Listen to THIS while reading this post.
You all know I love cooking food. Even more, I love going to a fabulous restaurant and figuring out their secrets in my kitchen when I get home. What's better than that? Finding a restaurant who's food I cannot recreate. I love to find some place special where the food is so exquisite that I cannot even fathom embarrassing myself with their delectable creations.
Over the summer, I was spending a good deal of time in Charleston
. I met a man who lived there and he asked me on a date. This person is not much unlike myself in he is rather intense. When he wants something, he will pull out all stops to make it happen. He asked me down for dinner one evening, promising an incredible evening. It was! But this post isn't about this man or about the date, it's about how I fell in love with Halls Chophouse. (Watch your volume on that link.)
My date had reserved the best table in the house. He'd told them this was a very special girl and that he wanted to impress her. The owners not only gave him the best table they have, by the front window in front of King Street, but they made my seat the perfectly angled seat that sees everything. I could see all down the street and all over the restaurant. We didn't get there until about 9, and having worked in restaurants for about 10 years, I wondered how long they had to leave that table vacant on a very busy evening to make sure we had the spot.
Halls Chophouse is owned and operated by the family. On any given night, you would expect to see Papa Hall and his two handsome sons, Tommy and Billy, greet you at either the front or back entrance. Trust me, their eyes are all over the restaurant carefully watching the patrons, and you will not be missed. Just as I Iearned to expect, one of the sons welcomed us directly upon entrance and didn't rush us off to our table. First he paused to talk to us about how we were and how happy they were to be a part of our evening. Then he lead us to our table where the server was waiting already with his white cloth over his arm- poised for our every need. Billy, one of the sons, pulled out my chair, setting me in that perfect seat.
Our dinner started with a wine that has become a certain favorite. A red blend called Prisoner. I'm not much of a Zinfandel fan, but we spoke of its blends. Zinfandel is the leading grape at almost half the blend, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and then about 3 more grapes. By this point I was enamored with the restaurant and the flavor of the wine felt robustly flirtatious with my taste buds. It had just begun.
My date ordered everything for us. I didn't have to think of a thing other than my simmering awe and amazement. For an appetizer, he'd ordered the Tuna Tartar. While I only began eating fish as an adult, I've not ever had any tuna taste like that. It's flavor was soft and warm - I am not referring to texture or heat. When the Prisoner was sipped with it, the sauce the Tuna Tartar was in enveloped the robust wine. I literally had to set my glass down and brace my chair.
During every moment of the night, I only had to even glance up to find someone noticing immediately my every need. Every one of the Halls stopped by our table and chatted with us several times. Their conversation is so inviting, it made us feel like family or old friends.
I felt pampered, adored and I was eating things I've only tasted without flavor in my dreams. I thought by dinner there could be no comparison or way to top what I had already experienced. For dinner, you can look at Halls menu, or even better, you can know they have more than what the menu details. I was given an off-menu bone-in filet mignon. There are only two on any cow. What's important here is that the meat around a bone is the most flavorful. You may already know that a filet mignon is known for being the most tender of steaks. Now combine that bone-in flavor and the tender doesn't-even-need-a-knife texture. It's truly extraordinary!
My date had ordered himself an off-menu bone-in strip. Strip are known for being a bit more tough and fatty than a filet. Hey, that filet cut like warm butter, so anything would be more tough. I thought his decisions for our meals were supremely well chosen. He gave me a bite of his strip. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment I lost myself. Especially when combined with the wine flavor- this is the single best experience of my life as it relates to food, restaurants, and probably dating overall. How do I say this is a classy way... I felt almost like Meg Ryan at lunch in When Harry Met Sally -only I wasn't faking it.
How could that bone-in strip and Prisoner wine have possibly tasted together? Have you ever had a bacon wrapped filet? Forget that. This was like a bacon infused steak. It was like someone came up with a hybrid super bacon-steak. The wine cut into the flavors and, like an orchestra conductor, the wine made the steak play the song you're hearing in my mouth.
If you go down to Charleston, you should go find out what it feels like to be a member of the Hall Family. I went several times over the summer and trust me, it is worth it! My date called me the a couple of days later just to tell me how great the Halls were. Apparently Mr. Hall had hand written a card and mailed it to him. He wanted to thank us for joining them that evening. How sweet, especially when they were the reason I had such an amazing evening!
By the way, that's my all-time favorite song- Benny Goodman's Sing Sing Sing.
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