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| Hostess Lauren Burr rolls napkins in anticipation of a
busy Friday night crowd at Sammy K's Steak House &
Sports Bar at 4706 North Ridge Road (U.S. 20) in
Perry. |
No one could have been more disappointed than I when Sammy’s Steakhouse @ Thunder Hill Golf Course in Madison closed its doors. As one of few good restaurants in the area, it was a huge let down.
And, no one could have been more excited than I when Sam Kless opened his own Sammy K’s Steak House & Sports Bar in the former Tavern of Perry.
Even though it has been open just a few weeks, I’ve already paid several visits to the restaurant at 4706 N. Ridge Road (U.S. 20) in Perry Township. I’ve had a chance to enjoy quite a few things the place has to offer, including appetizers, lunch, dinner, drinks, dessert and even a great band one night.
On one visit we arrived in the switching hour between lunch and dinner. So we passed right over the lunch menu – a good selection of sandwiches including Philly cheese steak, turkey croissant, Reuben and Italian sausage sandwiches – to the more tempting dinner menu.
We shared the New Orleans BBQ shrimp appetizer in a barbecue cream sauce. My companion pronounced it finger-licking good. Spicy and sweet at once, with tails that pulled cleanly out of the shell, the only thing missing was bread to soak up the sauce – our fault for choosing to come during the off time.
Other great appetizers at Sammy’s are the mussels (almost as good as JP’s at Piero’s Pasta House in Geneva – anything close is still excellent) and the blackened scallops. OMG they are wonderful. Crunchy on the outside yet soft and tender inside, the accompanying Cajun dipping sauce only covered up the fantastic flavor of the scallops. I ate mine naked – minus the dipping sauce I mean.
I chose the Louisiana Cajun chicken and shrimp pasta for my entrée; my companion picked Sammy’s filet. Both came with salads, mixed greens with broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, white onions and slivered carrots. The dressings were average.
The spicy penne pasta is not for the faint of taste. A huge portion was tossed with red and yellow peppers, broccoli, yellow squash and zucchini still crunchy and still retaining their individual colors and tastes. Add to that plenty of shrimp and tender chicken. It was really good, but really spicy so beware.
My companion’s filet was excellent – her opinion and mine as she shared a couple bites with me. Her steak was accompanied by the same combination of veggies as my pasta with a totally different flavor but still cooked to perfection.
She was completely satisfied with her choice.
“I always enjoy the steaks at Sammy’s,” she said. “They pick good quality meat.” She and her husband are veterans of the Thunder Hill restaurant.
There’s much more than just steak to Sammy’s, but I say when at Sammy’s, eat steak. Sammy’s is a carnivore’s delight. The menu boasts prime rib, Boston strip, bone-in rib steak and filets prepared three ways.
On my next visit, I had the Filet Oscar for dinner, one of my favorites from Thunder Hill. Sammy tops a 6- or 10-ounce filet with béarnaise sauce and langostinos ($20-$23) and serves it with a choice of a salad and a side. Sides include baked or house potatoes, sweet potatoes with brown sugar sauce, steak fries or the veggie medley.
On another visit, one of my companions had surf & turf, the classic filet/lobster tail combo. While both steaks were fabulous, I was surprised at how different the two filets tasted.
The lobster was great as well and came with a butter warmer complete with a candle under it to keep it hot. You rarely see those anymore. Nothing’s worse than cold butter unless it’s cold steak. At Sammy’s you still can eat your steak while it’s hot and warm your lobster up in hot butter.
In all my visits to Sammy’s so far, my only disappointment was when I learned they don’t make their own desserts. We ended up trying the peanut butter blast. It was melt-in-your mouth good, but I would rather have something made in-house. How about whipping up a nice tiramisu for my next visit, Sam?
The next Madison-Perry Area Chamber of Commerce meeting will be held at Sammy’s Jan. 18. I highly suggest attending the meeting, but if you can’t wait that long to try Sammy’s (I doubt if I can), the restaurant opens at 11 a.m. daily and stays open till 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. A late-night menu is served Fridays and Saturdays till 11 p.m.; the bar is open weekends till 1 or 2 a.m.
Reservations are recommended for dinner, especially on the weekends, by calling 440-259-3799. Sam has retained the pizza operation. To order a pizza for pick-up or delivery, call 440-259-5050.
Laura Freeman writes regularly about restaurants for the Lake County Business Journal. Lfreeman@lakebusinessjournal.com. |
