The Golden Knife, Downtown - Closed

I had dinner at this sophisticated Continental restaurant on Pine St last Friday. It is in the space that was home to the Breakfast Club and Zilly Bee Cafe. The space is certainly the worst part of the experience. I don't love the location (the Versus sports bar has been sitting idle for years and this is kind of the edge of downtown even though it is only two blocks away from Orange Ave) or the room itself. They have tried to dandify it, but, the ceilings are low and the flow is bad. The ceiling tiles are also terrible. I'll just finish up on the decor as long as I'm at it. The room is semi-divided into a bar/entrance area and a dining room. It must seat 100+. They have put some straw mats on the walls and pinned orchids on them. Interesting. The rest of the vertical space is decorated with mirrors and flat art. The tables and seats seem new. Ok on to the exciting bits. I liked the menu and the food. The appetizers (3) are weak in number. Some things cost as much as entrees. Pricing is all over the place. I don't know if I should applaud some cheap entree prices or hope for lower app prices. The fact that they do a $9 lunch also makes you curse yourself for coming for dinner. However, that isn't a real problem. I had a salmon tartare app and a steak tartare entree. Both were $13. I was maybe going to go for a $20 duck and probably would have if they had something interesting under $10 to start with and I wasn't also drinking wine. I had been been craving tuna tartare for days. I was imagining raw flesh coated in oil. Their version was old fashioned. It was a creamy version. The yellow tail was fresh enough to discern under all the dressing and the portion was large. They cut in green peppers (a first). It was surrounded by avocado slices, tangerine sections and circular toast. You were to it them in a sequence. Savory, fat, sweet. The steak tartare was good too. Same preparation except the meat was mixed with capers and maybe onions and I noticed at least one almond sliver. Chunky texture. It came with a grain/seed bread and had an overcooked fried egg on it. I would do a raw (or cooked) quail. This one was to big. It ruined the appearance. I also thought the bread looked too thick and was of the wrong kind, but, it worked. The chef/owner said he was from Rio and has other partnerships in town. He didn't want to just open a steak house. I don't remember every dish on the menu, but, I think they were all American or French inspired. This is just what used to be called dining out. A high end Continental spot. With all the fusion and ethnic eats, I hope that this "against type" kind of place still has a place. I would guess there are some old timers who still revere this type of experience and some who are so hip that they find it ironic. Maybe even a few will try it just because it's good and they use some contemporary techniques. I was originally scared because the place was empty (one other table of two). I worried that the food would be stale. The owner swore he buys modestly and turns whatever is leftover through catering. I have no reason not to believe him after sampling his food. He also seems to care. He said they bake their own desserts and if the huge chocolate cake that my neighbor had was any good or indication, then that says something too. The menu seems small enough to control. They do fun things like cook sous vide. The wine list is chosen wisely for value. The single glass wine pours were enormous. It's probably the second best restaurant downtown now. They say they are in it for the long haul. I'd try and find it for dinner and if you are lucky enough to work downtown you have no excuse for ignoring it at lunch. They have been open for four months.