Review: Restaurant 821 gets it right

It's rare that I'll step up to the plate and plunk down $100 for dinner, an evening at Restaurant 821, which came to $102, and was well worth the money.

I recently took Kelly to 821 to celebrate her birthday. Being a creature of Internet habit, I first checked Restaurant 821's Web site for more info. They have a clean, well-designed site that features restaurant info and a menu.

They also accept reservations online, a function I decided to use. The reservations were made in seconds and I received a confirmation e-mail within seconds. In the special comments section I noted we'd be celebrating Kelly's birthday and requested a dessert with a candle after the meal.

The meal began with fresh bread, which I believe may have been baked in house. The bread was served with olive oil and roasted garlic – no butter, which is fine as the oil and garlic was sufficient.

The waiter, quiet, but on top of his game, then brought out a complimentary appetizer of sorbet. The sorbet was unlike any I've ever had. It was made from fresh tomatoes and tasted like frozen V8. Kelly enjoyed it, but I didn't care for it. No harm, no foul as it was on the house.

Kelly had a martini of some sort that she said tasted interesting, while I had a Buckler non-alcoholic beer. There was an additional wait staff on hand that refilled our water glasses regularly.

For an appetizer, I had McGregor's Farm Baby Greens which were absolutely delicious and topped with a tasty, but somewhat tart raspberry vinaigrette. It also came with Mascarpone Crostini, which tasted good, but I have no idea what that actually is. Kelly had the house smoked Mozzarella which came with some tasty McGregor's Farm Heirloom Tomatoes, that were very firm and ripe.

For the meal, I had the steak of the day which was cooked as ordered (well-done) and was drenched in a light sauce. It also came with some of the best potatoes I've had in recent memory and topped with some hard pieces of bacon. There was just enough food – not an oversized portion by any means – but very filling. Kelly has scallops and while she enjoyed them, she said my dish had more flavor.

At this point, Kelly excused herself to go the bathroom and the waiter brought dessert menus. I hadn't mentioned the birthday dessert and I figured they had overlooked the note I e-mailed in with my reservation. I ordered cheesecake and to my surprise – they hadn't forgotten her birthday after all. Instead of a candle, the edge of the plate was decorated in a light chocolate sauce. It was discreet, but perfect. And on the way out, the hostess wished Kelly a happy birthday.

While I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy 821, the meal and the dining experience only got better as the evening progressed and I left the restaurant feeling that the value for the price was excellent and that I had made the right choice in choosing where to celebrate Kelly's birthday.