Flemings<\/a>. To be fair the pricing difference is significant, but one can argue good customer service should not be dictated by price. Anyways, although there were other hiccups before and after, they were almost expected from a freshly open place and none involved the quality of the food or the attitude of the waitress which was always friendly. Either of those would have been inexcusable. The others, given the circumstances were understandable.<\/p>Prime Rib<\/h2>
I ordered the prime rib. I am not sure if I am getting pickier in my old age or whether restaurants aren\u2019t doing as good a job as they once did, or if I have been on an unlucky streak. But I have been disappointed lately with three of my favorite dishes at restaurants. This night it was prime ribs turn. Now let me say, to me there are two types of prime rib, good and great. I have rarely had a prime rib that I would turn my nose up at. Some may be cooked more than I like, fattier than I like or even drier than I like, but hell it is still a big cut of meat, and that\u2019s a good thing. But the kind of prime rib that makes me close my eyes and just want turn off the rest of the world while enjoying the wonderful cut of beef that it can be has escaped me for a long time now. Part of it is that that I like the charred, flavored outside of the prime rib, ideally with a pepper or garlic rub that just bursts with flavor, but I want the inside medium rare, just warm and juicy with fat enough to add flavor, but not so much that you cannot fit it and the meat next to it in your mouth at the same time. And for gods sake I do not want to have parts of my prime rib that I have to chew for a week until I finally give up the ghost and dispatch it to my napkin. \u00a0Not that I will not eat a prime rib like that and still say I like it. I go back to my big cut of meat statement. But I search for that great prime rib. The Painted Pony\u2019s prime rib was good, in that it was cooked appropriately, medium rare, it had decent fat but not so much that you either had to leave half of it on your plate or chew large globs of it with just a touch of meat to justify it. But what it lacked was a decent rub. The kind that would turn a decent cut of meat into meat heaven. Its flavor was decent. I think it was equivalent to just about every other prime rib I have had lately, which includes Bacchis Wednesday night $15 prime rib special. Two others in our group got the prime rib and although I did not hear any feedback, I did not hear any compliments either. Hopefully this is an area that they will grow into.<\/p>
Chicken Alexander<\/h2>
The other two entrees that people got had one winner and one average rating. The Chicken Alexander was very good. The one thing I could see is that the Painted Pony knows how to handle breading. The chicken, its breading and the sauce over it were all delicious (the friend made the mistake of offering us a bite and most of us took it, especially her husband Mr. anti-spice who took and took and took, apparently liking it much better than his prime rib. The other dish was the mac and cheese with short ribs. We finished off with a lemon cake that was moist, a little tart and not overly sweet, a fine ending to the meal.<\/p>
Conclusion<\/h2>
For being open such a short time I see some real potential with the New Painted Pony. Some things they are already spot on with. Others are near misses, and that is a good sign for a kitchen and staff that are just learning to work together. I like the location and liked the appetizers and the Chicken Alexander. Those would be enough to bring me back. Now if they could turn the prime rib into a hit, I could be spending a lot of time in the little town of Bethlehem.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t