111 Chop House Delivers Five Star Experience
Examiner.com
By Kellie Speed
Steakhouses in Boston may be a dime a dozen but when it comes to the suburbs, they can often be a hard find. The One Eleven Chop House in Worcester delivers everything a five star steakhouse should be – an upscale restaurant, excellent service, amazing steaks and an extensive wine list.
From the moment you enter the restaurant, you will quickly note this steakhouse lacks the dark heavy woods found at its traditional competitors. High ceilings, bright windows, light colors, a spacious dining room and white tablecloths complement some of the most succulent steaks available west of Boston.
Service here should be commended – attentive yet unobtrusive with two servers to each table. The food here is truly outstanding and they offer several specialty dishes, including stuffed fillets with many different sauces such as a shallot brandy cream sauce. In addition to the traditional staples such as a 12 ounce filet, 20 ounce porterhouse and 16 ounce ribeye, One Eleven Chop House also offers some intriguing dishes, including a Wagyu flatiron cut.
We started off with a sampling of the one of the best appetizers we have ever sampled – applewood smoked steakhouse bacon with tomatoes, and Stilton blue cheese drizzled with a tasty balsamic vinaigrette. The shrimp cocktail was served with four jumbo shrimp atop a spicy horseradish sauce. The menu here features many unique offerings such as a New England artisan cheese and pate platter, buffalo chicken roll, portabello mushroom fritters and Irish smoked salmon.
We sampled the fresh bread with dipping oil but decided to pass on the salads that came with our entrées to be sure we were able to save room for our entrees. Shortly after our entrée, we were able to meet with Executive Chef Benjamin Stevens, who worked at Boston’s Smith & Wollensky before coming to One Eleven Chop House. The Culinary Institute of America graduate’s goal here is to “keep the quality high and maintain the One Eleven Chop House tradition of unbelievable steaks.”
From the main entrees to the side dishes, the portions here are very generous. The 16 ounce boneless ribeye was a rich cut cooked to perfection and amazingly tender. My husband sampled the dry aged sirloin topped with Stilton cheese, which melted perfectly on top into the juicy marbling of the steak. He also order a stuffed shrimp, which I admittedly had to try, loaded with stuffing, which provided just the right “surf” to the “turf.” Some chop house classics included a rack of lamb and a grilled black pepper encrusted New York sirloin while a one pound meatloaf, cabernet braised beef short ribs and Long Island duck rounded out Chef Stevens’ signature entrees. Of course, there were several seafood dishes to choose from as well – New Bedford scallops with crab wontons, salmon with coconut and curry, jumbo Alaskan king crablegs and swordfish with fennel and eggplant.
The side dishes are equally as hearty and designed to be shared. The crunchy green beans were loaded with fresh garlic and parmesan cheese. The au gratin potatoes were the highlight of the night and an ultimate indulgence– enormous chunks of potatoes swimming in a creamy sauce and topped with melted cheese. Other appetizers included comfort food-styled mac and cheese, sautéed button mushrooms, steamed broccoli with Hollandaise sauce, creamed spinach and glazed mixed baby carrots.
Don’t miss the dessert menu here – our server recommended the enormous slice of carrot cake with raisins and walnuts, cream cheese frosting drizzled with caramel sauce and we’re glad she did. The warm fruit cobbler sounded delicious as well as the two inch thick cheesecake topped with strawberries.
The best part about One Eleven Chop House is it offers the same urban feeling of a downtown Boston steakhouse but at reasonable prices. With a steakhouse that presents and delivers like One Eleven Chop House, you may never need to go into Boston again.