Last Wednesday we attended our second Tastecasting event. This time it was at Morton's Steakhouse in Phoenix, Arizona. They have locations nationwide, including their first one in Chicago. John, the Sales and Marketing Manager, was our host that evening. He told us that when Morton's first opened their doors over 30 years ago in Chicago, they were struggling for the first couple of weeks. That is, until Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack unexpectedly walked through their doors. The press heard about this, the word spread, and suddenly they no longer had a problem with not enough customers.
As Julie and I walked into the restaurant, I couldn't help but feel we were walking into a "good ol' boys" club, with the deep mahogany walls and dimly lit atmosphere. I half-expected us to be ushered in by a server wearing an ascot and a silk bathrobe, smoking a pipe. This didn't happen and we were brought to a private room in the back for our meal. John had prepared a long table that included a broccoli flower centerpiece that he had made for this occasion.
Julie: my first impressions were similar to Brian's and I was disappointed in the treatment (intentional or otherwise) from John. I felt that he didn't seem to care about our experience and that seemed to play out in different ways throughout the evening. I was really disappointed because I have always heard great things about Morton's and expected a high quality of customer service as I would expect of the meal/food itself.
Like our previous post about our other TasteCasting experience, Julie and I will each write about our individual experiences with the various courses that we sampled. The focus for this was the Morton's Power Hour, when they focus on smaller, quick-serve portions that are individually priced to reach a more varied clientele than they typically serve. The options vary by location. We were served a total of 11 different items at this one. It challenged us a bit, since we wanted to give each item a fair chance.
APPETIZERS
Prime Mini Cheeseburger
Brian: I immediately liked these. They are very tall, juicy and warm mini-cheeseburgers served with all the fixings. The steak was a bit pink in the middle, so it wasn't quite well-done. I did enjoy the taste and I had to stop myself and eat just one. Two of these would easily fill me up.
Julie: I like the idea of these upscale sliders and would have liked this appetizer if it had been cooked to my liking (well-done) and didn't have blood in the middle of the burger. It was also a bit greasy. Aside from the undercooking, I think it would have been good since it had a small slice of tomato, lettuce and a red onion. The cheeseburger was shaped more like a meatball and looked a little dwarfed on the bun.
Brian: The first thing I noticed about these is the size. They were a good size for what I was expecting. As I bit into one, it tasted more "fishy" than I like my crab cakes to taste. I had a hard time getting past this.
Julie: I like the bite size portion and the cake included very large chunks of crab. It was a bit mayonaise-ey and had a hint of nutmeg but it was a nice option on the menu.
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Petit Filet Mignon Steak Sandwich
Brian: The filet mignon between the bread was, again, a bit pink in the middle. It was quite juicy, though, and I felt this more than made up for the slight rareness. They make these with a hint of nutmeg. I wholeheartedly believe this is a great idea. In my opinion, they could have used smaller bits of bread for it. The bread overpowers the sandwich.
Julie: The size of the sesame seed bread/roll compared with the slice of steak was enormous. The steak tasted good but was, again, not cooked to my own personal preference. (This is not meant to be a slight against Morton's, simply a difference in how I like my steaks cooked and how probably real foodies enjoy and appreciate the taste of meat.)
Brian: These are little lettuce slices garnished with tomato cubes and dressing. The lettuce was a bit dry and wilty, and to me they were a little tasteless.
Julie: I like the concept of iceberg wedges and I think that this would be a fun appetizer. The portion that I received had a wilted piece of lettuce, but the taste of the blue cheese dressing was good.
Brian: I didn't taste this, so I can't give an opinion on it.
Julie: This dip was quite tasty despite the large chunks of artichokes within the dip. The small crispy breads that were served with it were scrumptous and could well have been eaten on their own.
Brian: I'll admit, I'm a fan of french fries. As long as their a bit crunchy on the outside and soft & warm on the inside, I'm sold. I was on these fries. In place of ketchup, these are served with blue cheese dressing on top. It adds to the moistness and makes for a great comfort food.
Julie: I thought these were delicious and would make for a great comfort food as Brian said. The fries were slightly greasy and the blue cheese wasn't overpowering. The melted cheese went well with the bacon, chives and peppers.
New York Strip Steak
Brian: Morton's seems to have a theme with their steaks, serve them so their slightly pink in the middle. I really didn't mind this. the NY strip steak was delicious. Nice and juicy, but it was a bit chewy. My taste buds enjoyed this steak rolling around on them.
Julie: I really enjoyed this entree as the taste was very good and had a slight cripsy edge on the top of the steak. Again, flavor was delicious.
Brian: Yes, you read that right. Macaroni & cheese in an upscale steak restaurant. This was, undoubtedly, my favorite part of the meal. Not only was it wonderfully creamy and rich, like macaroni and cheese should be, but they make it with a hint of chili. Magnifique! I could go for some right now. If only they delivered...
Julie: YUMMY! This was the most magnificent comfort food ever! So totally outweighs Kraft in the box. Even the fancy Kraft in the box. I loved the cavatapi pasta, and the nice blend of cheeses (parmesean, cream cheese, swiss and sharp cheddar). It was topped with panko and had a nice crust on the top. I also enjoyed the hint of chili taste.
Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake
Brian: This was, as expected, yummy. And true to it's name, it was hot. This is a chocolate lava cake served with raspberrys and ice cream. A nice chocolatey ending to any meal.
Julie: I was excited about this cake and my expectations were pleasantly met. The cake itself has a texture reminescent of a flourless cake, which I'm not sure if it is or not. The chocolate inside was good and a bit gelatenous texture. The creamy vanilla ice cream and raspberries and mint were nice accoutrements.
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Lemon Souffle (Grand Marnier Souffle)
Brian: I don't have a lot of experience with souffles, so it's hard for me to really compare it. It did have a nice lemony taste, and was soft and sumptuous on my tongue. However, I felt the lemon was a little weak and didn't really stand out.
Julie: I also don't have much experience with souffles although I do know what they are supposed to taste and look like. I think I was mostly disappointed because John had substituted the original option with these two souffles. One of the original options was creme brulee which I was completely looking forward to! Oh well. Back to the souffle - the flavor was good (grand marnier not lemon!) and had a nice presentation. It was served with a scoop of rich cream. The texture of souffles kind of turns me off, however.
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Raspberry Souffle
Brian: In a blind taste test, I think I would have minor bit of difficulty telling the difference between the lemon and raspberry souffles. The flavoring is a bit weak to me. The actual souffles were great in their wonderful fluffy-ness, I think the flavors could use some boosting.
Julie: The raspberry souffle was very light in taste but not bad. Again, texture issues, but the presentation was nice. Too bad souffles weren't my fave!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Brian: One thing I noticed as John was handing out the plates, specifically for the desserts, was that I was turned off in the way he handed them out. He held them against his suit and had his hands all over them. I know servers are trained to not do this in an effort toward cleanliness. I'm sure the regular servers don't do this, so I won't count this against Morton's on the whole. On the whole, our Morton's experience was good. They have great tasting food that obviously has a lot of care and skill put into it's preparation.
Julie: I am probably not the type of clientele in which Morton's would hit the spot for me. I don't enjoy sparkling water, nor do I jive with the atmosphere of Morton's. I think they do some things well (appetizers and steaks) and I hope that others are willing to check them out. They do have wifi available and do a great verbal menu presentation. They also do great charity work with Make-a-Wish and other local charities. Thank you to Morton's for the hospitality and opportunity to check you out!
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