Last night I went to dinner with friends and was delighted to find that my host had selected a steakhouse for our meal. On some occasions, after a hard day’s work, only steak will truly satisfy the taste buds.
We went to a restaurant called XO, in Cleveland’s warehouse district. XO offers only prime cuts of steak, as well as the other food items you come to expect from steakhouses, like seafood, soups, a la carte side dishes that are big enough to share, a good wine list, and the obligatory breast of chicken. (Does anyone really ever order breast of chicken at a steakhouse? If so, why?)
The only thing that was unusual about the place was the music selection. It was distinctly on the new age side, where most steakhouses go for the vintage Frank Sinatra/Tony Bennett/big band background music soundtrack. XO’s dreamy tune choices made me feel like I’d be given a massage and a glass of herbal tea after the meal.
Who really cares about music, though, when you are getting ready to tear into a thick, juicy, well-prepared steak washed down with a fine dry red wine? We had a seafood platter appetizer, which featured excellent oysters, king crab legs, huge tiger prawns, and a lobster salad. For my meal I ordered the bone-in ribeye steak, cooked medium rare. It was succulent, and I gleefully sliced it up and gobbled up every bite. The meal was brought to an appropriate close with some apple cobbler.
When we departed after a very enjoyable evening, I pointed my well-nourished gut in the direction of our destination and left a happy man.
Webner House 