Restaurant Review - Shanahan's Steakhouse

One of the reasons I started this blog was at the suggestion of DH.  We love to go out to eat, but DH has the memory of a gnat or something else that is teeny tiny and would have no memory whatsoever.  Therefore when we go to a "repeat" (restaurant that we've been to before) it is my responsibility/duty/chore/burden to remind him if there is something he ordered last time that he didn't really enjoy so as to not make the same mistake twice, this is why it would always behoove DH to make sure I am happy with him at this point in time, otherwise his additional memory might "forget" about a dislike and allow him to make that mistake, yet again.  So one evening as we are finishing a dinner out he says: "we" (meaning me) should start a blog about the places we visit and then rate them and keep track of likes and dislikes, etc. as a reference guide.  Well, here goes...

Last Sunday was our 8 year wedding anniversary and we chose on a whim to go to Shanahan's Steakhouse.  The restaurant in and of itself has a feeling of modern luxury with over sized light fixtures, soft leather furniture, wine display and fireplace.  It has that typical mood lighting of a steakhouse but has been engineered so that noise is kept at a really low volume, so much so that when we were at the hostess table we thought the restaurant was empty but low and behold once we were taken to our booth there were plenty of full tables and three full party rooms housing at least 75 people but you would have never known it.  Additionally, you get to gawk up close at 3 Super Bowl trophies, several rings full of bling and pictures of Shanahan with luminaries of all sorts.

Our server Jason was polite and helpful but right away you are put to the test in the form of: "I would like to tell you that we offer Dom Perignon by the glass, we are the only restaurant to do that in all of Colorado".  This my friends is a pitfall, if you like champagne and are celebrating you are completely lured by the idea of having a glass, after all it isn't as if you are buying *gasp* a bottle.  Well, that little gem comes at $36 a glass, I know, we fell for it.  However, I would say that was the only real mishap of the experience.

As soon as we opened the wine list the sommelier pounced upon us excited to be of service.  He had lots of ideas to offer and I think we had a hard time keeping up, but he was very, very friendly.  The wine that we ultimately ended up with was one that neither DH nor I really liked but, eh, this happens sometimes.

Nevertheless, the food.  We ordered an appetizer of Ahi Tuna Tartar to share at the insistence of DH, which I was skeptical of because it really just sounded like sushi or sashimi and it pretty much was but elevated into a pretty dish served with all the sushi accouterments of rice, wasabi, ginger, soy sauce and some crispy wonton chips as a bonus.  Overall the dish was tasty but not something I would necessarily order again.  If we ever do go again I would prefer to order the Kobe Beef Carpaccio, now that sounds moo-licious!

We split the Tomato Burrata Salad.  Even though tomatoes are out of season these had a good tomato-y taste with basil pesto and in the center this soft, almost melted and gooey burrata cheese with the flavors of mozzarella with drizzled balsamic syrup on top.  The dish was flavorful even for out of season produce and I can only imagine how good it must be in the summer, and that balsamic syrup is something I could bathe in, it was so good.

For our main course I had the Surf and Turf, an 8oz filet mignon with a lobster tail (hard to find it as it's mentioned in an obscure part of the menu and only served on Sundays but well worth it) and DH had the Signature Bone-in 14 oz filet with shared sides of steamed broccoli florets and truffle cheddar mac n'cheese.  Our steaks were so perfect they melted in your mouth like butter and even though my lobster came with clarified butter I forgot all about dipping into it because the chef had seasoned and cooked the lobster in such a flawless and delectable manner that there was no need for butter.  The broccoli was a good compliment to our meal and the mac n' cheese was crunchy, creamy and cheesy: all good things, yet it also had a little too much truffle flavor which didn't do it for me but didn't stop DH from enjoying it all.

Overall, just thinking about this meal has me salivating and my fingers are crossed that they will participate in Denver Restaurant Week 2011 so we get the chance to eat there again at a much lower price.  I would say this is a place you go to for a very special occasion, not for a regular Friday date night.  And don't worry about going with someone who doesn't appreciate nature's gift of cow because the seafood was definitely on par.  However, aside from salad there really weren't any options for vegetarians, but who knows, this may be the place to get them to drink the cow flavored Kool-Aid.