Red PrimeSteak OKC

It's been a while since I've done a resaurant review, partially because "everyone" seems to take photos of every meal they eat and I am not "everyone" and had thus stopped doing so, and lets face it, a food blog without the visual just isn't as good. That being said, I had the most amazing meal last night! So good that photos or no photos it demanded attention. Lucky for you, the resaurant website had photos of most of the deliciousness!

This week we had a Celebratory Dinner at Red PrimSteak in Oklahoma City. Red is a well known for their amazing Prime meats, wine list and of course their red neon lights. The service is great and the food is even better. Here's the rundown on the delicious dishes.

RP Tomato Salad
This salad is a perfect Caprese Salad +; the + being fried green tomatoes. The mozzarella was perfect, milky and fresh; balsamic redux and basil infused evoo hit all the right notes. And the fried green tomatoes? Amazing! I make pretty amazing fried green tomatoes, but these, oh my goodness, mouthwatering deliciousness!  The RP's Tomato Salad was the Perfect Start to the evening.
The RP Tomato Salad earns 5 of 5 stars

Prime Sirloin
Normally I'm a Ribeye girl, but I was sold on the 10 oz Prime Sirloin, and it was superb. At Red Prime, each steak comes with your choice of Rub and Sauce. I chose the Blue Cheese Rub with Red's Custom Steak Sauce. Now, we are taking about Prime meat here, so you know it's going to be good, but this steak, oh this steak, was melt-in-your-mouth, i-can't-wait-for-my-next-bite amazing. It was tender, perfectly aged, seasoned and cooked to my preferred medium-rare +. When it comes to steak I'm normally a purest, no sauce, basic rub - but since these are part of the allure of prime, I had to try them. The blue cheese was bold and flavorful, the Red steak sauce was bold and deep. It was a perfect medley of flavors.
The Prime Sirloin earns 5 of 5 stars

Green Chile Mac
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love a good Mac and Cheese. Red Prime did not disapoint. The Green Chile Mac was rich and creamy, with a kick. A bit too much of a kick  for me, but the overall flavor was amazing.
The Green Chile Mac earns 4 of 5 stars.

Chocolate Spoon Cake
To top off the night we had the chocolate spoon cake, a rich nutty, slightly gooey chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and served with salted carmel sauce and poached cherries. The cake was sweet and rich without being too rich, the carmel sauce was divine - the perfect blend of sweet-salty goodness. The ice cream was standard, nothing to write home about, but it completed the dish. The cherries fell flat; they were bland and the texture was off.
The Chocolate Spoon Cake earns 4 of 5 stars

Red PrimeSteak is a must eat. The food is divine and the service is outstanding. Overall Red PrimeSteak earns a 4.5 of 5 stars.

*Photo Credit http://redprimesteak.com/

Crab Catcher

Crab Catcher La Jolla CA

One word: Delicious

Scallops with Lobster Risotto 

Halibut with Potato Plantain Mash

Amazing Food, Fantastic View, It's a Must Eat in La Jolla California

OPUS Prime Steakhouse

OPUS Prime Steakhouse is of the Old World decor style, large oversized rod iron doors, dark wood furniture, amber glass lighting. It's over-the-top yet beautiful in its own big way. OPUS is definitely a special occasion restaurant, the food is fantastic, but its pricey.  So file OPUS on your list of places to try when you have something great to celebrate - like say your anniversary...   


First up: Crispy Calamari

I do not say this lightly when I say hands down, the best calamari I can remember eating. The breading was light and crispy, the calamari was cooked perfectly and somehow it wasn't heavy or greasy at all. The dipping sauce was OPUS' take on a traditional marinara-style sauce. It was fresh, flavorful and delicious!
The Calamari earns: 10/10 Stars!


