The Buffalo Chop House
282 Franklin Street, Buffalo
842-6900
The Buffalo Chop House, true to its name, serves some of the finest meats in Buffalo. With its prime, aged beef and scrumptious rack of lamb, all meat lovers should grab their (full) wallets and head over to 282 Franklin St.
The Buffalo Chop House knows what it is: a world-class steak house, modeled after Morton's of Chicago or Ruth Chris's national chain. From the moment you arrive, the friendly and competent valets take your car and the maitre d' welcomes you into the restaurant as a long-lost relative and the most important person dining there that night.
The d?(c)cor of this restaurant shouts steakhouse with its masculine maroon colors and dimly lit dining rooms, all newly decorated for the restaurant's recent opening on Nov. 18. There is also a private third-floor dining room for intimate parties of six, surrounded by comfortable leather couches and an inviting fireplace.
The restaurant boasts an a la carte menu, with long lists of choices for appetizers, entr?(c)es, side dishes and desserts.
Appetizers include crab cakes with very little filling and a lot of fresh crab, a tuna tartare piled high and surrounded by greens and wasabi, crispy fried and very tender calamari, and a lobster bisque, among others. My guests and I ordered the tuna tartare (raw tuna with ginger), Portobello mushroom with scallops and the lobster bisque, all of which were delicious. Appetizers ranged from $8 to $14.
Salad offerings include a mesclin green salad, Caesar, a baby spinach salad and my choice, a beefsteak tomato and mozzarella cheese combination with some of the largest slices of tomatoes I have ever seen. Also featured is a Chop House Salad, a serving of many fresh chopped vegetables. Salads are large enough for two to share and are priced at less than $10.
The main course, though, is what patrons of this restaurant look forward to. They include a 48-ounce Porterhouse steak, a 12-ounce filet mignon, a Chateaubriand for two, Colorado rack of lamb and a veal chop that nearly falls off the plate. If beef does not fit into your diet, Chop House Chef Sam Reda, arguably one of Buffalo's most creative and talented chefs, boasts some of the freshest seafood in town with choices like grilled swordfish, Asian-style tuna or pan-seared salmon.
The main reason my guests and I went to the Chop House, however, was to try the beef, so we ordered the filet mignon, the Chateaubriand and the Colorado rack of lamb. All three came exactly as ordered: medium rare, red and juicy; warm in the middle and crisp and lean on the outside. In fact, the lamb was so lean that we could hardly find any fat or marbling on the cut. These dishes range from $20 to $30 per plate.
Side dishes - from mashed potatoes to broccoli to asparagus - cost $5 to $7.
If your stomach and your wallet can handle it, the desserts at the Chop House are worth waiting for. They are all homemade, even the fresh sorbets featured nightly on the menu. Let's face it, though; if you came here for the beef, you're not on a diet. We ordered the fresh apple pie a la mode, the frozen white chocolate souffl?(c) and the bananas foster, which is bananas saut?(c)ed with brandy, butter and pecans and served with ice cream. We turned down the volcanic chocolate cake, a mound of chocolate surrounded by raspberry and vanilla sauces, and the fresh strawberry cheesecake.
The Chop House offered a selection of wines to suit the selection of meals. The list is as varied as it is long, but also very fair in terms of prices. Only a handful of wines topped the $75 price range and most could be had for under $50.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
