That Food Guy
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Harold Seltzer's Steak House
(727) 954-7777 http://seltzerssteakhouse.com/
The One-Pound cut of prime rib ($19.99 “The best prime rib in town. Our superb roast prime rib of
beef, perfectly aged for 35 days or more, perfectly prepared, rubbed on the
outside with Harold’s Secret Steak Spices & simply delicious!” Served with
choice of “Au Jus,” creamy horseradish sauce or regular horseradish. The Star
of the Show! All dinners served with our homemade garlic croutons, bakery fresh
rolls, choice of traditional or Caesar salad, and your choice of baked potato,
Harold's homemade French fries, homemade garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato
puffs, seasoned black beans and yellow rice, creamed spinach, broccoli, or
vegetable medley. Choose from one of Harold’s six signature homemade salad
dressings: blue cheese, classic vinaigrette, French, garlic ranch, honey
mustard or thousand island.)
Janis ordered the Caesar salad, the one-pound cut of prime
rib, medium rare, with garlic mashed potatoes, Au Jus. I ordered the
traditional salad with thousand island dressing, a one-pound cut of prime rib,
medium rare, Au Jus, and a baked potato with all the fixings. Our salads and
rolls arrived soon after. Janis Caesar salad was Romaine lettuce with a creamy
Caesar dressing and a generous portion of shredded Parmesan cheese. She said
the salad was good, average but perhaps a bit too much garlic and Parmesan
isn’t one of her favorite cheese. That being said, she did finish her salad.
The prime rib is served on an oval platter. Even though the
baked potato on mine was of medium size, there was little extra room on the
platter for the portion cup of Jus and a sprig of parsley. Janis’ serving was
very lean, only a small piece of fat on one edge. It was beautiful medium rare,
a pinkish red, enough to get any carnivore very interested. Accompanying was a
substantial serving of garlic mashed potatoes. She said the beef was very
tender and delicious. The garlic mashed potatoes were also very good she said.
They were of a rustic variety, bits of potato in a creamy potato and garlic
mixture garnished with a bit of parsley. Except for the half piece of prime rib
that went into the take-home container she managed to clean her plate quite
handily.
My prime rib was also a perfect rosy red medium rare piece
of meat. Being a steak house, the standard table setting is a steak knife. This
cut of meat was tender enough that a standard place setting butter knife was
all that was needed to cut through the thick slice of prime rib. The 35 day
aging does a good job of breaking down the fibers and the result is a piece of
meat that is almost butter smooth. Even if I had planned to eat only half and
take the rest home, it would never have happened that afternoon. I ate it
all. Harold seasons the outside of the
roast with their seasoning blend. Much of that seasoning is still on the edge
of the prime rib slices. To my personal taste, that seasoning doesn’t need to
be there. All that cut of meat needs, even though my cardiologist says no, is a
slight sprinkle of salt. It was an excellent cut of meat, flavorful and tender
to the max. The baked potato, of medium size, was one that is cooked in batches
and kept warm for the upcoming service. That makes for an okay potato but not
the best. The butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese and chives added to the top
surely made it seem better than it was. Normally I eat the skin of the baked
potato but that was not the case this time.
Harold
Seltzer’s
3500 Tyrone Blvd N, St
Petersburg, FL 33710(727) 954-7777 http://seltzerssteakhouse.com/
About this day: Some days
are easy to keep track of; The Fourth of July, New Years, Christmas and
Thanksgiving are a few. Some other dates have a way of falling through the
cracks; birthdays and anniversaries are prime examples of two of those dates.
My wife remembered and, luckily, so did I. So, we made plans to go out to
dinner to celebrate. But where? That was the question. After deliberation, we
decided to return to Harold Seltzer’s where we celebrated our anniversary the
year before – sort of like making a family tradition.
