Blackstone- Good Steaks in Smynings

Amidst the pouring rain last Thursday night, I paid my first visit to Blackstone, a steakhouse in the growing Smynings area around South Atlanta Rd. I gotta say, I was pretty impressed. It was pleasant to go to a place in this area that appears to be a stand-alone establishment, instead of the Smynings version of another popular intown establishment. Once Atkins Park opened up there, I can’t get my friends who live in Smynings back in town anymore. (Oh, and now, McCray’s just opened a location on S. Atlanta Rd in the West Village complex, so this task will become infinitely harder.)

The service was decent, though we felt a little rushed when we first sat down. And I was a little annoyed at his insistence to take the extra napkins from our table when I needed them to dry myself off after walking in from the monsoon. But once the meal got going, he did fine.

For an appetizer, a friend and I split an order of the Asian Calamari which was outstanding. Lightly breaded, very tender and served with not an overpowering sweet plum sauce. For my steak, I ordered the “Cowboy Cut” bone-in ribeye. The meat was well marbled and very tender. The au poivre sauce I added was outstanding- full of peppercorns and I liked the fact that it was not as thick as some others I have had recently.

While some of the cuts will compare price-wise with the big boys in town, the meal in total wound up being about 15-20% less than a comparable meal at the high-end places. For example, while my steak was $39 when the au poivre sauce was added, my friend had the standard rib eye, which was only $28. You do get one side with your steak, so there isn’t a big need to order a la carte. And you can’t get into too much trouble with the appetizers here- no seafood tower on the menu.

With so many friends living in Smynings today, I can see hitting this place fairly frequently. The steak is definitely worthy, and with the extra $20 saved, that will at least pay for a couple of drinks at the Smynings versions of Atkins Park or McCray’s.

Steakhead Recommends: Yes
Price: $$$