When my birthday arrived, I knew exactly where I wanted my husband to take me for my birthday meal - Sporting Club. We don't go often, so for us it remains a special occasion place. The atmosphere is unique and the food excellent.
When you arrive at Sporting Club you choose a seat in the bar area. Usually you are greated quickly by the waitress to take your drink orders. We arrived at about 5:30 on the night we went so there weren't many customers yet and lots of seats including the couches in front of the fireplace. We sat in front of the fireplace.
Each table is given a number when they arrive and periodically, someone from the dining room comes in and takes orders from the new tables. When your food is ready and on the table she comes back and escorts you to your table.
We each ordered drinks from the full bar and we also ordered an appetizer of ribs. The ribs are amazing and we can't have a trip to Sporting Club without an order. I am not sure what is in the BBQ sauce recipe but I'd by it if they bottled it. While waiting for the ribs we picked up a basket of popcorn.
There are no menus a Sporting Club. On the wall is a listing of their offerings which include: steak, chicken, salmon, ribs, lobster and clams. There may be one or two more offerings but I never look much farther than the steak. It isn't mentioned on the wall but they do have more than one cut of steak. We both ordered the Porterhouse that evening. I ordered my medium and my husband ordered his medium rare. We also were given the option of baked potato or homemade french fries. I have had the fries before and they are good but I like to have the baked potato to suck up the juices of the steak. We both ordered baked potato.
Our ribs arrived and they were as good as we expected. We enjoyed a few more moments in front of the fireplace and then it was time to move to our table. Every meal comes with what you order for meat and potato, a spicy coleslaw that the Acadians call chef salad, and ployes which are thin buckwheat pancakes. Oh I forgot the piece of corn on the cob that I have never found to be edible. I have always assumed they put it on the plate for looks. My husband loves the coleslaw so I take a few bites and give it to him. I like it but don't enjoy it as much as him. Our steaks were cooked to our liking and we had everything we needed at the table.
After dinner we each ordered a cup of coffee and dessert. I had a cheesecake that was tasty but the best part of the meal was the steak. I am not sure what the secret is to the steak but I have never had a better steak anywhere.
Locals often go for the lobster on special occasions. They offer a 4 lb lobster and the price varies with the market. I have seen it as high as $68 dollars. There are no prices listed anywhere (remember no menus) so be cautious if you want the lobster. I have had it in the past and do find it to be tasty but I usually save my lobster feasts for trips to the coast.
The service was great. There was one waitress who seemed to be assigned to our table, however, all of the wait staff seemed to be watching out for us. It was a great evening and for drinks, appetizer, dinner, coffee, desserts, and tip we paid about $110.
