The Antlers
The Antlers, Ithaca, NY
http://www.antlersrestaurant.com/
Price: $$
Cuisine: Steak and
Seafood (American)
General
Recommendation: Located in the opposite direction most folks head for dinner, The
Antlers is a nice, fairly inexpensive place to go for a tasty meal. The hunting lodge atmosphere is fun and the
staff is nice. With regular specials
every night, it’s a fun place to check out with a few friends or even your
parents.
The Antlers had been on my list for a while but since I
never drive out there, I always forget about it. Last night, we remembered and checked it out
with two friends, one who had been there before. I’m glad we went though. Without trying to oversell the place (the
food wasn’t that good), I liked the way it was decorated- there was a
stone fireplace and lots of animal heads and such hung on the hunter green
walls. The dim lighting made for a nice
environment and I instantly liked the owner who greeted us at the door. Apparently the restaurant is owned and
operated by two Cornell alums and it’s always fun to support fellow
Cornellians.
The Food:
I thought that the menu was quite reasonably priced so even
though the food wasn’t so fantastic, it seemed fair for the price. Most entrées come with a choice of garlic
mashed potatoes, baked potato or rice and a side of veggies (cooked carrots
were the veggies the night we visited). They also bring out some tasty garlic bread to snack on- we wouldn’t
have minded a refill of that.
Here are details on our order:
First Course: Smoked Trout, Lobster Bisque, Santa Barbara
Salad
Our friend who had been to this restaurant before was very
excited about the smoked trout. It was a
pretty big piece of trout – I tried it and it was what you’d expect. Just like the smoked fish you used to (or
still may) get in a box around Christmastime from places like Eddie Bauer and
such. It was kind of bony which was
unfortunate but that’s just what happens when you order stuff like that. I think the bisque was fine- didn’t hear much
about it. My salad was actually very
good- the dressing was tasty and the salad was not overdressed. I would order that again for sure.
Main Course: Shrimp and Scallops Special, Creole Spiced
Flank Steak, Tenderloin Beef Tips & Mushrooms, Baby Back Pork Ribs
This is where I was a bit less than impressed. None of the food was bad, per se, it just
wasn’t that fantastic. The portion sizes
were good and there was a lot to choose from on the menu. We went on a night where there were two
specials and it looked like most people in the restaurant were taking advantage
of the lobster special (Live Lobster, $17.95) and it looked pretty good. I
would try something else if I went back there again- maybe the filet mignon or
the crab cakes.
Dessert: Tiramisu and
this interesting Indian Pudding
No major complaints here. Our friend was brave and tried this pudding which was a cinnamon and
sugar tasting corn meal or sorts- served warm in a bowl. It had an interesting texture (which was noted
in the description) but tasted good. The
tiramisu was fine and tasted yummy with our decaf coffees.
Drinks:
The wine list was very reasonably priced and I was excited
that I had actually heard of most of the wines on there. It’s not an extensively long wine list – it
fills up about half the back of the menu- but it is varied and it seemed like
they had several good choices for wines by the glass as well. The restaurant also offers a full bar and the
bar itself is nice looking and large- it fits in well with the décor of the
restaurant.
The Service:
The service at The Antlers was pretty good and they didn’t
violate many of The Rules. In fact, the
only Rule they violated was removing plates too early and they almost didn’t do
that. We had all finished our meals-
forks and knives were all angled to 4 o’clock signaling it was okay to clear
our plates- but our friend decided he wanted to keep eating his girlfriend’s
food, so when they came to clear our plates, he prevented them from taking
hers. I only consider it a minor rule
violation because he was chewing when they came up to take our plates and I
hate it when a server takes away your plate while you’re chewing. Other than that, however, the service was
great- our water glasses were constantly refilled and they were happy to split
the bill when we put down more than one credit card. There were bread plates for the garlic bread
and plenty of silverware.
The Atmosphere:
I really liked the atmosphere at
The Antlers. The hunting lodge feel was
fun and though there were lots of people eating when we were there- including
several large groups- it was never very loud. There are a few different sections to the restaurant which probably
helps keep the noise level down. As I
noted before, the owner is very nice and so is the staff. I would much rather go to The Antlers than
most of the other middle-of-the-road restaurants in the area and that’s due in
large part to the fun atmosphere.
