N9ne Steakhouse

Last night we dined at N9ne Steakhouse, across the street from the W Hotel. It was really good! After having been swept off my feet by the service at Fearings, though, I have to confess that I wasn't quite as blown away as I had hoped to be. Now don't get me wrong - N9ne was very good! But after we had been seated, it took a little while for someone to come by and greet our table. Once they did, we were treated pretty well. I did think that our waiter was a little on the haughty side, but I didn't hear anyone else complain.

We ordered martinis and they were wonderful. Mia and I had the pomegranate martinis and LOVED them! David had his usual gin martini, but it was apparently just as he liked it, so no complaints. We started with the "Shrooms", which were stuffed mushrooms with crab meat on them. They were really good! Very flavorful and frsh out of the oven for sure! (HOT!) Then our salads arrived. Mia had the Wedge salad (iceberg wedge with ranch dressing, bacon, and crumbled egg.) She gave it a big thumbs up! I had the tomato salad, which was a sliced tomato with a basil mint sauce drizzled over it. It was very good, but I didn't think it was all that special. (But I liked it just fine.) David had the salmon tartare, and he would have liked it better without diced tomatoes and onions, but that's a personal preference for him. It looked very good and had wonderful plate presentation.

David and I both had the Kobe steak for dinner. It was nestled in a creamy sauce with peppercorns in it. I could have done without the sauce, but the steak was very good. Mia had the chicken, which was flash fried and oven-finished. it was well seasoned, a bit spicy (in a good way!) and rested on a bed of corn and peppers, which also had a wonderful zip to it. We ordered two side dishes. One was the mac-n-cheese and the other was creamed spinach. These two side dishes were my favorite part of the meal! The mac-n-cheese was amazing! It had bits of smoky bacon and chives, and it was delicious! The spinach was creamy and delicious, and the cheese on top formed a bit of a crust on top when baked, and I loved that!!! Really, I could just go for the side dishes! They also had a bunch more, but two was plenty for three people.

Our meal was capped off with Black Forest Cheesecake and a frozen lemon bar with raspberries. Both were good, but the cheesecake just seemed like regular chocolate cheesecake...nothing special. Mia's Lemon Bar was light and delicious. It's something I would want if I went back to N9ne.

Over all, it was a good experience. We had ordered a second round of drinks, and the manager felt like it took too long and the round was comped for us, which, honestly, wasn't necessary. (We didn't argue since the drinks were $14 each!) The food was good, and the service was good. I think I was just a little disappointed with the overall experience. Would I go back? It wouldn't be my first choice, but I might be persuaded. But hopefully the next time we might have a more personable waiter who would help us enjoy the evening a bit more.

I think of a scale on 1-5, I would give it a 3.75.

http://www.n9negroup.com/#/n9nedallas/main/