Circle L Steakhouse – Wadsworth, Ohio, USA
This well-plated dish unfortunately turned out to be a disappointment. The olive oil drizzle was extremely garlicky, overpowering any other flavor in the dish.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse – Fairlawn, Ohio, USA (2025)
This is very close to being a solid dish. The onions were a bit overpowering, but they were also sparse, good job there.
Bar La Grassa – Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Bar La Grassa is one of my favorite places in downtown Minneapolis. Sadly, this carpaccio rendition was a total failure. There is some strange spice in the meat. Nutmeg? Cinnamon? Coriander? Hard to tell, but enough to notice and not in a good way.
Redux – Beau’s Grille – Fairlawn, Ohio, USA
There is certainly something to be said about consistency! Thirteen years after I last had this dish at this place, they are still churning out a very high quality product. Once again, though, that cheese. Extremely Pungent cheese.
La Central by Mario Pagan – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Though the description from the menu says “tostada” I wrote it off as being a part of jazzy Puerto Rican vernacular and proceeded without caution.
Mr. Paul’s Supper Club – Edina, Minnesota, USA
Our initial reaction was one of hopeful curiosity. The smell was good and cheesy, but the (rolled!) carpaccio was hiding under a large bed of carrots, jicama and watercress.
Giovanni’s Table – Voyager of the Seas
After a wonderful day at sea we sat down to the ship’s Italian restaurant for Valentine’s Day dinner. This was the first carpaccio appetizer I saw when I checked the restaurant menus after boarding, but it was the third I tasted on the trip.
Chops Grille – Voyager of the Seas
On a cruise ship, there is no consequence to ordering a lot of food and then ultimately not eating it. For that reason many of the dishes, even in the specialty dining areas are understandably small. In this case, it’s really too bad because it was a very well-executed dish all around.
Redux – Ken Stewart’s Tre Belle – Bath, Ohio, USA
Great recovery Tre Belle! Although I rated this dish a 2/10 back just about 2 years ago, today’s offering was a vast improvement and salvaged the offering for future tastings.
Donatello Italian Restaurant – Tampa, Florida, USA
Wow. Just wow. This is pretty much the definition of a deconstructed dish but the most notable feature is that this was a SINGLE piece of meat. One, gigantic, plate-filling, perfect cut. I have never seen that pulled off before.