Red Star Tavern is a new restaurant in town, located in East Chase, where Crepes Egg-cetera used to be. I was initially hesitant to go there because the sign outside is off a martini glass, and I associate taverns with bars, not grills. I would have to say I was completely mistaken.
Walking in, you see the atmosphere is wood paneled upscale chop house. Walking through the bar area to the spacious seating area, you will pick up a beat in your step from the classical Jazz and blues playing overhead. It is like an upscale BBQ shack, serving everything from the lowly $12 meatloaf, all the way up to the $33 Porterhouse.
For drinks, I had a golden Cadillac martini, which was essentially, a mini margarita, made from Patron Anejo Tequila, Cointreau, Grand Marnier, and Sweet & Sour. It was served in a stemless martini glass, and shaken and poured directly at my table.
Our appetizer was a sweet pepper cornbread with honey butter. It was really good, the Jalepeno's really complemented the sweetness of the corn bread. I would have to say that this was even better than Smokey Bones' corn bread, witch I like as well.
Dinner was a sesame encrusted Tuna steak with ginger sauce cooked MR for myself, and the Sirloin Stack cooked MW for the wife. The tuna was cooked spot-on, although for $20, I would have like to get more than just 8 oz. The ginger sauce went really well with the tuna, but the sauce on my plate was broken, and was mainly islets of flavor surrounded by butter fat. The tuna without the sauce was unremarkable, and almost tasteless. I would definitely try it again if they could keep a sauce together. I had a Cesar salad and sweet potato fries for my sides. The Cesar was good, but a little different, instead of Parmesan, it tasted like they used blue cheese or gorgonzola and the croutons were toasted chunks of their sweet corn bread. The sweet fries were great. I first discovered them at a place downtown called Noble's, and these are almost as good. The Sirloin stack was a stack of thin cuts of Sirloin interleaved with thick oven roasted tomato slices, on a bed of carmelized onions. The sirloin was tender. The cooking to MW left charred stripes of burnt that detracted from the flavor. The onions were soft, but not carmelized. The mashed potatoes that came as a side were good; had a good balance of both mealy and new potatoes; and had bits of red skins, adding to the texture and presentation.
We had the brownie for dessert. It was truly an abomination of anything even resembling food. It was a homogeneous lump of what looked and felt like solidified slurry of cornstarch and cocoa powder. It broke apart into solid chunks, in almost crystal-like formations of irregular cubes. I think that someone must have messed up that batch, as I don't think any self respecting chef would ever conjure up a recipe so sadistically gross.
The service was spectacular. It was definitely outstanding for Montgomery. We had an attentive waiter that was actually interested in helping us, and at least 3 floor managers that were genuinely interested in our dining experience. The staff was familiar with the menu, although hazy on wine recommendations. Our waiter served my wine with my cocktail, and took a really long time getting my sweet fries out. That by itself did nothing much to detract from the meal, and we left pleased and ready to return.
Overall, on my Bonefish rating scale, I would have to give Red Star 1.50 Bonefishes. Their menu is more varied, the dining area and bar is larger, the ambiance is better, and there are more parking spaces. The Service is on par with, or slightly better than bonefish as well. Red Star is a definite must eat.
