It's not surprising that Red October reminds us of Mike Shannon, of course. The fact that Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood is by the ballpark is more than coincidence, but it's also a reminder that it had been some time since a visit there. With a visitor in town for baseball playoffs, it was a great excuse.
The move from their old quarters was a smart one with greater visibility, sure, but a real chance to modernize things, too. I've always been fond of the new spot's interior, which gives prominence to the great collection of photographs. In the daytime, columns of baseballs and glass walls of bats seem like architecture rather than trophies, so seamlessly do they blend in. Things were rocking on a Saturday night with no game, as it turned out, and we ended up at a table in the bar, even though we had, true to the Pollack philosophy, gotten a reservation. (Truth: We declined the nice table we were shown first; one of the group couldn't manage it physically.)
At least part of the group, perhaps all, had walked in meaning to show some self-control. Salads, we'd thought to ourselves. Healthy vegetables. But then someone - uh, that would actually be me - suggested a round of calimari while we discussed cocktails and wine and the menu. The calimari were good, shareable, lightly breaded with what the menu says is arborio rice, which made it lightly crunchy and with good seasoning even before the aioli seasoned with smoked Spanish paprika was utilized.
The whole menu here goes far beyond the traditional steakhouse expectations. Yes, beef, to be sure. But of the eight salads, three are sort of traditional, and the others far more contemporary. Tatsoi and mushroom conserva in what's called the steakhouse salad? Much muttering over our choices. One of us succumbed to the evening's special soup, smoked pork with black beans. The thick result was rather like chili, thick, certainly notes of cumin and several varieties of pepper, perhaps a little oregano, but with an almost citric zing that elevated it. The rest of us, immediate hunger appeased slightly, decided to head directly into the meat of the matter: Entrees. No one brought up salads.
A filet mignon au poivre may have been the star of the night. Filets, less assertive in their flavor, seem the perfect vehicle for lily-gilding, and in this case, it was the peppercorn-brandy cream sauce that mellowed and grew the overall flavor of the dish. A tender, moist double-thick pork chop arrived slightly pink in the center from the instruction to cook it to the chef's choice. The jalapeno-molasses glaze spoken of in the menu darkened it but gave no serious hot-spicy note. Interestingly, it was the pear-apple sauce with currants, that showed some heat as well as a nice boozy note from rum.
Chicken was well-represented with a half bird, smoked and glazed with an Asianesque sauce, again quite moist and not overcooked. The side with it, a sweet potato, mushroom and onion hash charmed. Only a strip steak, normally one of my favorite cuts, fell short. Great flavor and properly cooked, to be sure, but an extraordinary amount of gristle and fat in it.
Steaks are totally a la carte, with toppings and sides to be chosen at the pleasure of the diner - or of the table, in our case. Thus the au poivre for the filet. Our server, who was adjusting well to our leisurely and high-verbal pace, said the sides were sharable size. Potato puree means creamy, lushly soft mashed potatoes seasoned with green onion and olive oil, although it tasted like they'd used butter as well. A little salty? Well, maybe, but worthwhile. And who would have thought about macaroni and cheese here? Corkscrew pasta, Irish cheddar and fontina cheeses and truffled breadcrumbs. Forget healthy vegetables; we almost fought over the last bite.
A little exploration of the dessert menu seemed in order. But it seemed to reveal the weakest part of things. Blueberry cheesecake sticky, almost gummy in texture, fell short and the reported blueberry was only a thin layer of reddish sauce over the top. A dome-shaped sticky toffee pudding, dry in the middle, lacked enough toffee to redeem the dryness. And the dulce de leche ice cream was mildly, almost innocuously, pleasant; it could and should have been far more vigorously flavored.
A very serious wine list, too, with some reasonably priced options. A good meal until we got to dessert.
Mike Shannon's Steaks and Seafood
620 Market St.
314-421-1540
Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner nightly
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Poor
Smoking: No
Entrees: $18-$48
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