Last night I went to Carmine's Steak House for dinner. My boos and I were in town for a meeting and decided to find a fine dining solution for our craving. Steak and a potato was the mission. With the help of the concierge at our hotel, we decided on Carmine's Steak House. According to the hotel staff, Carmine's is a fine dining steak house in the heart of downtown. the restaurant is connected to the Drury Plaza Hotel on the corner of Fourth and Walnut.
Carmine's Steak House was opened in 2000 and is run by the Lombardo family. The Lombardo's have a proud tradition of operating restaurants in st. Louis dating back to the early 1900s. Carmine's is the newest restaurant in the Lombardo family.
When we arrived, the atmosphere was decidedly traditional. The place settings were nice, but the walls, lighting and floral arrangements seemed a bit dated. The staff was dressed professionally, however upon arrival for our 7:30 p.m. reservation we found the host station abandoned. After waiting for several minutes, the host appeared. He first seated us right near the door at a table right out in the middle of the action. We sat there for a minute before the host came back and offered us a better table. We accepted it and moved.
As for the menu, the options were pretty standard for a steak house. A variety of chicken, pork, beef and seafood options abound. Since I had steak on my mind, I perused the beef portion of the menu. When it comes to steak, I always enjoy a good New York strip steak. The lean cut is one of my favorites and when aged correctly and cooked to perfection, slices will melt in your mouth. So I ordered up the most petite New York strip available, which still weighed in at 14 ounces. The entrees include a salad and a choice of one side. So I selected a house salad with blue cheese dressing and gorgonzola crumbles. For the side I went with a twice baked potato.
I was excited to see the arrival of my steak after reading in the menu that Carmine's ages their steaks for a minimum of 21 days. Spending that time aging the beef, helps break down the fat and melt it into the meat. the result is a greatly enhanced beef flavor and a very tender piece of meat. Watching the tables around us get their meat, just helped build the anticipation.
My salad arrived and it looked at first as if it had no dressing on it. After taking a closer look, I saw that the salad had blue cheese dressing. The greens were fresh and it was piled high with gorgonzola crumbles and lot's of black olives. The salad had a crisp bite and tasted great.
After polishing off the salad, I ordered a glass of pinot noir and it arrived just as my entree arrived. The steak looked great and it was appropriately accompanied by a huge twice-baked potato. The potato was hot and so creamy. Each bite of the potato was filled with fluffy goodness. I sliced off my first bite of steak and was in heaven. The meat melted in my mouth and I could taste all that aging. There wasn't much conversation going on at the table.
After polishing off my steak, I thought it would be nice to cap off a great meal with something for dessert. While I was eavesdropping the dessert options at the table next to ours, I heard about a lemon cake. Our own server didn't mention the lemon cake in his dessert presentation so I inquired. He said that he knew the lemon cake was available, but he couldn't describe much about it. While it was disappointing from a service standpoint that he didn't know the menu options completely, I ordered the lemon cake anyway. And I am glad that I did. The cake was tart and light, but the whipped cream topping was the best part of the dessert. It was light, fluffy and refreshing. What a nice finish to a meal.
The steak was priced at $34 including the salad and side. So overall the price was appropriate for what we got. While the service could have been better, the steak was great and the lemon cake was exceptional. Updating the decor for a more modern touch and improving the knowledge of the staff would bring Carmine's to the top. Given all of that, it is still a great place to get a delicious steak in downtown St. Louis.
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