Angels We Have Heard On High

August was a month of birthdays for three of my friends (the Angels) and so we went out. We decided to go to 801 Chophouse in downtown Des Moines. Angel Two and I went to the bar first to wait for the others. It had the look of a library, complete with ladder to retrieve the bottles of the most expensive liquors from the upper shelves. After the other Angels arrived, we were seated in a booth that had birthday confetti strewn on the table top. Each of the Angels received a menu that had 'Happy Birthday' emblazoned on the opening page.

It is a classic, old style restaurant where the dining is as much an experience as a meal.  For the two hour + duration, we had one waitress named Joanie and she was superb. There was nothing on the menu that she could not explain and it was fairly complex. She was also very charming and she seemed to love her job.

The menu was a meat lovers dream and after much reflection, I think I want to go back, maybe on a Sunday night to try the Sunday supper. It is pricey, but my steak was done perfectly and the experience with my friends was wonderful.

I started with a cup of the lobster bisque. It was excellent, with nice chunks of lobster and a very creamy. It had just enough cayenne to give it some spark. The others had Caesar salad. We shared appetizers of  'Down Home' sauteed shrimp and baked escargot on toast. In retrospect, we probably should have gotten two servings of the shrimp. They were delightful and delightfully huge, but there were only four on the plate. Again, there was a hint of cayenne in the saute mixture with the butter and garlic, none of which overpowered the shear shirmpyness of the shrimp. The baked escargot was served on a metal tray with divots, each containing one escargot in garlic butter and covered with an unidentified cheese that was toasted to a golden brown. They were served with a sour dough toast. Mmmm.

For dinner I had the 16 oz New York Strip with bone marrow butter, some steamed broccoli, grilled asparagus in hollandaise and lobster mashed potatoes. Angel One had fillet Mignon medallions with a mushroom sauce, Angel Two had the rib eye and garlic mashed potatoes. And Angel Three had the prime rib. We all shared the sides of broccoli and asparagus and potatoes.

All the portions were huge and bags were provided to take home leftovers. I had none. The Angels will be enjoying there meal again this week.

Here are some pics from the night.

Again, Happy Birthday to all three of you Angels. Thank You for watching over me. I love you.