Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Nuvo Readers Love Famous Steak

Ack! My eyes! It's the annual Nuvo Dining Guide and as usual, the reader picks (which they've reprinted from last month's "Best Of..." guide) are enough to make my eyes bleed. St. Elmo's wins in three categories? Come on, people. If you only spend the money to go to one fine-dining restaurant a year, please don't waste it on St. Elmo's. Seemingly the only high-end restaurant Nuvo readers patronize, St. Elmo's swept best upscale restaurant, best steak house, and best wait staff. Please. Better steak? Ruth's Chris. Better space? Mo's. Better service? Capitol Grille. Wacky experience? Fogo! Don't get me wrong, they've built a great brand and the tourists have to eat somewhere. But is St. Elmo's, and its overflow little brother Harry and Izzy's, the best we have to offer? Not by a long shot.


I supposed we should be content that the Oceanaire has finally displaced Red Lobster as the reader choice for "best seafood".

8 comments:

The Urbanophile said...

I love St. Elmo's shrimp cocktail and the atmosphere is very nice, but the steaks are not up to par, the non-steak items on the menu are limited and of questionable quality and the service is only ok. I certainly would not rate this as the top place.

Smoke Free Indy: said...

Yeah I also liked that it named Yats as best soul food. Yats is cajun NOT soul food...

Jim said...

Totally agree on St. Elmo's. All hype, no substance.

I agree that Yats being called a "soul food" restaurant is goofy.

Donald said...

As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Braingirl's thoughts here. Sure, it's something Indy is known for and I'm all for that, but I can think of other places in town I'd rather go for a steak - Mo's, Morton's, Fleming's, Capital Grille, Eddie Merlot... I'm usually anti-chain, but steaks are one thing the high-end steakhouse chains do well. When the wife and I are going to plunk down $200 - $300 for dinner, it better be a damn good steak and I just don't think St. Elmo is up to par with the others.

CorrND said...

You gotta give St. Elmo's credit for it's longevity, particularly surviving the dark days of downtown. And they're clearly doing something right on the marketing front, as evidenced by it's ranking in Nuvo.

But seriously, I wholeheartedly agree there are much better steaks in downtown. Give me Ruth's Chris any day.

Unknown said...

Hey Rene,

FYI, the three readers choice endorsements for St. Elmo's were in the months-old "Best Of" issue, not the lately released dining guide...

Don't worry--Mo's, Capitol Grille and Fogo get props here!

Jenn

braingirl said...

Thanks, Jenn -- FYI, this info was in the dining guide, page 17.

Looks like they reprinted the food info from "Best Of."

Bernard said...

I have eaten at St. Elmo's countless times over the last 25 years, usually for business. It has been consistent in its mediocrity. Boring menu, uninteresting wine list, forgettable steaks... I can't find anything positive to say. Best avoided, even if someone else picks up the tab.