Arthur Henry's Supper Club

Dining News: Former Sac Bee Critic vs. Current on Arthur Henry's

Arthur henrys

Longtime readers of Cowtown Eats are familiar with this recurring thought. Just like movie critics, some will share your taste and other's won't. It's not a matter of facts, but a matter of opinion.

A recent review of Oak Park's Aurthur Henry's and the two different critics' opinion of the restaurant concept is a perfect example of that.

The Sac Bee's current food critic wrote recently that she enjoyed cooking her own food on the grill.

Why in the world, one might ask, would you pay $23 to grill your own rib-eye? Because it’s great fun. Eating a steak cooked by a professional is dining out. Grilling one’s own steak, and especially doing it alongside pals, is a party.

At least that’s the case at Arthur Henry’s, where a limited, old-school menu (highlighted by steaks, bourbon and garlic bread) combines with permanent-midnight lighting, velvet floral wallpaper and a jukebox partial to Steve Miller and Conway Twitty to send one back in time – to that period, roughly between 1965 and 1981, when mustaches, Corvettes and smoke-filled barrooms were held in equal esteem.

Read Carla Meyer's entire review in the Sac Bee.

But that's distinct from the opinion from former Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson in January 2014:

This is possibly the clumsiest restaurant concept we have ever encountered. The food comes heavily wrapped in plastic and is unsightly on the table – a skewer of raw vegetables next to a slab of raw meat next to a piece of stale bread with pale butter. The paper plates are on top of the porcelain plate we are expected to eat off of, something we found unappealing. When we unwrapped the plastic, we all made “yucky” faces...

Did we have a good time? Yes, we did, but our conversation – and many of our laughs throughout the evening – centered around how we actually like people with skill and passion handling our food, where we would discard our blood-soaked plastic wrap and who would bug the server to bring us more Handi-wipes.

I happen to agree with Meyer that Arthur Henry's is a good time. I've been there several times with friends for both drinks and for a full dinner. I'm glad that I don't have to go to the store, set up my grill, wait for the charcoal to light, and clean up. For that convenience and the restaurant's unique ambiance, it's worth an occasional visit. But that doesn't mean that Robertson is wrong. Sometimes your tastes are just different from a restaurant critic's.

Arthur Henry's Supper Club and Ruby Room is located at 3406 Broadway and can be found online at http://www.arthurhenrys.net/.

Click here to check out Arthur Henry's Happy Hour menu.

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Continue reading "Dining News: Former Sac Bee Critic vs. Current on Arthur Henry's" »


Dining Deals: Arthur Henry's Supper Club, Whiskey Tasting at Block Butcher Bar

Arethenry

Arthur Henry's Supper Club has been open since December, and I've found it to be a novel concept and a great place to go with friends. If they can survive as Oak Park continues to gentrify, I think they'll be very successful.

But in the mean time, they need more people to try the place out. I bought one, and if you haven't been there yet, you should too.

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Dining News: Arthur Henry's May Be 'Clumsiest Restaurant Concept We Have Ever Encountered'

Arethenry

Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson gave his first impression of Arthur Henry's Supper Club earlier this month, and let's just say he wasn't a fan of the restaurant that shares an owner with Orphan.

This is possibly the clumsiest restaurant concept we have ever encountered. The food comes heavily wrapped in plastic and is unsightly on the table – a skewer of raw vegetables next to a slab of raw meat next to a piece of stale bread with pale butter. The paper plates are on top of the porcelain plate we are expected to eat off of, something we found unappealing. When we unwrapped the plastic, we all made “yucky” faces...

Did we have a good time? Yes, we did, but our conversation – and many of our laughs throughout the evening – centered around how we actually like people with skill and passion handling our food, where we would discard our blood-soaked plastic wrap and who would bug the server to bring us more Handi-wipes.

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

I wrote about my initial visit to Arthur Henry's during one of their preview nights before they opened.

I've been back since, although only for drinks, and during that midweek visit, nary a soul was grilling their own steak.I enjoyed the drinks and vibe immensely.

I think I liked the general concept of the restaurant more than the Sac Bee restaurant critic. As he correctly points out, there are are other types of food that people end up having to put some effort into, namely Korean BBQ at a place like Oz, fondue and shabu shabu, so the fact that you have to cook your own steak shouldn't be a deal breaker.

I will also point out that Robertson has had (and to his credit, disclosed) a previous negative experience with the owner of the restaurant in 2010, where he said he would throw Robertson out of the restaurant if he saw him there. I'm not suggesting that it altered his view of the restaurant, but it is another data point worth knowing about.

It's good to have a range of views. Make sure you read many and have consider multiple opinions before you decide to visit, or not.

More News:

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Sacramento Food Film Festival on the menus of top restaurants - The movies, menus and venues have been selected, and Sacramento food blogger-activist Catherine Enfield ( www.munchiemusings.net) is ready to screen the third annual Sacramento Food Film Festival, March 20-30. Just what is it? Seven food-themed movies will be paired with special meals at top restaurants and othr venues, and will involve panel discussions for foodies and filmies alike. Some events are free, others range from $15 to $40. Allen Pierleoni in the Sac Bee.

Continue reading "Dining News: Arthur Henry's May Be 'Clumsiest Restaurant Concept We Have Ever Encountered'" »