An Update to the Steakhouse Evaluation
A new contender enters the fray, plus some updates.
I finally got around to trying the new hotness in OKC restaurants, Symmetry. Located in the north part of the city just past the moneyed village Nichols Hills, it sits in a corner of an upscale strip shopping center.1
It has been a popular recommendation from many within my circles. Since I myself have been relating this as a suggestion to others (caveated with the fact I hadn’t yet been there), this visit was overdue.
This review risks being a little unfair one way or another to Symmetry or the other steakhouses I reviewed in the post last June since I didn’t do a deep dive on each of them. Hence, I will try to keep this high level.
The proprietors come from four decades of experience at what I consider (see prior post) the best steakhouse in OKC, Mahogany. Let’s see if they live up to the hype and the benchmark.
The atmosphere is what I describe as urban chic. It is a bit electric with the main restaurant seating surrounding the half-moon bar. I’m not sure how symmetrical it actually is, but it isn’t ironically asymmetrical.
Our table was kinda awkward in that it was up on what is a one-step stage area by the entrance. The instruments on the side made clear this is the place where live music is occasionally played. They were packed this night, and it is obvious they wanted every table they could find. Minor complaint on the seating. Otherwise, I like the feel of the place.
While the chef, Glenn Scott, claims influences from French, Korean, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Mediterranean, and German cooking, it is hard to escape this simply being a modern steakhouse—not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The meal
I gave this the standard test. The most concise way to report it is in bulleted form.
Drink to start: signature (pecan) old fashioned - it was . . . okay; presentation was great (elegant glass and single large ice cube plus orange peel); taste though was too sweet and a bit watered down seeming.
Appetizer: calamari - it was . . . meh to not so good. Too chewy, which means overcooked for calamari, it had a great flavor in the breading and cocktail sauce. We actually voiced some mild frustration about it within ear shot of the waitstaff. After nearly finishing it, some pieces were that much too chewy, we were kindly told it had been comped. We were surprised and grateful. One of many ways the service was very good.
Main: I had a 16 oz prime ribeye - it was excellent. The doneness was right on medium rare as ordered. If I were to find a flaw, I would say a bit more crust would be desired. Still, no reason to not give this a 9 out of 10. My wife had the duck breast - it was very good. Nothing but praise here.
Side: We shared the potato au gratin as recommended by the waitress - it was very good.
Dessert: Carrot cake - very good. I was a bit disappointed there was no cocktail list including port wine, which I was in the mood for. I wonder if they are erring on the side of turning the table. We never felt rushed at all, however.
Pricing was quite competitive as the per ounce and per item ranking below should demonstrate.2 Like I said before, the service was quite good.
The steak earns Symmetry a rank tied 3 out of 13 (tied with The Ranch). The overall evaluation puts it at 6 out of 13. So I probably have to back off a little in regards to recommending it, but I’m far from saying it is a no-go. The steak price and quality alone should probably give it a leg up into the “Go” category.
Update on others
Broadway 10 is still closed as it attempts to rebuild and recover from a fire back in September last year. It will be interesting to see what affect this has when and if they reopen. I say that with no inside information. It is just that recovery from closures is difficult in general and numerous places in OKC and surrounding suburbs have closed.
While I have not ventured back to Stock & Bond, I keep hearing great things about it. You may recall that I had to grade it on a curve given its newness in order to keep it from really falling down the chart. If I find my way back there, I’ll be sure to update.
FWIW, in my bubble I hear about Mahogany, Bob’s, Symmetry, Stock & Bond, and The Ranch quite a bit all with varying praise. The other places are ghosts, which makes me want to try them all out to see if the bubble’s chatter (or lack thereof) matches the experience.
As always, more to come.
Here is a picture of my steak from last night.
FWIW, this puts it roughly in what would be a Tyler Cowen approved location. While not truly suburban, it isn’t in the priciest real estate.
I have reversed these from the prior post so as to give a better rank to lower prices more in line with the way we think of pricing.