If it was socially acceptable, I would have licked the plates.  That pretty much sums up my dining experience at Prime, the restaurant at Saratoga National Golf Club.

For our 5th wedding anniversary, I let my husband choose the restaurant.  Given his love for the golf course, it didn’t come as any real surprise he chose Prime at Saratoga National.  For those unfamiliar, the space previously occupied by Sargos reopened its doors in May 2008 under Mazzone Management, which also operates, Angelo’s 677 Prime, the Glen Sanders Mansion, and the Hall of Springs.  Since it’s reopening, Prime has quickly become known as one of the best (and priciest) restaurant in and around Saratoga Springs.  Over the years, my husband and I have frequented numerous steakhouses.  Having lived in Boston for several years, we’ve been spoiled by the likes of The Capital Grille, Abe & Louie’s and Grill 23.  We’ve also been to both Flemming’s and Morton’s, and plan a trip to Peter Luger’s in the near future.  My point is this; we both love a good steak.  And for a good steak in Saratoga, there’s really only one place to go.

Atmosphere

We made our reservation for a Friday night just at the start of the Saratoga track season.  As expected, the restaurant was busy.  Music was playing outside on the patio and there was an energetic vibe.  With lots of dark wood and noise, the atmosphere at Prime is typical of any good steak house.  There is a main dining room, but we were seated in the lounge area near the bar.  On some nights, seating in the lounge might not be ideal, but for us, it worked out extremely well.

The lounge where all the entertainment is – it’s a great place to see the sights.  While we ate, Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings made the rounds.  At first, my husband wasn’t completely sure if that was Mayor Jennings, but when Governor Patterson showed up, the puzzle sort of fell into place.  In a moment right out of Saturday Night Live, Governor Patterson entered the room with two men (who I assume to be bodyguards or some such).  At some point, however, the two men left the governor standing at the bar by himself next to a group of people, including some dude in jeans and black tee shirt who remained totally oblivious to the fact that he was standing next to the Governor of New  York.  For his part, Governor Patterson stood, hands interlocked at his waist, looking a bit lost and confused until one of his guards returned to usher him upstairs (some big Democratic Party event was taking place above the restaurant).  To top off our evening, a gentleman wearing a trilby hat, navy blue sports jacket, and shorts kept walking through the restaurant and out the patio doors.  He must have walked through a half a dozen times during our meal.  What was amusing about the whole episode is that we never saw him reenter the restaurant through the patio doors.  It was one way journey, like he was running laps or something.

The one downfall about being seated in the lounge area was that we were also close to the bar where groups of people congregated, talked, and laughed.  Normally, this isn’t an issue, but while we ate there was one woman at the bar who had a voice that could only be described as nails on a chalkboard, or perhaps an ice pick stabbing your brain through your eyeball.  Not to be overly unkind, but I really wanted her to go away, or at least stop screeching.

Service

We had a team of waiters, along with busboys and runners, all of whom were friendly and attentive.  Our waiter was knowledgeable and guided us through the Prime menu, pointing out feature items.  They checked on us often.  The service was quick (but not rushed) and efficient.  We were left unattended for a spell while waiting for the dessert menu after our dinner plates were cleared.  We waited for about 10-15 minutes before one of our waiters finally stopped by to offer us dessert and coffee.  This was really the only service gap during our visit, and for what it’s worth, it gave us time to do some digesting, and watch the guy in the hat run a couple more laps.

Food

The menu offers a raw bar, a selection of appetizers, and caviar service.  The potential downfall of the menu is that if you are not a seafood eater (like my husband) you’re left with a somewhat limited set of options.  Since Prime is a steakhouse, the menu does feature an extensive choice of, well…beef; including Prime USDA cuts and Kobe beef (at $15 per ounce!).  If you’re not a steak person, the menu includes veal chops, rack of lamb, free range chicken, and pork chops.  If meat isn’t up your alley, then you can choose from a selection of seafood like Ahi tuna, seared diver scallops, or Chilean sea bass.

