initially arrived. They couldn't find our reservation at first and turns out the person who took down our reservation had us down for the following Sunday (17th instead of the 7th) a bit annoying considering they were rushing when we called to make the reservation. On top of that, the restaurant was half empty but were asked to wait at the bar as they could not seat us until the last person in our party of five arrived. Our servers were good. During our meal we ran out of water but no one was in sight so we had to wait until after we finished our food to get a refill. Food: I was surprised by the food - much better quality than I had expected. Like many of the previous reviews, we opted to try the sliders with truffles. As tiny as they were, these may be one of the top 5 bugers I have ever eaten. The tuna tartar was fantastic - well seasoned and the plantain chips that accompanied the were a great contrast. We got the shrimp appetizer - they were some if the largest shrimp i have ever eaten. The sauce was a spicy cocktail sauce which I enjoyed considering I don't usually enjoy cocktail sauce. Lastly, we tried the fois gras - I am not a huge fan of liver but tried it. The toast & syrup that was drizzled on top was great. As expected, I didn't care for the liver. I'm not a huge fan of the flavor but I'm glad I got to try it. Now on to the entrees - we all got the bone-in 14oz filet. I got mine medium rare but it was more on the medium side. My friend asked for medium well and ended up getting medium rare. The meat was good quality. However, I had asked for the peppercorn steak and it turned out to be way too seasoned. I usually over pepper my food - I love pepper on everything. In this instance, it proved to be too much. If I ate it as is, my mouth was burning so much I couldn't appreciate the other flavors. So halfway through i started cutting off the outside part so I could enjoy the unseasoned meat inside. Sides: Sweet corn pudding - my favorite of the assortment - fresh corn with a delicate pudding that went well with the savory part of the meal. Cream spinach - not the best I've had. They used full spinach leaves instead of chopped spinach which I enjoyed. Not too seasoned so mostly tasted like spinach. Creamy mashed potato - well seasoned but a little too mashed for my taste. This was more like a paste than potato consistency. Asparagus - great side! Well prepared and not overcooked Truffle fries - was hoping for shoe-string fries but turned out to be little blocks of potato. Enjoyed the crispy outside and perfect balance of truffle oil. Mac & Cheese - I tasted truffle oil in this as well. My friend thought it was too salty. I thought the truffle was overpowering Dessert: my friend got the tres le ches which was fantastic. It was light with a light hint of coconut flavor. I opted for the cotton candy which was huge. I think it was strawberry lemonade flavor as parts were strawberry and others a sour flavor. Overall, the meal was enjoyable. However, my throat did hurt by the end of the night cause the music is so loud youbfind yourself shouting most of the meal.
