Roots Steakhouse: first impressions

I went to Roots Steakhouse in Summit on Tuesday night with high expectations. There is no good steak-chop-seafood house in all of the Union/Morris/Somerset County area that I know of and with Roots being owned by Harvest Restaurant Group which manages four other terrific restaurants in the area I had high hopes.

Roots more than met my expectations, it exceeded them. It is hard to believe that this restaurant has only been open for a few days. The service was flawless. The food arrived quickly and was cooked exactly to order. I never had the feeling that they were still getting their act together.

More importantly, the food was outstanding. I started with the beefsteak tomato salad with caramelized onions, olive oil and sea salt, garnished with fresh basil. The tomato is cut up, dressed up and then stacked back up. I deconstructed it and ate it in slices. The mix of the sweet onion and the salt and that fresh basil helped the tomato which was just shy of its peak. Still this was a very good salad and a good way to start a dinner, especially on a hot night.

For my entrée I had the 16 oz. dry aged sirloin steak. I ordered it cooked rare and it came out cooked rare with a nice outer crust. It was also absolutely delicious. The same quality steak I’d expect to have at a top flight steakhouse in NYC like Sparks. The steak is $35.95 and comes a la carte. For a side dish I had creamed spinach which was also excellent. I have to admit, I was trying to recreate the meal I’d order if I was at Peter Luger in Brooklyn: tomato and onion salad, rare steak, creamed spinach. There are no hash browns on the menu but there are mashed potatoes and also a “colossal” baked potato. All side dishes are $5.95. After having a steak this good it will be hard to justify driving back to Brooklyn anytime soon.

If you’re planning on going I’d suggest calling for a reservation, (908)273-0027. The restaurant was crowded on Tuesday night. Very crowded when you consider it was their third night being open and that it had been 100 degrees on Tuesday. I got the last seat at the bar at 7:15 and I was among several diners who had their meal there. This had two distinct advantages: first, was the high quality of service I received from the bartenders who are a credit to the establishment. Second, the diner sitting next to me gave me one of his lamb chops, a thick loin chop cooked medium and, again, nicely seared on the outside. One of the best lamp chops I’ve every eaten in a restaurant and since you get three of these chops in the order the value is outstanding.

Roots Steakhouse is an expensive restaurant but I think it is a very good value. I don’t think you could serve food of this quality and charge low prices. This isn’t Arthur’s and it isn’t the Outback. Maybe the only hope of keeping the line from running around the block will be the pricing. With a menu with such great choices, steak, chops, 3-5 lb. lobsters, raw bar etc. its hard to imagine this place won’t be packed every night. The area certainly can afford it and the area certainly has been longing for this type of place. I plan on going back and soon. See you at the bar.