Mignon Steakhouse--Rutherford

[tommy]

We enjoyed it but for the price I'd not be in a hurry to go back anytime soon.  I'd go to the Park Steak house before here.

shugga, is Park Steak BYO? mignon offers an unmatched value, in my opinion, for wine drinkers.

what do you like more about the steak at Park than Mignon, if anything.

[Rosie]

The Park is NOT BYO.

[viejo majadero]

I ate at the Mignon in March, 2003 and while the issue of price as noted by Ms Shugga (pardon the pun) is relative maybe it can best be understood by what I ate with a friend.

Fiirst, the place is a BYO. I brought a 1994 La Mission Haute Brion, my own glasses and decanter.

Two of us ordered 12 oz filet mignon, and 16 oz strip steak, a side of mashed potato, a side of asparagus, we shared a desert and had a coffee and capucino.

They put plenty of bread on the table.

Bill ran $67.00

To me this is not expensive for a prime meat steak house.

As for service, I cannot complain in the least. Even though, as my name suggests, I am a cranky old man, there was no negative for the evening. We did eat there on a week night so cannot attest to Satuday accomodations. On our night the place was full and a few tables turned.

[tommy]

I agree re price. this place offers one of the best values in the area.

shugga says

We enjoyed it but for the price I'd not be in a hurry to go back anytime soon. I'd go to the Park Steak house before here.

i can see if one doesn't drink wine how park or river palm might be a better choice. however, for wine drinkers, there is just no way in hell that suggest that "for the price i'd not be in a hurry to go back." in fact, i often say "i can't afford to *not* eat here." my bill for the same dishes would have been twice as much at river palm, and probably Park as well.

Edited April 17, 2003 by tommy (log)

[steakas]

i think frankie and johnnies is quite good.  better than ruth's chris and river palm.

Better than River Palm? That's one heck of a statement !

Now I'm faced with a dilemma : now I want to try F&J's and hold off on Mignon (once again). What do you suggest? I don't mind the smoke (in fact I kind of like it ) and I don't mind noise.

the bill, for 2 sides, 1 t-bone, and one ribeye was 61 before tip.  byo.  i do love this aspect of the place.  we were craving steak, and it was going to be the River Palm.  however, that would have been twice as much.  the steaks here, imo, are just as good as the River Palm,    and the place is about 1/10th as pretentious.

Just as good ? Now I'm really confused... Mignon? F&J's? Mignon? F&J's? Mignon? F&J's? Which one do suggest for a first timer?

Tommy, I'm curious, where did you have the best steak in NJ? Thanks

[tommy]

Tommy, I'm curious, where did you have the best steak in NJ?  Thanks

i basically do not like the river palm terrace. i don't like the service. i don't like the atmosphere. i don't like the unnecessary valet parking. i don't like the faux-sophistication of it. and i generally didn't like the people around me. and i don't like the prices. i just don't like it. their steaks, of course, are pretty good.

if you want more of a steakhouse atmosphere, go to F&J's. if you want really good steak, at a reasonable price, in a low-key relaxed atmosphere, go to Mignon. if you're going to do both, i suppose it really doesn't matter which you do first. just have your expectations in order before going to either.

as far as the "best" steak i've had in jersey, i would say the usual suspects (for northern jersey at least): F&J, Ruth's Chris, RPT, and i dare say mignon.

[phaelon56]

So now the full story emerges.... a week after I left NJ for good

I'll have agree on the Village Gourmet. I finally ate there a few months ago - the sald, which was requested with dressing on the side, came totaaly drenched. The hamburger (on of the rare times I've ever had a hamburger in a restaurant) was ordered MW dues to my leeriness about commercial ground beef. It arrived closer to well done but had a weird mushy texture - really pitiful for a restaurant hamburger. Last summer I had a MW burger at the Red Lion pub on Bleecker Street in the Village that blew this one away and at $1 less.

There's a wine shop next to Corrado's restaurant on the circle facing the train station at Station Square (the foot of the hill on Park Ave). From the looks of the display window they may have a better French selection.

Update on Tero's in Lyndhurst - they are close to completion of an expansion - took over the space next door and will now have a reasonably large separate dining room - should alleviate the crowding as well as the smoke and noise that sometimes plagued the original bar/dining area. It's really worth checking out - very nice and efficient staff and a great value. I like their food as well as any place in Ironbound or better and it's more convenient as well as having a more neighborhood feel.

