Since we had a $150 gift certificate to Perry's Steakhouse in Dallas, my husband and I decided to get some appetizers and a bottle of wine at the bar last Friday. Perry's is located on McKinney Avenue in Uptown (or Uppity-town, as I like to call it). The decor was fairly typical steakhouse - very dark, clubby, lots of wood and sleek surfaces. The bar area is circular with one very large booth right in the middle and a piano near the windows where they have live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. We picked a small table as far away from the piano player as possible as it was a little loud if you were too close to him. Overall, I liked the atmosphere in the bar area.
I walked through the restaurant once to use the ladies room, which is quite a haul from the bar. The piano man music is also piped into the restaurant. The restaurant itself reminds me of the kind of place Frank Sinatra would have enjoyed having a martini and a steak in after a show but maybe that's because the piano man was singing a lot of Frank that evening. Of course, on my way back to the bar area, I slipped and completely ate it in front of several people. One minute I was walking into the bar, listening to the sultry sounds of Frank and feeling pretty good about myself as I was wearing a cute new dress which the waitress had complimented me on and I even noticed a few men look in my direction. The next minute I was on the floor, flailing about and looking like an idiot. This is not unusual for me as I am extremely clumsy and I fall or trip on a regular basis (my husband says I am genetically predispositioned to this condition as my mother is a legendary klutz). At any rate, it was not my finest moment and I landed with a very solid thump on my left thigh. I have a nice bruise there now. The lesson? Ladies, be careful in the bar at Perry's if you are wearing heels as the floor is a rather slick parquet. Also, whenever you start to feel overly confident about yourself, that's when life kicks you in the ass - literally, sometimes.
Anyway, after my not-so-graceful entrance, we ordered. Service was inconsistent and flighty. A female server immediately brought us menus and waters and then no one else came by after a good 15 minute wait. I finally flagged her down again so we could order cocktails and she apologized for the wait as she assumed another gentlemen had already helped us. He showed up after she took our drink orders and was our waiter for the remainder of the evening. He seemed like a nice guy and had a certain Fabio-esque quality about him but I'm pretty sure he wasn't the brightest bulb in the room.
My husband had a Manhattan and I ordered a peach martini. He said the manhattan was very good. I thought the peach martini was a little too sweet for my taste and I think that was mainly a function of the cinnamon-sugar that heavily rimmed the glass so that every sip resulted in a mouthful of it. We ordered off the bar menu and requested the calamari, the steak sliders and the crabcake.
Food was hit or miss. The calamari was pretty terrible. It was very heavily breaded and oily. You literally had to wipe your fingers off if you touched a piece of it becasue of the oil residue. It was served with tons of spicy italian peppers mixed in, which completely overpowered the taste of the calamari. I suppose that was fine since the calamari was also overcooked and rubbery. Each little ringlet was like chewing one of my ponytail holders. The sliders were pretty good, though. The steak was well seasoned and tender and the carmelized onions on top gave it a nice sweetness. The small side of tobacco onions were also quite tasty. However, the real star of the night was the crabcake. I do highly recommend that dish. The crabcake came out looking more like a fried crab ball so we were dubious at first. Our suspicions immediately dispersed with the first bite - full of sweet, succulent crab, a nice crunch from the outer crust and a savory sauce underneath somewhat reminiscent of a remoulade. Very little filler but it was flavorful and not dry at all. It was a well executed crabcake and I consider myself a crabcake snob.
Wine list was decent but typical steakhouse and very heavy on the California cabernets. We settled on a pinot noir from the Santa Maria Highlands. We pretty much served ourselves the wine the entire night as our server disappeared for long periods of time. Overall, it was a mediocre experience and I'm glad we had the gift certificate to cover the expense. Our total came to $150.55 so we basically only paid for the tip. I might go back to the bar for appetizers and a cocktail but it will probably be awhile. Next time, I will wear flats.
Grade for Perrys: B-
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