Roots Steakhouse

My brother recently made a comment that he wishes for New York quality restaurants in New Jersey.

Well, hello New Jersey benchmark. It’s nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard of the most renowned steakhouses in the tri-state area: Peter Lugar, Keens, Morton’s, Old Homestead, and many others. In New Jersey, Rod’s Steak (Morristown), Edward’s Steakhouse (Jersey City), South City Prime (Little Falls) are widely considered to be at the top of the heap. There are, of course, the commercialized ones that deserve recognition as well including Bobby Flay’s place in Atlantic City and Ruth’s Chris in Weehawken.

Personally, I’m partial to Sammy’s Ye Old Cider Mill in Mendham. But in my search for good steak I came upon Roots Steakhouse in Summit. It had received admirable ratings across the board so I figured we check it out.

Classical styling and a dining room full of businessmen first catch your eye. The bar is hopping and the bartenders are on their A-game. Mahogany paint gave it the ambience of a New York steakhouse and the hustle and bustle supported that sensation.

Our server greeted us quickly and then took our drink order. While we were waiting, our Fresh and warm rolls are almost immediately brought to the table. They are light and airy with a crisp exterior. The soft, nooks and crannies of the heated interior melt butter beautifully. They are deceitfully delicious in that you could easily spoil your dinner on two or three.

For our appetizers, we ordered the French onion soup (my wife) and colossal lump crab cocktail with avocado. Served in a martini glass partially, filled with ice, the meat was juicy, fresh and wonderful. The flavors were clean and balanced. I squeezed only some of the lemon on the crab to provide bright accents of flavor.

The French onion soup ($6.95) was good. Ordinarily, I find this soup very salty. However, this execution was more than just garden variety. The saltiness was balanced by the sweetness from the onions. The tang of the cheese was offset by the crispy bread that had not yet absorbed too much broth.

With side dishes being a la carte, we order spaetzle and sauteed spinach. With many "wiltable" greens, the chef has to be careful. It can very easily become mealy. I love spinach but too often does it suffer that consequence. Here, the spinach was perfectly cooked, and there was no indication of poor aftertaste. The garlic that game with it was poached so it’s pungency was lessened. I found this to be a letdown as I would rather the garlic’s natural boldness infuses the dish more dominantly. On the other hand, that subtle garlic flavor may appeal to many more than me.

My experience with and knowledge of spaetzle starts and ends with the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. So when it was served piping hot, covered in cheese and roasted garlic, I was confident. This was positively divine. The unification of flavors in this German noodle dish left me pining for more. Like any starch, you can fill up quickly, so I ate cautiously.

My wife ordered the 12oz filet ($32.95). It was a perfect medium rare. It had been seared ideally. The crispy crunch of the outside was amazing and the meat melted in your mouth. You can tell when the meat is high quality because it just tastes different. This had that characteristic.

Aside from bbq or short rib (or the occasional chicken wing) I'm not a fan of meat on the bone. I know it's much more tender and flavorful, which is why I'll happily cook in that style. But when it's served I much prefer not to have to navigate through a skeleton of bones or around one big one. It makes eating more of a chore than pleasure. I also find that bones will often create inconsistent cooking. And that's not desirable. However, taste overcomes almost all pesky hesitations. So I ordered the bone-in filet ($37.95). The meat was sumptuous and seasoned well. And although it suffered from my suspicions for inconsistent doneness (rare by the bone versus medium rare in the middle), I was still on cloud nine. The flavors were great.

Despite our stomach's being filled to capacity we ordered dessert. The waiter raved about their signature butter cake so we went with it. It is served with whipped cream, blueberry compote, and drizzled with clarified butter. After my first bite, it was clear that my pants' button needed to be undone. The cake was incredibly moist, warm and delicious. The blueberry compote provided a sweet, but not overpowering balance to the cake. With the butter contributing an unmatched richness, each delectable nibble confirmed the obligation to clean the plate. Perhaps one criticism could be the desire for slightly more compote but I feel it was appropriate. Nevertheless, this is one of the best desserts I have ever eaten.


Heavenly butter cake

The overall experience was excellent. The service was outstanding and the foot is memorable. While New York may not have met its match in the number of good steakhouses, Roots certainly manages to hit the nail on the head for those who wish to avoid irritating gridlock traffic when they aren’t gasping for breath because they were nearly clipped by an aggressive cabbie.