Angus Barn

[scottie]

My husband wants to go to Angus Barn for his birthday. We've never been. I am sure he will enjoy the beef, but I'm not much of a beef eater, and I fear that all the seafood is frozen and not the main attraction, anyway. Maybe I'll get the lamb.

So, any comments? Is Angus Barn all it's cracked up to be?

[Gifted Gourmet]

a thread with some discussion on Angus Barn

Please read the comments by Kathleen Purvis on the page .. she is the knowledgeable Food Editor of the Charlotte Observer and gives one a good amount of details ....

Angus Barn advice:

Take a deep wallet and a huge appetite. You might want to fast for a couple of days beforehand.

Brace yourself for the decor: Think Hoss Cartwright with an unlimited budget. Lots of things made out of antlers.

Stick with the steak. They don't call it the Angus Barn for nothing. Yes, you can get it rare.

and, apparently the Sawdust Pie for dessert is worth trying as are the fantastic cheese spreads ...

Enjoy yourself!

[Varmint]

The Angus Barn is indeed a Raleigh institution, and ages ago (decades??), I dined there frequently.

The beef is good, not great. The rest of the menu is also pretty darned good, but it's a steakhouse. They have a solid wine list, and in the end, as long as you're not thinking too much about a budget, you can have a good time there.

[scottie]

Thanks, fellas. I'm so excited. It really sounds like an experience! I have perused the wine list and menu and am working mad hours to ensure that money is no object. I will encourage hubby to get the T-bome or porterhouse; I might get the lamb or perhaps the ribs. Mmm...antlers.

[Tela T]

Referencing another website (Chowhound.com). A regular poster, "David A." visited the Angus Barn recently and placed this summary of his visit:

"Merrily wielding a gift certificate from my mother, my wife and I headed to Angus Barn last night. I hate to be the perpetual killjoy, especially during the holiday season, but the meal was disappointing at $50 per person without drinks or wine. I ordered a 10 oz. filet mignon medium rare, as did my wife -- both steaks arrived looking and chewing like hockey pucks. I couldn't tell whether the meat would have been good had it been properly cooked. Maybe so. I ordered the thick cut fries -- I was served thin-cut fries that were indistinguishable from the fries at McDonalds. The apple cobbler was undercooked (the apples were unpleasantly crunchy) and merely sweet, a far cry from the Cobbler served at Elmo's and Tyler's (which I've lately discovered is pretty good). Worst of all was the cappuccino. At $3.50 per cup, one expects something other than sub-Starbucks-grade sludge. In all, we felt as if we'd eaten at a very expensive diner. As we walked through the jam-packed parking lot to our car, we agreed that the best part of the meal had been the pickled cherry peppers that were served as a complimentary appetizer. We intend to hunt down some of these peppers and try our hand at pickling them ourselves.

I wonder why Angus Barn is so popular. I've read that it's one of the fifty highest grossing restaurants in the U.S. I'd much rather eat at Outback."

If you're not familiar with David's posting style, he can come across somewhat harsh. I occasionally think he ought to move back to wherever he came from rather than live in the southeast and constantly try to locate good asian cuisine in the triangle area... but, everyone's entitled to their opinion - and he has made some good, thorough observations of dining establishments in the local area... Being a Raleigh native, I've never eaten at the AB - and now that I live on the west coast, I'll occasionally say that on my visits back home make it there to eat - but, I'm still trying...

Please let us know how your visit turns out.....

T

[scottie]

So we went to Angus Barn, and we had a great time. As I mentioned earlier, it was my husband's birthday, and this is what he requested. Neither of us had been there before.

We got there early and had a drink in the Wild Turkey Lounge, which was fun, and hubby enjoyed the over-the-top decor, especially the antique gun display.

I was pretty surprised by all the kids. I guess it's really considered a family place. Also, I thought people would be more dressed up. I know, it's a steak house. I wouldn't allow hubby to wear jeans, but when we got there, it was clear that jeans would have been fine.

We were told we could be seated any time before the actual time of our reservation, and were given a pager that would go off right at 7.

We went down right before 7 and were seated at a 4-top in the main dining room. Our table sucked. Next time I will request a more secluded 2-top. Hubby got balloons, as it was his b-day.

Relish tray was good. We perused the really long, though oddly-gapped wine list (no Russian River Valley pinot noirs, very few Zinfandels), then told the waitress what we were looking for. She asked for our price range, then went to ask the wine steward, and came back about ten minutes later with only one recommendation at the very top of our price range. I asked if the steward could please come to our table in person. So that took another ten minutes, minutes we could have spent drinking wine! But that's ok, we were there to have a good time.

The steward showed up, and though I had mentioned American pinot noirs and Zinfandels as our first choice, he recommended a Cotes-du-Rhone. Okay, whatever, it was a 2001 by Chateau Beaucastel, who are known for their Chateuneufs-du-Pape, which was our third choice of wine, so fine, whatever.

The wine was minerally and not especially full-bodied, definitely needed food, but it was nice.

Hubby ordered the Chateaubriand, medium rare, and I ordered the special-venison loin on risotto cakes, rare. Both our meals were very good. The venison was nice and tender, and the wine did just fine with both the beef and the game. The actual food part of our experience seemed to go pretty quickly. Next thing we knew, it was time for dessert!

Hubby ordered coffee with amaretto, which came in the coffee rather than on the side, so now we know to specify on the side in the future. He got an entire birthday cake, a pound cake, which was a fun surprise, and I got the Grand Marnier parfait, which was absolutely wonderful, esp. with chunks of pound cake soaked in it.

So the food was good, the service was friendly, the table sucked, it wasn't quite what we're used to when spending that much on a meal, but overall, just the experience itself was worth it, because AB is such a local institution, and a hoot, in my opinion. Now we know to be very specific about what we want there.

We agreed we would return to the lounge sometime for some ribs and beer.

[Varmint]

Thanks for the report, Scottie. Sounds like the place has hardly changed at all, and I'm glad to hear that.

What in particular was "sucky" about your table?

Also, if you're willing to share, I'd like to know about the cost of the meal.

[scottie]

The table was lame because it was a 4-top, which was weird, because when I had made the reservations a month earlier, I specified that we were a party of two celebrating a special occasion. Also, it was in the middle of the main dining room, not secluded, or against a wall, or with any sort of privacy whatsoever, plus it was dark. I certainly enjoyed my view of the oyster station, however.

The cost: almost $200, maybe more.

I'm afraid I had had quite a bit of wine at that point, and as I paid with a big wad of cash, rather than a credit card, I have no record of the actual cost, which is just as well. I brought about $275, part of which went to cabs to and from the hotel we got for the night. I know the entrees each cost between $30 and $40. The wine was between $40 and $50. I had prepared for a "money is no object" kind of evening.

Did I mention I took on a second job for this?! I seriously doubt we would spend that much at AB in the future, unless it was another special occasion. If we had spent that much at Lantern or Acme, or any of our favorite restaurants back in New Orleans, we would have expected a different sort of experience entirely, and that's okay. Because we had a great time, and now we know what Angus Barn is like.