About the
restaurant: Harold Seltzer opened his first restaurants in 1995; he
named them Sam Seltzer’s in honor of his grandfather, Sam. Sam was a butcher in
Montreal. As a young apprentice in his grandfather’s shop, Harold learned about
beef. The restaurant was successful and expansion followed. The company opened
seven stores and employed upwards of 300 people. A downturn 6 or 7 years later
led to infighting. Harold sold his interest in the company in 2004 and his
cousin Michael Seltzer was in charge. The company acquired heavy debt and went
through a period of reorganization. There was no turnaround and about 2009
Michael ceded control of the company to the creditors. Although the restaurants
were doing business as normal, including selling gift cards, the creditors,
without forewarning, closed all of the existing restaurants, locking out the
employees and leaving gift card holders with a worthless piece of plastic.
In 2010 Harold opened a couple of restaurants under his name
as the Sam Seltzer name was entangled in bankruptcy court. It is reported that
he wanted to clear up the Seltzer family name and one of the steps was to make
it right for the holders of the Sam Seltzer gift cards. Although the name has
slightly changed, you would be hard pressed to point out difference between the
Sam Seltzer of the past and the Harold Seltzer of today. The restaurant we
visited today, located on Tyrone Blvd., in St Petersburg, is the same facility,
the same look, the same feel, and the same delicious prime rib that we visited
many years ago when it was Sam Seltzer’s.
We have actually been to Seltzer’s several times since the
reopening. We went there on our last anniversary and signed up for the wife
birthday special. An e-mail reminder some months later brought us back to
Seltzer’s for the wife’s birthday and the complimentary bottle of wine with
dinner. There have also been a couple of well remembered lunches with her Aunt
Effie and Uncle Gil. I have included a few photos of those happy times at the
end of the blog.
For out day out together, we went in the midafternoon, after
the lunch crowd and before the dinner rush. It was quiet in the restaurant and
it had a nice laid-back easy feel. We were shown directly to a table. Our
server, David, was almost immediately there. He was a soft spoken man but with
a good-humored demeanor. He has acquired that essential server trait, attentive
without hovering. He kept watch over his tables and seemingly anticipate our
needs before we were aware of them. He did add to the enjoyment of the meal.
We perused the extensive menu, snacking on the croutons much
as you would some peanuts or crackers. There is a full dinner menu and the late
night-lunch men as well as selections for children. There are sections for
soups and salads, appetizers, entrees including lamb, chicken and beef
selections, seafood, add-on to your meal and side dishes. Also listed are
specialty mixed drinks, beer, wines and cordials. There is also a dessert
section with lots of sweet and luscious things to make you really go off your
diet. The reading of the menu was mostly for curiosity sake as we both already
knew it was going to be a prime rib night. The only question was what size? We
both chose the one-pound cut. I would eat all of mine there, in the restaurant,
while Janis would take half of hers home for dinner the next day. Tomorrow I
would be on my own for dinner.
The One-Pound cut of prime rib ($19.99 “The best prime rib in town. Our superb roast prime rib of
beef, perfectly aged for 35 days or more, perfectly prepared, rubbed on the
outside with Harold’s Secret Steak Spices & simply delicious!” Served with
choice of “Au Jus,” creamy horseradish sauce or regular horseradish. The Star
of the Show! All dinners served with our homemade garlic croutons, bakery fresh
rolls, choice of traditional or Caesar salad, and your choice of baked potato,
Harold's homemade French fries, homemade garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato
puffs, seasoned black beans and yellow rice, creamed spinach, broccoli, or
vegetable medley. Choose from one of Harold’s six signature homemade salad
dressings: blue cheese, classic vinaigrette, French, garlic ranch, honey
mustard or thousand island.)Janis ordered the Caesar salad, the one-pound cut of prime
rib, medium rare, with garlic mashed potatoes, Au Jus. I ordered the
traditional salad with thousand island dressing, a one-pound cut of prime rib,
medium rare, Au Jus, and a baked potato with all the fixings. Our salads and
rolls arrived soon after. Janis Caesar salad was Romaine lettuce with a creamy
Caesar dressing and a generous portion of shredded Parmesan cheese. She said
the salad was good, average but perhaps a bit too much garlic and Parmesan
isn’t one of her favorite cheese. That being said, she did finish her salad.