[pete ganz]

The classic steakhouse sides, creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes, are also top notch at Mignon.

[tommy]

The classic steakhouse sides, creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes, are also top notch at Mignon.

i'm not a big fan of the huge amount of cheese they put on them there scalloped taters. but they're pretty good anyway.

[tkrongold]

how about The Strip House in the Westminster Hotel in Livingston - anyone been?

[tommy]

how about The Strip House in the Westminster Hotel in Livingston - anyone been?

some discussion on the Strip House here, here, and here.

[steakas]

i basically do not like the river palm terrace.  i don't like the service.  i don't like the atmosphere.  i don't like the unnecessary valet parking.  i don't like the faux-sophistication of it.  and i generally didn't like the people around me.  and i don't like the prices. i just don't like it.  their steaks, of course, are pretty good.

I couldn't agree more but I always try to look past all the non-food downfalls (except service).

For me, Luger's is a "prime" example of that, I HATE everything about the place except the food, which I .

[steakas]

how about The Strip House in the Westminster Hotel in Livingston - anyone been?

Excellent! You'll leave there happy, definitely one of the best around.

Edited August 28, 2003 by steakas (log)

[Rosie]

We finally got to Mignon, 72 Park Avenue Rutherford (201-896-0202) and what a find. Thank-you Tommy. In addition to being BYO they serve a fabulous steak at a very reasonable price.

When seated a ramekin of butter and beef tartare were placed on the table along with a very good crispy-crusted bread. I didn’t order an appetizer but Lowell’s Spinach Caesar ($5.95) containing spinach, bacon, egg, tomatoes, cucumbers and croutons was split for us at the table and the one order was more than enough for two people.

We then had a 40 ounce USDA prime porterhouse perfectly seasoned and cooked medium rare for two ($45) and a side of sautéed broccoli rabe with olive oil and garlic ($5.95). Dessert was so disappointing that it was taken off the bill. It was a dry chocolate (bundt) cake with a scoop of icing on the side and some chocolate syrup.

With tax and a tip that included the dessert our bill was $80. If you are bringing a very good bottle of wine I would also recommend that you BYOG.

[steakas]

We then had a 40 ounce USDA prime porterhouse perfectly seasoned and cooked medium rare for two

I'm jealous!

[steakas]

eGForums NJ - Best Steak in NJ & Mignon Steakhouse Edited February 1, 2004 by steakas (log)

[ghostrider]

Hi folks,

Newbie here. I live in Rutherford so have been to Mignon a few times. Always enjoy it. It is a bit pricier than I'm used to, but we usually wind up carrying something home - their portions tend to be pretty large - so overall I feel like they offer a good value.

I'm particularly fond of their grilled pork chops with caramelized onions. Someone had mentioned, I think in another thread, that the creamed spinach was heavy on the onion. For me "too much onion" is a phrase that simply doesn't compute, so I absolutely love the stuff.

I have no idea where to rank the place against other steakhouses because we really don't frequent them. But it's a very satisfying place to have so close to home.

[Rosie]

Welcome Ghostrider--Let us know where else you like to dine.

[ghostrider]

Thanks Rosie, I'll do my best.

We're also fond of Trattoria Corrado on Station Sq in Rutherford. Largely for convenience & ambience. I've had some very good homemade raviolis there, some decent fish. Always feel satisfied there, if not always bowled over.

Enjoyed a Malaysian place over in Montclair called Taste of Asia. But they are now "relocating" - their lease ran out at the end of 2003 & they haven't found a new site yet. We're on their mailing list for notification of reopening, I'll wait till they're actually open again & we've tried the new version a couple of times before commenting further.

[Rosie]

A Taste of Asia is also in Chatham. I actually like the Chatham location better as the decor is nicer.

[ghostrider]

The decor in Chatham is better? I thought that they'd done a pretty nifty job with the Montclair place. And there was something about the location near the top of that hill, just below the Art Museum..... I don't want to get all feng shuey & new agey, but that was a nice spot.

Anyway you're making a good case for driving the extra miles to Chatham!