Salad Course: Opus Prime Signature Salad

The "Signature" Salad definitely missed the mark. Mixed Greens, Red Pepper, Olives, Grape Tomatoes, Bacon, Croutons, and Blue Cheese with your choice of house made dressing. First of all, when I'm at a restaurant of this caliber, when I see olives, I assume I'm getting good Kalamata, Spanish or other "good" olives not what the "Signature" contained...canned black olives. Don't get me wrong, I like olives but those olives don't belong on any "Signature" salad. On top of bad olives, the bacon was mushy and flavorless, and the house made dressing was thick and bland. I absolutely would not recommend this salad.
The Signature Salad earns 1/10 Stars


The Main Course: Colorado Rack of Lamb, Atlantic Salmon and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

The Rack of Lamb was served with a peppercorn demi-glaze. The Lamb was a beautiful Medium-Rare+ absolute perfection, tender, juicy perfection and the demi-glaze was just right - which is saying a lot for me, a no sauce kind of girl.
The Rack of Lamb Earns  9/10 Stars

(please forgive the phone quality photo - it was much prettier than it looks)
The Atlantic Salmon was served with Jumbo Lump Crab and a Burre Blanc Sauce. The Salmon was flakey, the Crab was jumbo and succulent and the Burre Blanc was nice. This dish was everything that makes a good Salmon dish.
The Salmon Earns 8/10 Stars

And of course we can't forget the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes...Skin on, extra creamy, just the way I like them. 
The Mashed Potatoes Earn 9/10 Stars


The Report Card for Opus Prime Steakhouse:
Service       7/10
Ambiance   8/10
Food          8/10
Overall        8/10



If you have a special occasion to celebrate I'd recommend OPUS Prime if your willing to splurge for said special occasion. 

Boulevard Steakhouse

Boulevard Steakhouse is your classic wood-panelled, lowlit, upscale steakhouse located in Edmond Oklahoma. It has a classic dimlit, dark and cozy dining area and a matching lounge where musicians play several nights a week. While the lounge experience is worth a drop by, the actual restaurant is not. Here is the Dining Diva's take on what Boulevard Steakhouse has to offer.

First up the Appetizer: Calamari

The Calamari was great, it was perfectly cooked to a light and crispy perfection and well seasoned. It was served with a blue cheese dipping sauce complete with chunks of blue cheese.  The Calamari Earns 7/10 Diva Stars.

Next Up: The Salad Course

We ordered the Balsamic Caesar Salad, Roasted Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil on a bed of Romaine Lettuce topped with house made croutons and shaved Parmesan served with a creamy balsamic dressing. This salad was fantastic and earns 7/10 Diva Stars.

Time for the Main Attraction!
The Prime Ribeye

I hate to admit it, but the Ribeye was disappointing. It was fine, but not the spectacular cut of meat you expect at this price point. It was underseasoned, slightly overcooked and a little tough for a ribeye earning it a 5/10 Diva Stars.

Next up the Grilled Salmon

The Salmon was topped with lump blue crab meat, Grilled Prawns and a ginger scallion aioli. It was "eh". The Salmon was a bit fishy, the aioli was bland, over all it was a subpar dish. The best part of this dish by far was the blue crab meat. The Blue Crab saves this dish and earns it a 5/10 Diva Stars

The Sweet End
For Dessert we had the Oreo Mud Pie

The Oreo Mud Pie was much better than the name implies - it was a complex layering of different chocolates and textures. Although I only ate a few bites, I'd order it again, if it was on someone else's menu. The Oreo Mud Pie earns 7/10 Diva Stars.

Overall I can't recommend Boulevard Steakhouse; I'm not saying don't go - but you can find much better places at this price point and below. For this price point I should be wowed, not underwhelmed. I mean the Food is Fine, but it's not worth the prices and the service left much to be desired.
When I spend this much on a meal the service should be fantastic, but it was actually bordering on awful. Our server was nice and knew the menu well, but didn't pay attention to what we ordered at all and messed up our order big time. I mean big time, as in the only thing she got right was the calamari. That's right, she forgot the salads, gave me a well done steak, forgot the bread, when she brought the salads, after taking away the well done steak, she brought the wrong salads! Instead of facing up and admitting her mistake and moving on - our server avoided us for the night and never once asked how our main course was. On top of that the service was extremely slow, so slow that we had to cancel our after dinner plans because dinner took an extra hour and a half.  Even if the food was amazing, which it wasn't, the service was so bad I probably still wouldn't go back.

