Saturday, March 3, 2012

Restaurant Review: Hanover Street Chop House, Manchester, New Hampshire, Strongly recommended

My wife and I love steak so when I was trying to decide on a restaurant for Valentine’s Day I called early for a reservation at The Hanover Street Chop House. I am a huge fan of the owner, Chuck Rolecek, who did a great job on this steakhouse and one of my other favorites CR Sparks when it was still around. It makes me wish that he would open a few more as he seems to know what it takes to make a restaurant work and there is no doubt that New Hampshire needs more good restaurants.

We have been here many times and were always pleased with our meals; the most recent visit was no exception. To describe the Chop House think about a warm room with dark wood and exposed brick and you will know what I mean. It is the perfect combination as the atmosphere makes you think of old time steak houses of the past but the food moves you into the present.

We were greeted quickly by the hostess and after waiting a few minutes we were seated in a quiet booth. Our waiter stopped by and we ordered a couple of drinks and began our trip through a wonderful evening. As I sipped on my wine and my wife her martini we couldn’t help but think that everyone else was having a great time.

We began with a couple of appetizers, I went with the Wedge that was fabulous covered with bacon (one of my favorites) and blue cheese buttermilk dressing with a wedge of what I think was blue cheese but very mild and a nice complement. My wife had the French Onion soup and it was very good.

For the main course, we decided on what else but a couple of filets, mine with truffle butter sauce and my wife had button mushrooms in a red wine demi glaze. Although I’m not a fan of mushrooms even I had to admit they were good. These dishes were accompanied by pinkish/red mashed potatoes (which contained beet puree to get the color for Valentine’s Day) and a medley of green beans, cauliflower, and Rutabaga. Everything was cooked to perfection.

On to dessert, I had the warm molten chocolate cake with a scoop of peppermint ice cream and my wife ordered The Howie, a chocolate layer cake with chocolate mousse between the layers, served with caramel sauce and a scoop of caramel ice cream. Both were exceptional. Needless to say, you won’t be disappointed by the sweets.

So there you have it, all and all a great meal, our waiter was splendid and the manager did come over to ask how the meal was. I was impressed at how everything flowed and was timed just right. We didn’t wait too long for the next item nor did we feel rushed.

I strongly recommend the Hanover Street Chop House, be prepared to spend some serious coin but it will be worth it. If you think about Restaurants in the greater Manchester area this is one of the best.