Call me unAmerican, but most of the time I go out to dinner, I go for Thai food or Japanese. Although I love a hamburger, I rarely crave a steak, or have any interest in spending dinner-menu prices for something just as easily cooked on my patio grill.
But sometimes a steak is exactly what you want, and despite all the bad press red meat had gotten, it at least has the merit of being high-protein and low-carb. That's how I wound up at the Bloomfield Steak & Seafood House over Memorial Day Weekend.
Here's the first pleasant surprise: there's free off-street parking. And the second: you walk into a restaurant that's charmingly Colonial. If the Nevada Diner has been your only experience with Bloomfield dining, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the understated atmosphere of the Bloomfield Steakhouse, with its barn-red walls, brick fireplace and rough-hewn beams in the bar. (Yes, it has a liquor license!) There's also a lovely patio, with umbrellas, in the back.
I had the New York Strip, cooked medium, a 16-oz. behemoth that I almost finished, along with garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. That's another almost unexpected pleasure in grown-up dining these days, not having to ante up an extra $10 for a little lettuce before the meal. The house salad came with a surprisingly tasty balsamic vinaigrette and, since I asked it, blue cheese crumbles. The steak was delicious and a value at $21.95.
My companions, for the same price, had the Baby Back Ribs Combo, a half rack of barbecued ribs along with some gigantic (pardon the oxymoron) breaded shrimp. There are good ribs to be had all over Baristaville, but they were delighted with their meal. In a refreshing demonstration of honesty, our waitress waived us off the broiled Chilean Sea Bass, saying that customers who ordered it were not as satisfied as steak eaters.
We followed with two desserts, a Key Lime pie that was just so-so and a to-die-for Steakhouse Brownie, which consisted of an oven-heated brownie, drizzled in fudge sauce and topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. If you've got something really worthy to celebrate, order it for yourself. For less guilt, ask for several forks and split it with your companions. After all, you didn't come for the carbs.
Bloomfield Steak & Seafood. 409 Franklin St., Bloomfield. 973.680.4500.
LOVE this place. Never had a bad meal there.