My salad was of mixed greens and a bit of red cabbage and
some cherry tomatoes for color and texture. The house thousand island was
creamy and smooth, adequate for the amount of salad and very tasty. With the
freshly baked roll, it was a good start for the meal. A few of the crouton
snacks also went well in the salad. About the time we finished our salads the
entrée arrived.
The prime rib is served on an oval platter. Even though the
baked potato on mine was of medium size, there was little extra room on the
platter for the portion cup of Jus and a sprig of parsley. Janis’ serving was
very lean, only a small piece of fat on one edge. It was beautiful medium rare,
a pinkish red, enough to get any carnivore very interested. Accompanying was a
substantial serving of garlic mashed potatoes. She said the beef was very
tender and delicious. The garlic mashed potatoes were also very good she said.
They were of a rustic variety, bits of potato in a creamy potato and garlic
mixture garnished with a bit of parsley. Except for the half piece of prime rib
that went into the take-home container she managed to clean her plate quite
handily.My prime rib was also a perfect rosy red medium rare piece
of meat. Being a steak house, the standard table setting is a steak knife. This
cut of meat was tender enough that a standard place setting butter knife was
all that was needed to cut through the thick slice of prime rib. The 35 day
aging does a good job of breaking down the fibers and the result is a piece of
meat that is almost butter smooth. Even if I had planned to eat only half and
take the rest home, it would never have happened that afternoon. I ate it
all. Harold seasons the outside of the
roast with their seasoning blend. Much of that seasoning is still on the edge
of the prime rib slices. To my personal taste, that seasoning doesn’t need to
be there. All that cut of meat needs, even though my cardiologist says no, is a
slight sprinkle of salt. It was an excellent cut of meat, flavorful and tender
to the max. The baked potato, of medium size, was one that is cooked in batches
and kept warm for the upcoming service. That makes for an okay potato but not
the best. The butter, sour cream, bacon, cheese and chives added to the top
surely made it seem better than it was. Normally I eat the skin of the baked
potato but that was not the case this time.
Other than a couple of little things that I think could be
done better, it was still a delicious and enjoyable meal, more than ample to
sate even the heartiest of appetites. The service was quick and courteous. It
all made for a memorable interlude and a nice way to low-key celebrate our
wedding anniversary. If anyone asks me, I’ll simply say, ”Sam Seltzers is a
good place to go.”
Labels: baked potato, birthday, cake, garlic, Harold, house, mashed potatoes, prime rib, Selt6zer, Seltzer's, St Petersburg, steak
¶ 2:07 PM 0 Comments
Friday, May 18, 2012
Longhorn Steakhouse - Ellijay, GA
Longhorn Steakhouse
30 Highland Xing South East Ellijay, GA 30540
(706) 515-0050
It was a weeklong trip to Georgia. We went to get a little “away time” and to help Cousin Bill finish some chore at his mountain cabin. It is located in rural and mountainous north-west Georgia near some historic Civil War battlefields. There was a sink to install and a pesky problem with the wiring in a three-way stairway light circuit. After the bugs had been ironed out there was some time to walk the dogs along Shakerag Creek and enjoy the night sky; brilliant when not overwhelmed by the lights of the city. A full moon crossed the late evening sky and the telescope was able to depict the rough, irregular outline of lunar mountains on the curved edge of the moon. Deer and black bear were seen in the area. It was all very awe-inspiring, relaxing and an enjoyable break from routine.
During the week we ate simple fare. No need to stock the pantry with food items to lure critters big and small into the cabin when it is closed for the season. By the week’s end we were ready for something more suitable for ravenous carnivores. Known from previous visits, Bill led us to the Longhorn Steakhouse in Ellijay, the small town closest to his mountain cabin retreat. The Longhorn Steakhouse is part of a chain of 354 restaurants located across 33 states. The original Longhorn opened in 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia. Not doing well at first, a quirk of weather, a snowstorm that stranded hundreds of motorists, allowed the fledgling restaurant to garner customers with the offer of $1 drinks. More successes followed and the chain has grown considerably since. If you are interested in more history of the Longhorn Steakhouse, Wikipedia has an excellent article. Sporting a western theme, the steakhouse is decorated with paintings and western-cowboy memorabilia.
