Dining In Dc – Food and Restaurant Blog

FOOD:

FOR KIDS:

COST:

Jose with the Lobster du Jour!

My husband won a $200 gift certificate to Morton’s at his office holiday party and we decided to use it to celebrate Valentine’s day. Our visit to the Tysons corner Morton’s was in short, disappointing. As usual, I wrote a descriptive posting a few days later about our experience. It wasn’t scathing, but it wasn’t exalting.

A few days after I posted my review of Morton’s Maura Delaney, General Manager of the Tysons Corner location called me. We had a lengthy conversation about my experience. She indicated that Valentine’s Day is their busiest day of the year. She assured me that my not-so-great experience was an exception and not the rule at Morton’s and she invited me back for another dinner – on the house. She said that they were running a promotion in which a couple could dine for less than $100.  She said that she would love to have to us come back so she could make it right.

We returned last Saturday night. It was busy but it wasn’t nearly as hectic as it was on Valentine’s day, thankfully. We sat in a large over-sized half-moon booth unlike last time when we sat at a small two-top that was sandwiched in between other tables. Within minutes of being seated, someone came over to tell us that our server, Jose, was occupied with another table, but would be with us shortly. We waited a little longer than we preferred, but for the rest of the evening, the service was spot-on. 

Photo by Media.Sacbee.com

 One thing I think that is quite unique to Morton’s that other restaurants don’t do is the menu “presentation“. I can’t recall ever being in a restaurant where the waiters roll up a cart and show diners actual ingredients used in the preparation of their dinner, including a live lobster.  Our waiter was speaking so fast, it seems like he is speaking in another language; you catch every couple of words. We mentioned the promotion for two and he indicated that for $100, we each get a filet with a choice of either scallops, crabcake, or shrimp. My husband chose the scallops and I the crabcake. Per person, we were able to choose one salad and share two side dishes; one potato and one vegetable. I ordered the Morton’s salad and my husband ordered the Cesar. We chose the hash brown potatoes and the garlic green beans. I ordered my filet medium plus, again. I actually reminded Jose that I took his recommendation last time to order my filet medium plus and how it was over-cooked on the outside and too pink on the inside. He assured me that my steak would be done perfectly this time and mentioned how busy they are on Valentine’s day.

Conumdrum Wine

Dan, the sommelier, recommended a wine paring to my husband and I. Since I prefer white wine, he recommended a Californian white wine, “Conumdrum”. I thought it was an excellent recommendation because I actually loved the wine and will most likely remember the name; it’s quite unique. I only had one glass, but given the chance I would order it again. My husband ordered a red wine based on his recommendation also and it was quite good.

Our salads came out first. Actually, I preferred my husband’s Cesar salad over the Morton’s salad that I ordered. It had way too much dressing and tasted almost entirely of egg. Also, I thought it rather strange to include anchovies on a salad other than a Cesar. Jose said that the Morton’s salad probably dates back to the founders of Morton’s Steakhouse and may have been a favorite of Morton, hence the name.  If and when I ever return to Morton’s, I will surely order the Cesar. My filet was cooked perfectly and it was tender, juicy, and delicious. The hash browns were deliciously crispy and had just the right amount of salt. The garlic green beans were long, fresh, and crisp. The crabcake was of fairly good size, had very little filler and was rather scrumptious. The sauce, thankfully that was served on the side had very little flavor. It tasted and had the consistency of mayonnaise straight out of the jar. The bacon wrapped scallops were absolutely exquisite. Even more memorable, the apricot chutney served with the scallops was simple, tangy, yet piquant.  

Overall this was a much better experience, except the service. Our first experience the food was disappointing; however, the service was very good. I had no issues before with the service. The food was not exceptional but very good. I increased the number of forks from two to three. The dollar signs remain the same, based on the general menu. Their promotion where two can eat for $100 is more like three dollar signs. In regards to the kid-friendly pacifier rating, this is rather interesting. I found out from the waitor that Morton’s doesn’t really want to be kid-friendly. It doesn’t cater to children at all. Morton’s does not offer a kids menu and their best suggestion is for children to split a filet, which is quite expensive. Another suggestion was for parents to order for their kids from the bar menu. Jose also mentioned the fact that Morton’s has a reputation for being smokey due to cigars; hardly a place to bring kids.  I gave it a one pacifier, but it basically less than that… a half?