Please Note that the poor service did not affect the food scoring - my palet remains objective even in situations like this.

The Report Card for Boulevard Steakhouse:
Service       1/10
Ambiance   3/10
Food          5/10
Overall        4/10

I think you can safely pass right on by Boulevard without missing a thing.

Cheever's Cafe

Cheever's Cafe is a great little spot for a fun and fancy lunch or a special dinner. Cheever's is located in midtown Oklahoma City. My dinning companions on this fine day were 3 of my favorite girls here in Oklahoma; even though there were four discerning diners we stuck to two great dishes, one not so great appetizer and a fantastic dessert.

First up: The Appetizer  Roasted Chicken and Pepper Jack Strudel

This dish is billed as "Roasted Chicken Breast, Green Chilies and Pepper Jack Cheese Sandwiched between layers of flaky Filo Dough". It was bad, so bad in fact that I can't think of one nice thing to say about it. It tasted like canned chicken or tuna mixed with mayo. It was flavorless and dense and not at all appealing. The Strudel is a massive Fail and earns a first on the Dining Diva: a zer0. That's right zer0 Diva Stars for this sad excuse of a dish.

Moving on to happier dining memories: The Seared Ahi Tuna Salad

This salad was fantastic! The Tuna was seasoned and seared to perfection. The Greens were Crisp, the Tomatoes ripe and the Mangos, Strawberries and Blueberries were all perfectly sweet. The Salad was topped with feta and a lemon vinaigrette. If you've read this blog at all you know that I am not a fan of dressing, but this dressing was actually good and I used some of it. This was a perfect dish for a hot summer day. Light and Fresh with a depth of flavor. The Ahi Tuna Salad gets an 8/10 Diva Stars

The other dish of choice was the Lobster Mac & Cheese. The Mac & Cheese is a bowtie pasta in a fontina-jack sauce with chunks of grilled lobster. (Sorry for the lack of photo - it was too good to wait)
Again, if you've read this blog at all, you know I've got a thing for mac&cheese, but I've got a special spot for Lobster Mac & Cheese. To date the best Lobster Mac I've ever had was at the Wash Park Grille in Denver, this lobster mac was as good if not better!  It was delicious and included actual chunks of lobster.  The Lobster Mac&Cheese also earns an 8/10 Diva Stars.

On to Dessert! The Wild Huckleberry Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is one of those desserts that is one of 2 things: pure perfection or a complete and utter failure.  Cheever's Huckleberry Creme Brulee is divine. The custard is perfectly creamy, the sugar is perfectly caramelized and the huckleberries are sweet, tart and perfect. The Creme Brulee earns an 8/10 Diva Stars.

Cheever's is definitely a Diva Do. The Ambience is bright, the Service is good and over all the food is Delish! Be sure to bring some great company and enjoy a good meal.

Cuppies & Joe...Boom Boom Wow!

Last weekend I went to a party at Cuppies & Joe
Let me just say, the  Boom Boom Pow is Wow oh Wow!

This is the Boom Boom Pow Cupcake

Vanilla Bean Cupcake, Chocolate Buttercream, Caramel & Sea Salt

It was Delicious! Chocolaty, Salty, Gooey Goodness!

It was pretty obvious that Cuppies & Joe is an OKC hotspot.  There was a line out the door the entire time I was there. Yes, an out the door line for almost 2 hours! If your in the area stop by Cuppies & Joe and try the Boom Boom Pow or one of the other delicious concoctions.