We were walk-in customers and we had a short wait in the adequate waiting area, about five minutes before a table was available. There is also a lounge if you desire. We were led to a booth that is roomy and comfortable. As I mentioned the ambiance is set by the western themed decorations but it is hampered by being woefully under lit. It is just plain dark. (I apologize ahead of time for the poor quality of the photos as I don’t use flash in the restaurants.) I had left my reading glasses back at the cabin. As a result I was unable to read the menu. It looked like a bunch of smudges on the paper under the pictures. I had to wait until my wife had made her selection and borrow her glasses to see what wonders the menu held in store.
Known for their steaks and fine meat cuts, their signature dish is Flo’s Filet. However, we chose other delectable’s from the menu. The wife chose a Prime Rib ((Slow-roasted USDA Choice prime rib served au jus and horseradish sauce. While available 12-oz $19.79 16-oz $22.49) I chose a new menu item, Fire-Grilled Flat Iron Steak (A marinated 8-oz Flat Iron steak with the hearty flavor of a sirloin. $12.99) The steaks and prime rib are served with a choice of side, salad and “unlimited freshly-baked Honey Wheat bread.” Additional sides are available at $2.69 to $3.99. Also offered are “Great Steak Additions” ranging from lobster tail ($9.29) to sautéed mushrooms ($3.49). I chose the sautéed mushrooms.
The wife’s prime rib was a large luscious center-cut that needed a platter. It was cooked as ordered to medium-rare. With the baked potato and the bread it was much more than she could finish and the left-over carried home in a doggie bag provided a tasty lunch the next day.
The meals were preceded by a salad; a nice bowl of mixed greens, shredded carrots and croutons. Adequate dressing was provided and with the hot buttered bread made a nice introduction to the meal. I ordered the “loaded” baked potato with butter, sour cream and chives. It had all that and they didn’t skimp. There was still a lot of butter and cream in the last bites of the potato. I also appreciated that the potato skins were oven baked and not steamed in a wrapping of aluminum foil. The slightly crispy skin is so good when cut up with the last bits of potato. The steak was a nice large piece of meat, nicely grilled and cooked to order, medium with a warm pink center. The meat was tender cutting easily with a knife, easy to chew and had a very good flavor. By the end of the meal, unfortunately, there was nothing left to take home for tomorrow’s lunch. The additional side order of sautéed mushrooms were served in a large ramekin. It was a nice large serving of button mushrooms, nicely butter fried. I ladled them on the potato and steak but they would have been just as good had I ate them as a vegetable side dish.
The ambient noise level was low and casual conversation across the table was easy and contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the evening. I noticed that they Longhorn does feature live entertainment. Considering the size of the dining room, entertainment sessions would make for a very loud environment. If you prefer casual conversation to raucous live music I suggest you check their entertainment schedule. We were fortunate to arrive in a quiet moment.
From our arrival to our departure, the staff were all amiable, courteous and very efficient. The initial greeting by the hostess, the server at our table, they all made us feel quite at home. It is a very well run organization. The food was good, had good presentation, the staff performed excellently. For our dinner, I have compliments and no complaints save one; turn up the lights a bit, please.
30 Highland Xing South East Ellijay, GA 30540
(706) 515-0050
It was a weeklong trip to Georgia. We went to get a little “away time” and to help Cousin Bill finish some chore at his mountain cabin. It is located in rural and mountainous north-west Georgia near some historic Civil War battlefields. There was a sink to install and a pesky problem with the wiring in a three-way stairway light circuit. After the bugs had been ironed out there was some time to walk the dogs along Shakerag Creek and enjoy the night sky; brilliant when not overwhelmed by the lights of the city. A full moon crossed the late evening sky and the telescope was able to depict the rough, irregular outline of lunar mountains on the curved edge of the moon. Deer and black bear were seen in the area. It was all very awe-inspiring, relaxing and an enjoyable break from routine.