[adegiulio]

We are big fans of BYOB, and since I am a big steak eater, we decided to finally try this Rutherford restaurant. The place seemed busy and lively, just what one would expect for 8:30 on Saturday. We were seated by a cheerful hostess and then promptly forgotten about. We finally ordered after about 15 or 20 minutes. Our apps arrived another twenty minutes later. We got simple shrimp cocktail and tuna carpaccio. The tuna came served on a WARM plate. It took me 15 MORE minutes to send it back. They offered to replace it with something, but thinking our steaks were coming soon, I decided to pass. That was a bad idea, as our steaks were another 20-25 minute wait. Steaks were slightly overcooked, mine was medium instead of medium rare, and Amy's was medium well, versus the medium she ordered. The meat was tasty and tender, the one saving grace of this lousy evening. Au Gratin potatoes and green beans were fine. I was in the mood for dessert, but sick of waiting, so we left. This place seems like it has some potential, but with such agonizingly slow service, I don't know if we will go back...

Anthony

[WestOrangeFrank]

Granted this is an old post, but I've been eyeing NJ steak house threads for quite some time now, and felt compelled to make my first eGullet post tonight. Rosie, Rachel/Jason Perlow, Fat Guy, Tommy- Thank You!! your insights to restaurants in the NJ area have really helped with my recent move to Essex County. I feel like I know you all!

Even after an amazing Mutton Chop at Keen's Steak House (w. 36th) last night, I had the urge for beef again tonight. Went out to Mignon's and enjoyed a quality ribeye. Heck, for the price paid, I couldn't have gotten the same prime dry aged beef myself (let alone cook it perfectly, be served, and cleaned up after). Perfectly crusted outside, and perfectly medium rare inside.

The BYO wine was our last bottle of Rutini Malbec from a recent trip to Argentina, having a HARD time finding it here in the states. It complemented the slab of beef nicely. The creamed spinach was excellent, the Lyonnaise potatoes were overly soggy/oily, forcing me to order a side of french fries .

The sample seafood app platter was so-so. An interesting variation of calamari included buffalo sauce and crumpled blue-cheese, sounded better than it tasted. Good thing we had that yummie FREE tartare with the bread. There was a lamb app on the menu that caught my eye, next time...

For some odd reason, my dining mate got the seafood over linguine entree, big let down. The shrimp were very dried out, and the lobster carcass donned little meat.

We skipped on dessert (mainly on rosie's tip and the fact that I didn't see one desert on anyone's table) and opted to walk around bustling Park Ave. Nothing caught our eyes for coffee/dessert.

Found the service nice. Menus were not thrown in our face the moment we sat down, and the pace of the meal felt right. Some dirty plates sat in front of us for a short while as the restaurant got busier, but hey, no biggie compared to the price tags. The fashionable-for-Rutherford-NJ dining room space didn't crowd us, and the other patrons were a pleasant cosmopolitan bunch. Our meal came to just under $80 w/o tip.

We will definitely return for some quality dry aged beef. Granted, there are many place$$$ that are better, and I hope to get to them all in time.

And oh, I did live (and eat) in Hoboken for a few years, and didn't find F&J's to stack up on quality, preparation, and prices of beef.

[tommy]

frank, welcome to egullet. and i'm glad you enjoyed Mignon.

one comment:

i think the beef is wet-aged, not dry-aged. i've found a very noticable difference in the results of these two processes as i've been eating more steak this year than ever before. but, i'll still say that mignon is serving a great product at a great (BYO) price. i had dinner at Morton's tonight, and i think they wet-age as well. along with the River Palm Terrace (and Ruth's Chris and F&J if i'm not mistaken). that said, i wish there were more restaurants in NJ serving dry-aged beef.

steakas links to a great thread above about steaks in NJ. link.

p.s. i love keens and i love that mutton. a great place, and to my mind, one of the most enjoyable steakhouses in midtown. but, i'll probably concentrate more on Wolfgang's, which recently opened on 32nd and park, and on which there's a big thread. but if i'm going to the garden, there's no way i don't go to keen's. no way in hell.

Edited July 10, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Rosie]

WestOrangeFrank--Welcome to eGullet. Thanks for the report. Have you been to Sammy's or The Park for steaks yet?