Prime-al satisfaction
New steakhouse a carnivore's delight
By Matthew Singer 01/25/2008
Ever since I was a kid, I have been an unabashed carnivore. From the chicken sticks I apparently devoured by the jarful as a child - my aunt swears I must still have a stockpile somewhere to this day - to the weekly (OK, twice weekly) fast food hamburgers I often succumb to as a late night meal, I just enjoy consuming meat (get your mind out of the gutter). If it had a mother, I'll eat it.
This is not a popular sentiment these days, of course. And believe me, I do not announce my proclivity for dead animal flesh with pride. It is something I have been battling from the moment I so boldly declared myself a liberal and popped that chad for Al Gore in the election of my 18th year. How can I be (in theory) pro-environment while supporting an industry responsible for decimating the rain forest? How can I oppose the mistreatment of animals when I derive so much joy - indirectly - from their slaughter? These are the issues I struggle with every time I bite into a Famous Star, every time I sink my teeth into a hot dog, every time I shove seven chicken sticks in my mouth at the same time. Guess I am a Catholic after all.
But let me tell all you other beasts of prey out there something: There is no need to feel guilty about enjoying Prime Steakhouse.
Recently opened at the corner of Thompson Boulevard and Anacapa Street, the restaurant is the latest attempt to class-up a corridor long dominated by liquor stores and sleazebag motels. This place is fancy with an extra schmancy - the kind of place that charges $5.50 for water imported from the French Alps or whatever (since the glass they gave me was free, I'm assuming they serve regular ol' tap water as well). Many native Venturans will point to this new establishment as another example of the Santa Barbara-ization of our once-humble little burgh, but in the case of Thompson, a bit of pretentious upper-crustiness can't hurt a neighborhood which hosts a cheap motel known colloquially as the "Crystal Meth Lodge."
And besides, when it comes to the actual dining experience at Prime, there is nothing to complain about. Well, it is exorbitantly priced - the cheapest entrée is a $17 stuffed chicken breast - but you know what you're getting your wallet into before you're even seated. And the waiter kept calling me "buddy," which I found slightly annoying.
But the food. Oh, the food. My filet mignon was a vision in brown, grilled to perfection (as advertised on the menu), juicy and tender and altogether salacious. The side baked potato - though not, as the menu claimed, "The Best" - was still an explosion of deliciousness and bright orange cheese, which seemed to bubble over the edges like magma from Krakatoa, threatening to bury taste buds in an avalanche of salivatory goodness.
Hyperbole? Maybe. After all, I am a sucker for a good slab of meat. And with a place like Prime in town, I have no reservations shouting that from the rooftops - progressive liberal registration card be damned.
Prime Steakhouse
2009 E. Thompson Blvd.
Ventura
652-1055
$7-$35
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Forced to pay for food we sent back and never ate!
Went there with my gal on a Saturday night for a nice romantic dinner. We had reservations for 7 PM.
Our waiter was nice, but the service was a bit on the slow side, I figured this was due to the weekend crowds—but the food was sub par.
The first course came out about fifteen minutes after we ordered- for me it was Tuna Tar Tare- not bad. Hers was some shrimp. The salad for me came out after another ten minutes. I had a wedge, which was not a wedge, just a slice of lettuce. My partner had some soup, which was the best part of the meal.
Once those were done, we sat for half an hour with no one checking on us.
The owner was busy fawning over a table of people to the right of us.
At that point I figured that it would be best to go elsewhere but it was my gal’s first time and the reviews seems to reflect a great dinning experience from others.
After forty minutes from our initial order being submitted, a server showed up with our food and quickly left, never to return.
I had ordered an end cut of Prime Rib, but this piece of meat looked like a bar-b-qued pork shoulder. It was slightly warm, dried out and tasteless. My partner’s chicken was cold, old and dry. Her creamed spinach had un-melted cheese inside.
We pushed our plates aside and waited for someone- anyone to come over and check on us. After ten minutes of staring at the staff, a different young gentleman came by to ask if we wanted doggie bags. I said the food was terrible, tasteless, and cold. He asked if we wanted him to reheat it!
He removed the food and headed to the back.
The couple at the table next to us said their food was cold and tasteless as well, but they weren’t going to say anything until they heard me complain.
Our server came by and asked what the problem was and I told him. He said he’d take care of it. I said I would be happy to pay for the drinks and the two courses that we consumed. He said he agreed with that.
Upon his return, he said the owner refused to only charge us with only what we ate, and that we would have to pay the whole bill, including the food that we sent back!
I went to talk to her ( her name is Jan) but she refused to only charge us with the items we consumed, but did offer to give us a free meal the next time. I said the food was so bad, we would never come back. I again asked her to charge us what we ate, but she flatly refused and claimed they could not resell the food and that we had to pay. She said no one else was unhappy with the food. I told her to ask the table next to us as they had the same complaints. She said she was “not going to go there”.
Then she said she was going to have to ask me to pay the bill and immediately leave her restaurant. I said I had no bill yet! She claimed it was on the table, but it was not. The server had been holding the bill. I paid and we left.
Stay away from PRIME !!