During the week we ate simple fare. No need to stock the pantry with food items to lure critters big and small into the cabin when it is closed for the season. By the week’s end we were ready for something more suitable for ravenous carnivores. Known from previous visits, Bill led us to the Longhorn Steakhouse in Ellijay, the small town closest to his mountain cabin retreat. The Longhorn Steakhouse is part of a chain of 354 restaurants located across 33 states. The original Longhorn opened in 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia. Not doing well at first, a quirk of weather, a snowstorm that stranded hundreds of motorists, allowed the fledgling restaurant to garner customers with the offer of $1 drinks. More successes followed and the chain has grown considerably since. If you are interested in more history of the Longhorn Steakhouse, Wikipedia has an excellent article. Sporting a western theme, the steakhouse is decorated with paintings and western-cowboy memorabilia.
We were walk-in customers and we had a short wait in the adequate waiting area, about five minutes before a table was available. There is also a lounge if you desire. We were led to a booth that is roomy and comfortable. As I mentioned the ambiance is set by the western themed decorations but it is hampered by being woefully under lit. It is just plain dark. (I apologize ahead of time for the poor quality of the photos as I don’t use flash in the restaurants.) I had left my reading glasses back at the cabin. As a result I was unable to read the menu. It looked like a bunch of smudges on the paper under the pictures. I had to wait until my wife had made her selection and borrow her glasses to see what wonders the menu held in store.
Known for their steaks and fine meat cuts, their signature dish is Flo’s Filet. However, we chose other delectable’s from the menu. The wife chose a Prime Rib ((Slow-roasted USDA Choice prime rib served au jus and horseradish sauce. While available 12-oz $19.79 16-oz $22.49) I chose a new menu item, Fire-Grilled Flat Iron Steak (A marinated 8-oz Flat Iron steak with the hearty flavor of a sirloin. $12.99) The steaks and prime rib are served with a choice of side, salad and “unlimited freshly-baked Honey Wheat bread.” Additional sides are available at $2.69 to $3.99. Also offered are “Great Steak Additions” ranging from lobster tail ($9.29) to sautéed mushrooms ($3.49). I chose the sautéed mushrooms.
The wife’s prime rib was a large luscious center-cut that needed a platter. It was cooked as ordered to medium-rare. With the baked potato and the bread it was much more than she could finish and the left-over carried home in a doggie bag provided a tasty lunch the next day.
The meals were preceded by a salad; a nice bowl of mixed greens, shredded carrots and croutons. Adequate dressing was provided and with the hot buttered bread made a nice introduction to the meal. I ordered the “loaded” baked potato with butter, sour cream and chives. It had all that and they didn’t skimp. There was still a lot of butter and cream in the last bites of the potato. I also appreciated that the potato skins were oven baked and not steamed in a wrapping of aluminum foil. The slightly crispy skin is so good when cut up with the last bits of potato. The steak was a nice large piece of meat, nicely grilled and cooked to order, medium with a warm pink center. The meat was tender cutting easily with a knife, easy to chew and had a very good flavor. By the end of the meal, unfortunately, there was nothing left to take home for tomorrow’s lunch. The additional side order of sautéed mushrooms were served in a large ramekin. It was a nice large serving of button mushrooms, nicely butter fried. I ladled them on the potato and steak but they would have been just as good had I ate them as a vegetable side dish.
The ambient noise level was low and casual conversation across the table was easy and contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the evening. I noticed that they Longhorn does feature live entertainment. Considering the size of the dining room, entertainment sessions would make for a very loud environment. If you prefer casual conversation to raucous live music I suggest you check their entertainment schedule. We were fortunate to arrive in a quiet moment.
From our arrival to our departure, the staff were all amiable, courteous and very efficient. The initial greeting by the hostess, the server at our table, they all made us feel quite at home. It is a very well run organization. The food was good, had good presentation, the staff performed excellently. For our dinner, I have compliments and no complaints save one; turn up the lights a bit, please.
Labels: Ellijay, flat iron, Geerogia, loaded baked potato, Longhorn, mushrooms, prime rib, steak, Steakhouse
¶ 12:00 PM 0 Comments
