Every now-and-then it's a good thing to let go and indulge yourself, do something nice just for yourself. Last year I bought a pair of Uggs and a few years ago I bought a couple of things at Saks; it's important to treat yourself every now and then. Friday night I did it again, and thankfully this time I wasn't the one paying.
Dad decided to take us to Bender's in Canton for mom's birthday. I had never been there before, but they had been there last year for their anniversary. After the whole fiasco at the tire shop, see the previous post, I needed something good.
Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing I notice is the atmosphere and ambiance, with rich wood and marble it looks like a classic strak-house and pub. The staff was fantastic and the service was great, but with the prices it had better be great.
For the first course I had a lobster meat cocktail, like a shrimp cocktail but more luxurious. The lobster was great, you mostly get claw meat, but the claws on these lobsters were huge. With both claws you almost got about 8 oz. of meat. The cocktail sauce was good, but I don't know about the pairing of it with lobster, it kind of trampled all over the delicate flavor of the lobster.
The soup course consisted of the best clam chowder I've had away from the coasts.
The next course was a spinach salad. It wasn't that great. Not enough dressing, the eggs were a little slimy and the salad had bean sprouts, something I've never seen on a spinach salad and didn't really add anything.
For the main course I had their Red Alaskan King Crab special. In all my years of gorging on seafood I've never seen crab legs has big as these. The meat from just one of the "knuckles" was at least 6 oz.! They split the legs for you in the kitchen, which when the waitress told me this, I was a little skeptical about it, as the meat can get a little gummy if it's exposed for too long. Anyway, the legs really did need to be bisected, they would have been about 2.5 inches across and 4 inches around; like I said, they're huge. The meat was succulent, sweet, briny and just everything you would expect from crab; each leg was almost like a steak.
The crab legs came with what are called Bender Fries, which really aren't fries at all but like a potato cake. Right up front, they are great; potatoes fried in clarified butter can't go wrong. These potatoes are slices excruciatingly thin, then cooked in the butter. It looks like their then folded and then pressed to get dark and golden brown. They're great and something that every restaurant should have for now on.
After all that I didn't think I had any room for dessert...but it turns out I did. Weird, I know. I had what's called the Flourless Chocolate Decadence, and yes it's decadent. Trust me on this. It's like a chocolate soufflé topped with a round of fudge then dusted with cocoa powder and powdered sugar and drizzled with a raspberry sauce. Oh. My. God. It took every ounce of will power to just not pick up the plate and start licking it clean.
My first experience at Bender's was amazing. Everything about the dinner was pitch-perfect, except for the salad. But I know what not to order the next time I go there, lesson learned. The atmosphere, the service and the food were all top notch, and after having something basic I'm now more than ready to have some of the more exotic dishes. The specials for the night included lamb shanks with a raspberry and balsamic reduction over risotto, just one example of what the cooking staff can do there. If this basic meal was any indicator of the abilities of the staff, I have no trouble going back trying something more adventurous.
I certainly will be going back.
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