GREAT EATS HAWAII: METROPOLITAN GRILL

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

METROPOLITAN GRILL - SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

METROPOLITAN GRILL

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

The Metropolitan Grill was highly recommended by a former resident of Seattle. If there is one place you must go I was told, it was the Met. We made reservations and grabbed a cap from our hotel near the University to downtown Seattle. We entered the Met and were very quickly greeted and seated in a nice booth overlooking one of the dining rooms. This is your classic steakhouse with and old school feeling. Photographs of customers and celebrities fill the walls and the brass and hardwood finishes add to the ambiance. Our waiter was courteous and helped us start our meal with a bottle of local Merlot from the Wala Wala Region. I saw a plate of beautiful Onion Rings pass by our table and had to order some. The Metropolitan Thick Cut Onion Rings ($11) are served with a Red Curry Ketchup. These rings were probably the best I have ever eaten. The breading was delicious and had the perfect crunch. The Red Curry Ketchup was a bit bland. Really did not get the Curry taste. I tried the Organic Spinach Salad ($9) with petite mushrooms, toasted almonds, bacon, jack cheese and a honey mustard vinaigrette. This was a delicious salad. Right up there with the Side Street Inn Spinach Salad in Honolulu. Loved it. My friend enjoyed the Classic Caesar Salad ($9). Hand cut Romaine Hearts, garlic croutons, Parmigiano Reggiano and huge pieces of Spanish White Anchovies with a house made dressing. For the steaks, our waiter highly recommended we try the Wagyu Beef. He explained how it was perfectly marbled with just a hint of fat to add flavor. We splurged and went for the Small Long Bone Wagyu-Beef Bone-In Rib eye ($86). Yes that is $86 for the steak only. This is a huge 36 oz cut served on a long bone. There is also a large cut 50 oz portion for $99. I did not expect what came on the plate. A huge perfectly cooked steak served on the biggest Rib-Eye bone I had ever seen. This is a once in a lifetime experience I thought. You only live once so go for it one time. My first few bites were heavenly. I savored the flavor and thought this was one of the best cuts of beef I have had in my life. Cooked perfectly medium as suggested by the waiter and lightly charred on the outside. Each bite took me deeper into steak heaven and then came the fat. And more fat and more fat. Huge chunks of uneatable fat. I calmly placed the pieces of fat on one side of the plate. Is this normal I thought. Is this the way this expensive Wagyu Beef was supposed to be? When the waiter came to the table I showed him the fat and asked if this was normal. Right then I should have called bull shit. He went on and on about how all this fat was why this beef was special. He said that the fat makes the beef special and more flavorful. It should be eaten and savored he said. Eat all this fat I thought to myself, this guy is full of crap. I cut off what was left of the real meat and shared it with my friend. He had ordered the Small Filet ($55). It was cooked to perfection and delicious but not quite enough to fill up a guy that is 6' 4". Both the steaks were served with a large baked potato. They were delicious. This is one expensive steakhouse but the quality is top notch. I would be totally happy if the million dollar steak had not been so fatty and if the waiter would have come clean and told me the truth.