Jackson Metro Eats: Char

Patrick picked Char (Urbanspoon) this week after having Bravo for lunch last week.  We moved date night to Wednesday because of my painting class, and for a Wednesday, it was pretty busy.  I'll elaborate on that later though.  The decor and lighting (lighting that makes pictures with no flash extremely difficult) makes you think of a good, classic steakhouse.

Anyway, back to dinner.  Patrick picked the corn griddle cakes with blue crab and corn relish for our appetizer.

They were very tasty griddle cakes (similar to ones I make at home) and layered in between the three griddle cakes were chunks of blue crab and the corn and onion relish with some fresh herbs.  It was a nice start to the meal, and it set the bar pretty high.

We both went with the Char Salad next.

It was a fresh, classic take on a steakhouse salad.  It had lots of tomatoes, egg, and good Ranch dressing.  It was thin (which I like) and tasted like the herbs and spices, not just mayo.  So far, we're two for two.

For dinner, Patrick and I decided to go with what they are known for: the beef.  We both ordered the beef tenderloin filet, medium rare.  It came with hashed, rosemary potatoes and onions.  

Annnd, here's where Char failed us.  Well, they did live up to their name, our steaks were charred.  Mine was cooked correctly, but was under-seasoned.  Patrick's came out Medium-Well and was very, very dry.  I thought the potatoes lacked flavor, and the jus just happened to be the best thing on the place.  I had such high expectations after the first two courses, but it just fell flat.

We did splurge for dessert too.

It was the Pecan Caramel Butter Crunch Cake with vanilla ice cream and a caramel/apple sauce.  It's won the MS magazine best dessert for the last 7 years, and it's no surprise.  It was gooey and decadent, definitely making the night a little bit better. 


I almost forgot one of the most aggravating things that happened, which is totally NOT Char's fault.  About 10 minutes after we were seated, there was a group seated next to us and this group needed to remember their manners.  I shouldn't be able to hear every detail of your conversation because you are yelling in a restaurant and I really don't want to hear you curse every two seconds.  Maybe we were just raised better than that, but it was extremely distracting, and they were they only table doing this.  Boo on you, booth next to us.


I doubt we'll return to Char anytime soon, with so many other options that, in my opinion, are much better.