The Beefsteak Club

The Beefsteak Club is a nice addition to downtown Fargo.

DIned here last Friday at 7:00 PM.  It was pretty quiet, but it's summer and there's a crapload of road construction in the immediate area.

Our service was solid --- attentive without being overbearing.

The steaks were well cooked and flavorful.  This is to be expected - it IS The Beefsteak Club, after all.

These things really impressed me much more than the steaks:
---  The sides accompanying each steak.  I had the pea and lobster risotto and it was FABULOUS.  Nice work by the chef!
---  The fettuccine and sausage was also outstanding.  For only $13, it's light years better than similarly priced fare at a Ground Round or Applebee's.  Seriously.  Not close.
---  The menu:  entree prices ranged from $13 to $36.  Because of the pricing, this restaurant is accessable to almost anyone.  Ditto for the wine list.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone in Fargo.  I hope this place makes it...seems like Fargo might have too many quasi fine dining restaurants.

- Three stars only because the Chef came out to talk to us and he was friendly and he said he was trying a new menu on the day we visited, otherwise it would have been 2 stars-

It was snowing when we got to the restaurant so I'm not sure if it was so empty due to snow or it's always empty...

Service was OK but the server/host did forget a few items we ordered when he assured us that he would be able to remember everything without writing down our order.  

- Complimentary bread: It was warm but we weren't sure if these were a store-bought sandwich bread or not.. I had never gotten slices of sandwich bread at a restaurant. This was so turn-off...

- Appetizer:
1. Walleye cake: One good item.
2. Calamari, smoke duck flat bread, french fries with cheese/duck fat/smoked duck, scallop : I'm not impressed by all of these items. Calamari had strange flavor and texture, flat bread had absolutely no flavor what so ever and crust was like thick cracker, french fries (wanna be 'poutine') was not flavorful considering it was fried in duck fat and scallop came out with some kind of tomato sauce which was quite salty... ugh..
3. French Onion soup: interesting cheese on top... not sure what it was but it was too soft and very little cheese .. I prefer traditional Gruyere cheese  or mozzarella.

- Steak: My colleagues said steaks were OK but not far better than any other Fargo restaurants we've been to.

- Dessert: I had 'French toast bread pudding'. I wished the server said not to order it. It was terrible. Inside of toast was still white (not soaked in anything) and the entire thing with creme was not sweet at all. I wasn't sure if this was meant to be a dessert or breakfast.

- Different from what they said on their website, there was very limited variety of wines available.  

Overall, I was quite disappointed and not sure if I would ever return.

The Beefsteak Club is the epitome of class, elegance, atmosphere, and delicious food in Fargo. The staff is knowledgable and attentive, the bar is reasonably priced and full of anything you would ever want, they have a wine list for the stars with 100+ bottles for selection, and the food is absolutely divine! From the steak sauce, to the seafood, to the steak (they have a 10 year genetic on it), to the delectable, melt in your mouth desserts. The atmosphere is so calming and beautiful. The music selection is perfection and at just the right volume for conversation. They even have seating areas, including one in their wine room, for lounging and relaxing.

The chef is so intellegant and creative, the bartender is incredibly knowledgable, and the service staff is always there when you need them for whatever you need them for.

This place is just what Fargo needed. I am beyond pleased with every visit and recommend that everyone stops in to check it out for themselves. I promise you won't be disappointed.