Shula's 347 Grill

Tonight I had a much anticipated and needed date night with my husband!  We went to Shula's 347 Grill, the steakhouse on the first floor of the Hotel Duval.  It was a very nice time!  I normally don't care about little touches and formalities, but I actually enjoyed having the door being opened for me.  It sounds so silly, and I hate to think of myself as "that kind of person."  And I wouldn't have noticed opening the door for myself.  But what can I say?  I appreciated that someone was there to open it for me.

First things first: we ordered our wine.  They had a decent selection, with many pinot noirs and cabernets.  I had a wonderful Malbec, and John ordered the only Tuscan red on the menu.  Mine was better!

John didn't eat lunch, so for once I wasn't the only one interested in the appetizers.  We had bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp with barbecue sauce, and also a Caesar salad.  The shrimp were fantastic!  Very plump and flavorful.  I'm not usually a fan of barbecue, but this sauce was excellent.  The Caesar was fine.  Nothing wrong with it, but nothing special.

Our steaks arrived right after we were done with the shrimp and salad.  I had a filet mignon, and John had a bone-in ribeye.  As soon as they put each plate on the table, they asked us to cut through the center of each steak to check that it was done appropriately.  They even had little flashlights for the inspection.  To be honest, I didn't really care for that part.  I'd rather just assume it's cooked well, unless it's obviously not.  And I don't think the test really did what it was supposed to do, because although I initially thought my steak was cooked fine, as I started eating it I realized it was closer to medium than medium-rare.  It was still very good, though.  I actually got to taste a little of John's, and it was even better.  Maybe I just like the ribeye cut better than a filet and never realized it.

The sides were good as well.  We both got smashed potatoes, which were delicious.  I had asparagus and John had green beans.  The asparagus stalks were nice and crunchy, just how I like them.

We had a wonderful time, and after dinner we went up to the 8th floor bar, which has a nice balcony atmosphere overlooking the city.

However, I have to subtract points for price.  The food was good, but a little more expensive than it deserved to be, in my opinion.  It's ok... we were celebrating!

Score: 8/10