The Grill Room & Bar

Ventured to The Grill Room this evening (9.14.2009) for a business meeting dinner. Walking through the door I knew it was going to be a good time, the smell…was…good. The space had a very relaxed laid-back feel. From our table I was easily able to watch the Patriots season opener against the Bills. That is a good thing … when the conversation got to be to business like I could just look up and watch some football.

The draught list was pretty good, not that it really matters too much to me though … they had Allagash White … I was happy. I heard that the wine list was good too, although I wouldn’t really know, I never looked at it. The waitress was very nice and seemed to be quite knowledgeable about the wine they offered. She successfully made suggestions for two of my colleagues. Although I do not enjoy wine, I do enjoy listening to people go on about it.

For starters I had the cajun shrimp salad. The presentation was lovely and made me want to gobble it all up in one bite. Very Top Chef “elimination challenge” esque. I restrained myself quite well. The shrimp was perfectly cooked and well seasoned. The corn and pepper salad was also great because the peppers and red onions were chopped into tiny pieces, just the way I like ‘em.

For dinner I chose the hanger steak and chorizo with chimichurri sauce, spinach and white beans. There is this thing I have right now for both hanger steak and chorizo, so to find them in the same dish was like a message sent straight from the heavens saying “eat this, not that … don’t even consider anything else”. The hanger steak was wonderful and perfectly cooked! The spinach and white beans were also delish and work well together and with hanger steak. The chorizo on the other hand left me wanting. It was not bad tasting by any stretch, but I so wanted it to be better. There was more heat then flavor, which left me feeling disappointed. Overall a good dish, but not one I would order again, message from the heavens or not.

Dessert was a good thing. I had the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. It was super yummy and the ice cream was the prefect creaminess. The only thing that could have been improved with this would be my fullness from earlier dishes. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had not been so full.

Overall – great meal. I would def recommend the Grill Room to anyone looking to a tasty and relaxing meal with style. I had a great time and will surely return for more.