BOyd has upgraded/redecorated/up-priced some of its restaurants. This week we tried two of them with friends. The new Gold Coast Cornerstone (old Cortez room) has new and beautiful decor. The prices are beautiful too, since veggie side orders and soup or salad are no longer included, plus entree price increases bring the price of a meal up by at least 30% I would guess if you just want your sold soup plus veggie plus entree.
I remember going to the Cortez room 15 years ago when we first moved here and paying $14 for a HUGE prime rib (the smaller Queen size by the way) with giant baked potato, soup or salad, veggie, relish tray, and fantastic hot freshly baked bread. Then the price went to $15 (and bad rolls replaced the great bread, relish tray disappeared, portions and prime rib shrank in size) and $18 etc. Now it is $30 plus extra for soup or salad and large (share it) veggie.
The good news is that a new style of rolls is being served with real butter (not those tastless 3 colored pats) along with a small relish tray. Also the prime rib is back to its original slow cooking method, and was delicious and tender. Other items and service were excellent. A lot of steaks have been added to the menu, but some of the old favorites are gone.
We heaped praise on the good food and new beautiful (though I tear came to my eye realizing the old paintings of Venice were now painted over), and had we never been to the Cortez room, we would have been quite happy. But the whopping price increases really were sad to see.
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Orleans new Alder&Birch replaces Canal Street, and again has new, beautiful decor. It also is a modern steakhouse, with new steaks and other menu items. I only ate at the previous restaurant once many years ago, so I am not sure about the menu changes, but I suspect prices are now quite a bit higher. Many new cocktails are also included on the menu.
The food was generally excellent, except we had trouble with three different meal requests for things -- dressing on the side of salad (it showed up on top), sauce on the side of salmon and no pepper (sauce arrived on top with pepper), and no pepper on filet (filet arrived with herb butter which would have been okay, but steak was drenched in salt). Salmon and filet had to be returned, and didn't arrive until about 15 minutes later, so two people had finished eating their entrees when entrees arrived for two others.
Hard to say if the problem was the kitchen's or wait staff, but since the wait staff wasn't totally great with other things, And should have noticed sauce and dressing drenching items they were at least somewhat at fault.
We noticed a heavy hand of salt and/or pepper on some other items, and the filet was obviously way too peppered even if someone hadn't requested no pepper. And we had to request a salt and pepper shaker for the table.
Bread was sort of rosemary bread slices plus thin cracker type bread, could have been better. Sides were large ---share-them size. LObster mac and cheese was outstanding, with lots of lobster. Filet mignon and grass-fed rib eye were perfectly cooked. Bernaise sauce not very good. Beef short rib extremely tender and good.
Overall a mixed meal. If you have any special requests such as no sauce, really emphasize this with wait staff and pray. For steaks, and possibly other items which might be overseasoned, request light seasoning or no pepper and ask how steaks will be prepared (with what seasonings on top during cooking).
Since my meal was one that got messed up, I wouldn't return to Alder&Birch. My friend loved her meal and said she wanted to go back as soon as possible.
I definitely would go back to the Cornerstone though. GOld Coast must want people to give it a try -- they just send both me and my husband $100 off coupons (note we are Emerald there).
Posted by: Misscraps <misscraps@aol.com>
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