Majid's St Matthews

For a date night, for a special occasion, or for any reason, Majid's is the place to be.  My date chose Majid's St. Matthews,  based on the recommendation of some macho male friends, ones who know how to treat their lady.

We started with the wine recommendation from Stephen who knows the bar and the menu well.  Stephen, mixologist, is awesome, specializes in truly wonderful & exotic drinks.  Add to that his diverse knowledge and appreciation of fine foods.  A master chef in his own rights. His guidance in the kitchen at Majid's guarantees a wonderful dining experience.  His attention was not intrusive of  our server, and very much appreciated by both of us.

My focus was on the grilled, bone-in pork chop, mashed potato, vegetable du jour cranberry jus, and I was pleasantly surprised.  The flavor was fantastic, enough so I forgot about the potato.(who needs potato?)

The Alfredo Pasta caught the attention of my date: farfalle, smoked salmon, rich cream sauce, parmesan.  He was indeed impressed, shown by the clean dish.
We passed on the deserts, but graciously accepted the single long stem red rose, presented by the owner himself, Majid.  

What a wonderful and romantic evening.  One I will remember forever.

Milady and I do not dine out often, so when we do, we like to make it count. In bygone years, one of our favorite eateries was a place called Saffron's, but we have not eaten there in years, mainly due to the fact that we rarely get to go downtown. The proprietor, Majid Ghavami, has opened up a new restaurant in Chenoweth Square, a stone's throw from Seafood Connection, another favorite of ours. He is obviously a modest fellow, for he has named this restaurant after himself.

The restaurant is divided into two areas; a small, quiet dining room, and a larger, more boisterous area with a bar. When we arrived, the place was fairly quiet, so we were somewhat alarmed when our hostess led us to the bar area. Our dismay was short-lived; she led us to a table in an elevated area at the back, which gave us a commanding view of lesser mortals and was more than satisfactory. The music was perfect,  and the environment convivial without being noisy.

Moments later our waiter appeared. His name was Brian. He bought us some bread with an indolently rich blue-cheese dip which was irresistible and took our order. When he bought our starter -- escargots (Milady's favorite) -- he bought us some more bread and dip. It was dangerously easy to find yourself sated before the main event rolled around.

And roll around it did; our entrees arrived pleasantly quickly, but not suspiciously so. Milady had ordered the Seafood Stew; fish, scallops and huge shrimp that were, in her words, "cooked to perfection". Though it was a little spicier than we had been expecting, it was still highly enjoyable. I had ordered the Lamb Shank, a staple favorite at Saffron's, but boy, was I surprised when it arrived -- this thing was massive -- as big as every Saffron's Lamb shank I had eaten all put together, I said, only half-jokingly. Apparently they sourced their lamb locally, and this was one of the better ones that they could not always obtain; apparently we had been lucky. It was, to put it bluntly, simply glorious.

While we were eating, Majid, who had been "working the room", happened by our table. He greeted us warmly, and remembered us from our days at Saffron's. The ever-solicitous but never annoying Brian kept our water-glasses filled, laughed at my attempts at humor, and generally made the evening a memorable occasion.We passed on dessert, and went on our way with most of my lamb shank in a box.

As we started the engine, we marveled at the fact that we had only been in the restaurant a little over an hour. The food had been excellent and the service beyond reproach -- Brian was a prince among men; any nubile young women reading this are exhorted to throw themselves at him. It was not cheap, but it was worth every penny.

We shall return.

This place is tucked away in Chenoweth Square in St Matthews. I had never been in Chenoweth Square but it seems they have a bunch of good places hidden here. Majids is more like a place you would find on Bardstown road, similar to Avalon, but the food was a little better. Bread is served with a cheese dipping sauce, just a tip add some salt the sauce goes from good to great. Started with shrimp and grits, which is literally one large shrimp with grits. We like to share an app, so atleast 2  shrimp would be better. It was pretty good, but whenever I have shrimp and grits it must be compared to Jack Frys, no competition between the two. Also had the bean soup , very good with nice flavors. We had the pork diablo, which was cooked well served with an interesting horseradish mustard cream sauce. Bone in pork chop was ok, not enough seasoning, had to salt almost everything on the plate. The pork chop was baked I guess, because there was no sear, which it what was missing for me. Overall it wasn't bad, seasoning was a bit bland, but easily fixed with a little salt. At these prices I expect them to be a little more finished in terms of seasoning and flavors. At just over $60 before tip, it was more like a $40 meal for me. Not bad for a Groupon to bring the price down where it should be, but would never pay full menu price.