Black Rock Bar & Grill, Brandon, FL

Date night movie and dinner found us in Brandon looking for something new. You know that feeling when you are just tired of the same old thing. So we took a chance on Black Rock, a restaurant on Providence in the former Mimi's location.

They succeeded in transforming Mimi's warm cozy atmosphere into a rather cool dark club with lots of televisions that I rather object to. Multiple TV's are for a sports bar and I think they set the wrong tone here.

They're pushing a new concept of cooking your meat at the table on a 755 degree hot rock. We didn't feel that adventurous so we stuck to the traditional menu, starting with an order of Mussels that was very good. It was kept hot in its dish sitting atop a hot rock so we did get a bit of the trendy experience.

I ordered a potato encrusted Red Snapper served over mashed potatoes with green beans. It was delicious however they were too heavy handed with the topping of fire roasted tomatoes and I just pushed them off to the side. Something else I had to push off to the side was a rather large shrub of sage that adorned the top of my fish. As an avid fan of cooking shows like Top Chef and Chopped, I have learned that if you can't eat it, don't put it on the plate. Here is the offending plant and as you can see I am not exaggerating.

Hubby had a Shrimp Po Boy that was disappointing. I watched nearby tables as waiters ceremoniously rolled a cart and delivered their hot 'rock' and a slab of beef that looked like a filet mignon. Diners were instructed to carve bits of meat from the huge slab so they could cook quickly. To tell you the truth I wasn't impressed. It looked like a gimmick that I felt risked getting an uneven cook on your meal. For the rather high priced menu I would expect the chef to cook it for me. What would one do if the meat didn't come out right? Complain to oneself?

On the bright side, I enjoyed a fabulous glass of Malbec "Terrazas Alto de Plato" and I vow to hunt it down and stock my wine rack at home.

www.blackrockrestaurants.com

804 Providence Rd, Brandon, FL 33511 813) 445-4111

Boulevard Steak House, Edmond, OK

Who doesn't love a good steak? Dining in a real "Steak House" is always a treat and given it's price point, we reserve these nights out for special occasions. We were visiting newly found sister Tara & Warren in Oklahoma for the first time and they treated us for hubby's birthday to her favorite Steak House - Boulevard. The really good steak houses all have that same atmosphere of rich dark old world mahogany and wood paneling, low lights, waiters dressed in formal black & white that offer impeccable service. There's always a fabulous bar serving martinis. Boulevard hits all the points and more.

We started with a delicious 2014 Bodega Norton Malbec that was the perfect accompaniment to our Filet Mignon. Being a purist, I had mine plain - no steak sauce, no toppings - when I get a good expensive steak that's all I want to taste. And boy was it good. Tender, juicy and flavorful. Tara ordered hers rare and I ordered mine medium rare. Our waitress did something I've never seen done before (and I've eaten at quite a few good steak houses). She served our plates and asked us to please slice into the middle and confirm that they were the correct doneness. Turns out they had been flipped so a quick swap of plates delivered to us our perfect steaks. Hubby had the 12 oz. Rib Eye and it was perfection. All the steaks they serve are PRIME and you really can tell the difference.

Apologies for the dark pictures but the restaurant was very dimly lit. Frankly I'm all for atmosphere but would prefer a little more light when I'm eating. While there was just no room for dessert, Tara went for the Crème Brulee and devoured it while I indulged in a Cappuccino and hubby had an Espresso. We left quite satisfied and added this to our list of great Steak Houses to frequent.

505 South Boulevard, Edmond, OK 73034, 405-715-2333

http://boulevardsteakhouse.com/