The specials menu also featured a Seafood Stuffed Lobster (2.5 or 3.5 lbs) .  My head was spinning and I was totally overwhelmed.  I could have ordered almost anything on that menu had would have been more than happy.  I love seafood, and order it almost every chance I get, but since we were in a steakhouse…well, when in Rome…

For starters, we shared the Heirloom Tomato and Burrata salad with Fresh Basil.  Although it’s a very simple stack of tomato, basil, and mozzarella, the flavors are amazing.  The tomatoes were fresh and sweet.  The burrata, described as a purse with your standard mozzarella on the outside and with curds and the equivalent of a cream on the inside, is without a doubt the best (and creamiest) mozzarella I’ve ever had.   The entire stack is topped with a drizzle of vinegar and olive oil.  It’s really quite delicious, and was the first time I contemplated licking my plate.

For our entree, we both ordered the Filet Mignon (cooked rare).   Before I met my husband, I used to eat my meat well done.  Over the years (last 12), he’s slowly pushed me towards shorter cook times.  Now, like my husband, I enjoy a nice steak with a cool red center.  Both of our steaks were thick cut, and cooked to perfection.   Our filets were seasoned just enough to allow the flavor of the meat to shine through.  Cliché as it might be, our steaks were so tender we could have cut them with a fork.  As all steaks at Prime are, our steaks were served with a side of their house steak sauce – not that it need it.  The sauce is flavorful, but definitely sweeter than I expected.

Like most steakhouses, the menu is a la carte, so you have to order the sides separately (it ain’t the Outback).  Prime offers a large selection of potatoes, vegetable, and grains (kinda like the Outback).  We had a hard time deciding between the lobster mac n’ cheese, parmesan and white truffle oil steak fries, and gnocchi with bleu cheese.  We finally decided to share an order of the creamed spinach with crispy shallots and a tasting of 3 mashed potatoes.

Sharing the sides is definitely the way to go.  First of all, the portions are far too big for a normal human to eat by himself.  Secondly, you probably won’t be able to decide on just one dish, so it makes sense to order a few and share them.  The creamed spinach was very good, and I would compare it favorable to the creamed spinach we’ve had at other elite steakhouses.  While there is plenty of fresh spinach flavor, the crispy shallots add a nice contrast to the texture, and crunch to the creamy greens.  The tasting of 3 mashed potatoes were smooth, rich, creamy, and heavenly (that’s because I’m sure they use real cream and butter).  The trio includes generous portions of their Sour Cream and Chives Mashed, Lobster Mashed, and Roasted Garlic Mashed.  The Sour Cream and Chives mashed had a nice tangy flavor topped off with fresh chives.  The Roasted Garlic Mashed featured a nice (but not overpowering) garlic flavor.  The Lobster Mashed had pieces of lobster mixed in, topped off with a lobster claw. My husband enjoyed the lobster mashed, which is surprising since he generally refuses to eat seafood.  I may visit Prime again and dine exclusively on sides.

You would think that we’d be full after all this food but we had our minds set on dessert long before we set foot in the restaurant.  We ordered the Famous Chocolate Gooey, which is a molten chocolate cake baked to order  When we placed our order, we were told that it would take approximately 12 minutes to make.  Since we were in no hurry (and since we decided long ago on this dessert) we were okay with the wait.  The cake was well worth every minute of that wait.  As the name suggests, it is warm, rich, and gooey.  The cake is complimented by vanilla ice cream and raspberries.  As we devoured the cake, my husband wondered, why do they always use vanilla ice cream. Why not chocolate?  I think he makes a great point, why not chocolate?  Once again, I thought about licking my plate, but the sight of our friend in the jacket and shorts brought me back to reality.

Price

Our entire meal for two at Prime cost just over $180 including tax and tip.  The tab included 1 glass of wine, 1 salad, 2 entrees, 2 sides, and 1 dessert.  No doubt Prime offers one of the more expensive dinners in the Saratoga area, but there’s also little doubt that it’s worth every penny (not that we’d eat there every night).  That baked stuffed lobster I didn’t order starts at $60, and don’t forget about the $15 per ounce Kobe beef!  Bring your wallet.

Overall Quality

We couldn’t finish all the food so we had to take home a doggy bag.  The mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, and steak heated up nicely and tasted every bit as good the following day.  Our recent dining experience at Prime ranked as one of the best we’ve had since we moved from Boston.  Unless you’re a lottery winner, or a master at picking the ponies, chances are Prime at Saratoga National isn’t going to be your regular dinner spot, but for special occasions it is well worth it for the atmosphere, service, the food, and of course, the golf course itself (my husband made me add that).

Find out more about Prime at Saratoga National by visiting their website.