Chops is Tops

Steakhead celebrates two anniversaries this week. First and foremost, this weekend was the one year wedding anniversary of Lady Steakhead and yours truly. Second, this will mark the second month of writing the Atlanta Eats blog. To celebrate, we went to our favorite restaurant in town- the Lobster Bar at Chops. It was about time. I mean seriously, with a name like Steakhead, how could it take me two months to finally reveiw a real Steakhouse???

For those not familiar, Chops and Lobster Bar are actually two different restaurants that share the same menu. We start off at the bar at Chops for a couple of G & T's. This place is all about the service. "Good seeing you again, Mr. Steakhead!", "Shall I inform the Lobster Bar you are here, Mr. Steakhead". Love the personal touch. After a couple of drinks, we take the elevator downstairs to the Lobster Bar. Being from New York, I absolutely love the decor of this place, as it is modelled after the Grand Central Oyster Bar- arched tile ceiling, tile floors. However, unlike the Oyster Bar, this place is top notch in terms of ambiance. No long communal seating tables here.

We had a slight delay before getting seated and being greeted by our server. However, once this was rectified, we were waited on by two servers the rest of the night. Feeling like splurging, we started with the cold seafood tower, that includes 2 shrimp, 2 oysters and a half a small lobster for each person. The presentation of this is half the fun, but the real gem here are the shrimp. As a college friend once said, "they are the size of a pig's foot". I never understood this comment fully, but I think he meant they were large. Definitely the case here. The lobster was good, but a tad messy for this kind of meal, and I probably will look at just the shrimp and maybe the steak tartare or smoked salmon next time (can't do oysters, so that part is wasted on me).

For the main course, I went with my old standby, the bone-in rib eye. This continues to be the best steak I have had. Chops has an option for adding a blue cheese, bacon and garlic drizzle to their steaks, and while usually not a "sauce" guy when it comes to steaks, this is actually a great complement to the meat. And when you add the quality of the meat, the marbled texture of the ribeye, and the tenderness that comes with a bone-in cut, you are left with an extraordinary carnivorous experience.

Lady Steakhead opted for the veal chop. For me, it was another reminder that I had asbolutely married the right woman. No petite filet or crab cakes for her, bring on the veal chop! The cuts were both ample, so Fenway (our Boston Terrier) was lucky enough to received two bones and meat for two days. Our servers were great and even brought us some chocolate cake to celebrate our anniversary on the house.

There is no doubt that this is our place. We won't come often, because its not the cheapest night in the world. But for special occasions, this place is at the top of our list. Food, service, ambiance- this place has it all. Grade: A+.