Mahogany Grill @ Ithaca Commons

Mealtime

• French Onion Soup
• Smothered Prime Rib Sandwich ("topped with Sauteed Mushrooms, onions and Provolone cheese served open-faced on French Bread")
• Coleslaw side and a pickle

This was our subsidized floor dinner the RAs had been planning. There were just a few of us who went, since most of the others had finished with all their exams already and gone home. But me and Adam still had the Govt 181 paper the next day, and we were debating whether to go or not. In the end, the promise of good food made us cave.

The restaurant was dimly lit and renovated with its namesake in mind - all around was dark wooden furniture and mahogany paneling. We arranged smaller tables into one very long one to accommodate all of us and got down to placing our orders in one big round. Freshly baked bread and butter (infused with honey) was served to is on wooden slabbed chopping boards. The cool butter was just addictive, and melted quickly as it came into contact with the warm bread.

The orders actually didn't take much time to come. The French onion soup was delicious. It came in a small crock bowl and was encrusted with a rubbery layer of cheeses. Below this was a circular slice of bread and the soup and onions. It was a bit salty and the bread soggy (the real good stuff is able to keep the bread toasty - somehow), but it was the best French onion soup I've tasted in a long time. And I can't say my attempts at making the stuff have been any more successful.

My sandwich came soon afterwards and I have to say it was a disappointment after the soup. I regretted having ordered the steak medium-well. It was slightly charred over its entire length and burnt to a crisp on one end, hidden only by the cheese on top and the slightly toasted bread below. The mushrooms and onions were sauteed to perfection, and added a light touch to the cheese and heaviness of the steak.

I just ate it as a regular steak, using the fork and knife to slice chunks of beef and bread. It kinda reminded me of the Mushroom-Swiss Burgers at BK in Singapore, only with better quality beef and cheese and the sweetness of the onions. It tasted great at first, but as it cooled down and as I worked my way through it, the heaviness of the steak came back, as the bread got soggy in its juices and the oils off the sauteed mushrooms and onions seeped out. By the end of the meal, if it hadn't been for the refreshing coleslaw and pickle, I would have been pretty much struggling to finish the thing.

Okay, so it tasted good towards the beginning, and a smaller portion would have been helpful, though it wouldn't have been enough to satisfy my appetite. The compromise: cut the thing into smaller pieces, poke toothpicks in each piece and serve it as a starter. The chewy mushrooms and sweet onions really gave the sandwich its life.

Total cost: around US$16 (including tax)
Rating: aaaaa

http://cityguide.theithacajournal.com/
fe/Dining/menus/mahogany.pdf

(It's amazing what you can dig up on Google.)