Tonight my friend M and I dined at my favorite restaurant on the planet: the LaSalle Grill in South Bend. It’s primarily a steak house, although the other entrees on the menu aren’t slouches, judging by what other diners choose. It’s just that I can’t get past the succulent steak.
M had never been to the LaSalle Grill, while I’ve been there once or twice a year for the past twenty years. Since we were both having a significant “Big O” birthday this summer, we decided this is how we would treat each other.
It’s a small place; most likely the kitchen is larger than the dining room. Which means it’s intimate, if you come early; it’s gets louder as the evening goes on. We arrived at 5:30, before the crowd, and it was wonderful.
I’ve come to believe the LaSalle Grill’s excellence is mostly about the service. When we were seated at our table, both M and I had birthday cards signed by the staff of the day. Our menus had our names on them too. Our server inquired if this was our real birthday or somewhere in-between. It was the latter, which meant we didn’t get complimentary desserts. But we were so full by then it didn’t matter.
Did I mention M and I shared a shrimp cocktail and a wedge salad? In some places, it’s become standard of late to charge for splitting an order. But not at LaSalle Grill. Additionally, our silverware was replaced after every course.
The entrees – filet mignon for me, ribeye for M – arrived on a bed of softly roasted potatoes and tuxedo onions with bright green string beans and bright yellow carrots as the color commentary. As we ate, the maître d’ came by and asked if there was anything else we needed.
Needless to say, the LaSalle Grill is not inexpensive. But if you consider the meal as the evening’s entertainment, it’s on par with seeing a Broadway show. It takes about as long and you leave the building with fond memories.
That sounds delightfu,Anne.