Larry's Steakhouse

Peter,
I think you found your calling.

The wings at Larry's are fantastic!

As is the steak salad, really great service.

Peter,
Have you tried the South Beach? I find the food and service to be top shelf. I would like to recoment the Cubano sandwich, really good with sweet potato french frys on the side.
Good luck on your new endevor :>)

I was wondering at what temperature do you order your steaks to be ? I never have heard of that before. Do you use a food thermometer to check it ? Maybe you were talking about how they were done, just curious.

I wasn't impressed with South Beach.
The service was so/so.
One dish served, caused a diner to become ill about two hours later.
One understands that this is an "upscale" restaurant, but does upscale mean that an open faced steak sandwich (with no sides) should cost almost $10?
I like Larry's and have always had a good meal there.
I doubt if I'll be back to South Beach for a long time.

I enjoyed South Beach with a party of four last week, all four were impressed with food and service,two patrons were from Las Vegas visiting and were pleased with everything.By the way the place was packed, they must be doing something right!

I'll be looking for your reviews, Peter. Getting paid to eat would be great!!

JUNE 27TH 2010 @ 8:51pm
A quote by BEA McMANIS
"Ken has already earmarked me as someone he would not want in his establishments I'll make sure that I stay away"......... Did you forget?

I'll have to agree with Bea on this one..South Beach food is so so..and over priced ..the Service is great but the food isn't..

Peter, I get it now. What doneness did you order your steaks ? (rare/medium/well). Since you were reviewing a steakhouse I thought a little more about the steak. I look forward to your next review.

Posted by Ken Mistler on August 20, 2010 - 12:34pm
JUNE 27TH 2010 @ 8:51pm
A quote by BEA McMANIS
"Ken has already earmarked me as someone he would not want in his establishments I'll make sure that I stay away"......... Did you forget?

Actually, I didn't forget. I invited a friend to lunch and gave my friend the task of chosing a restaurant. South Beach was the choice.
I walked in with an open mind. I loved the new booths, it was the first comment I made as we arrived. I rarely order a drink with lunch, but on this occasion I did and it was made to perfection. The waitress had no problem with my drink order, but was stumped on the selection of beers. I thought that rather odd, but not a deal breaker.
I was surprised that the sandwich did not come with a side dish. Maybe it is just me, but a lonely sandwich on a plate seemed overpriced at almost $10.
My friend enjoyed the meal, but became ill a short while after.
So, the decor is wonderful; perhaps the server was new; and the restaurant was a great oasis out of the hot and hazy day. The dining experience was not what I expected.

I've had four meals at South Beach now. Each one was perfect. I've had a different dish each time.

Bea, I was wondering what your friend ordered that day ?

Howard, I think you have a certain type of VIP or minor celebrity status when you dine or shop at certain businesses that know you. They are going to make sure you get top notch service for a good review. And of course you would not be wise to give any business that advertises on this website a bad review either.

Gabor, on the other hand, if I didn't post my experience with SB, then it could be perceived as tacit agreement with the critics.

And it's not so much celebrity status when I do go out, I'm often dealing with people I know because I'm out and about ... but I've also had my share of bad service with businesses I deal with regularly. It happens. It's part of doing business. People make mistakes even in outstanding businesses.

I believe that everyone needs to make their own determination on what they think of an individual business, and not listen to what another person's opinion is. What they do or do not like might be what you happen to hate or love. As far as South Beach, the experiences thatwe have had thus far, which has been at least 1/2 dozen, have all been terrific. This is relative to the food, service, atmosphere, price, etc. Again, what one person might find to be "pricey or expensive", another might find to be average or fair. Our family tends to dine out quite often, locally as well as in Rochester and/or Buffalo. The pricing at South Beach, for the type/quality of food you get, is very fairly priced - you are not eating at McDonald's or Burger King. The food has been great thus far, however, for those who have been there once and believe they have had a "so - so" meal, keep an open mind. Have you had a perfect meal everytime you have gone to your favorite restaurant?? I know that I occasionally get a "so - so" meal at the restaurants that I love to go to regularly, it happens, life goes on !!! Also, being that this is a NEW restaurant, with NEW staff, and New beginnings, be patient and kind. Once the staff is acclimated and used to working with each other and it has the comfort level of an long-time established business, I am sure everything will mesh and go smooth. I know that I have experienced the "learning period" in many new establishments in town, and they all seem to work the kinks thru quickly. Batavia needs business, and cudo's to the ones who continue to bring that to Batavia (thank you Ken Mistler). We should be thanking these type of people, rather than berating them. We want Batavia to continue to thrive, and without these business people, it will not. My hats off to South Beach, may it live long and prosper !!

Susan,
Your points are well taken.
It is wrong to assume that because one did not have a pleasant experience at South Beach, or any restaurant, that they have not experienced upscale restaurants.
I'll admit that I do have a MAC attack on occasion, or that I miss In and Out, in California, I've had my share of dining at well known and pricey restaurants (thanks to a boss who would come across the pond once every six weeks and expect to be wined and dined like royalty.
He would make a list of places he "had" to try in NYC; Philadelphia; Baltimore; and DC.
The lunches and dinners may have been pricey but you felt your meal was worth it.
I didn't get that feeling at my most recent experience at South Beach.

Bea - none of my comments were meant to make an assumption that a person's unpleasant experience has anything to do with upscale dining. My reference to upscale/average/fast food dining was about price point. (which was not from your post, but another one). Again, my point there was that some people's thoughts of expensive may be another person's thoughts of "reasonable".

My point to your post, however, was that One single dining experience, at a NEW restaurant, is an unfair assumption of the business as a whole. It has been our experience that you should at least give a new place, especially a restaurant, at least 3 or more tries. If after that, you still feel that you are not satisfied, then so be it - you are welcome to your opinion, as we all are.

We have had some of our best meals in diners. As a matter of fact, with a family member currently in the hospital, we have had some great meals in the hospital cafeteria. So, as you see, it is not a matter of trying to be a snob in discussing "fine dining". The point that I was making in regards to your post is that a one-time visit does not necessarily constitute a good or bad review.

Batavia is a tough place to live. Business after business continue to close their doors. In a time when our economy needs more business to come here, and to employ persons and bring more revenues in, we should be applauding every time a new door opens and offers these opportunities.

We are very blessed to have a business man such as Ken that has made Batavia his home and continues to help this town thrive.
Fine dining, casual dining, upscale dining, whatever kind of dining - that is not the issue. Businesses that thrive - that is. Let's support these.

Susan,
I'd be more than happy to give SB another try. As you can see by Ken's reaction, if I announced who I was when I entered his establishment, I most likely would be escorted out.