A Review of "Steak and Ale" Restaurant

A long, long time ago - - back in the olden days, as my kids would say - - when I was working in the food service business, "Steak and Ale" was THE place to go for wonderful atmosphere, great service, and excellent food. Although, this restaurant tends to be more expensive than some of its steakhouse competitors, it used to make up for that with soft, romantic lighting, tables by the fireplace, and tempting menu items.

Truthfully, I had not been to a "Steak and Ale" in at least 15 years. We did not have one in our home town in Oklahoma (where we lived from 1993 until 2004). However, back in my Yuppie days, when I was the senior vice president at the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, I would occasionally eat lunch at the Hampton "Steak and Ale." It is on one of those visits that I had probably the best meal of my life. I chose the filet mignon with baked potato and salad as well as the French silk pie for dessert. I have remembered that meal all my life. The steak literally melted in my mouth. The potato was perfectly cooked and heated to just the right temperature, which it somehow managed to maintain until the last of it was gone. The salad was crisp and chilled to the perfect temperature with every conceivable vegetable and topping available to make it perfect. Additionally, the restaurant served these amazing small loafs of heated dark honey wheat bread which were out of this world. The French silk pie that I chose for dessert was light, creamy, fluffy and just too perfect for words.

Because I remembered that dinner so well, I was eager to go back to "Steak and Ale" when we returned to Virginia a couple of years ago. However, being semi-retired, my husband and I watch our budget fairly well and had decided that we should save this particular restaurant for special occasions. Today, however, we made an exception and dined there. It was, however, somewhat of a disappointment!