Sammy's Ye Old Cider Mill: Mendham, NJ

It took 45 minutes to get there and 40 minutes to eat one of worst meals in recent memory.  And it's not cheap.

Many sources have told me that I "have" to go to Sammy's.  According to reports, they have "the best steak."  "You wait downstairs at the bar" while your food is being cooked (implied niftiness).  They have a "great wine list."

I think those sources were yanking my chain, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were all lined up outside the windows just to see the look on my face as I ate that 180 dollar mess of a meal.

Let me get right to that policy of standing in line (outside if the line is long) to place your order.  You have to be friggin' kidding me.  The chaos and ensuing stress of having people squeeze by you in line to meet their friends or loved ones who arrived earlier to get in that line, and the frustration that comes from watching people take 10 minutes to order from a relatively small menu, is enough to make you want to skip the ordering process and head right down to the bar...for good.   And it's not even a particularly fun or nice bar.  It looks like an Elks club, and is just about as comfortable (I don't have much experience in Elks clubs, but enough to know they're not generally my pre-dinner preference).

After a bottle of beer (that "award winning wine list" apparently didn't make it to the by-the-glass selections in the basement bar) and one of the smallest martinis I've ever seen we were called up to our table, right next to the front door, which is sometimes held open by people standing in line to order the food.  Sound fun?  Sure is.

At least there's a salad waiting on your table.  Now I'm no back-of-house expert, but I'm guessing big bowls of this stuff are mixed up in advance, and then plated as needed.  Why would I say this you ask?  Because the lettuce was soggy and limp.  Really limp.  But, I have to admit that the red wine vinegar, which is made right there at the restaurant, is very good.  Nice and assertive.  That vinegar, paired with the onions, made the salad quite palatable.  I just can't help but think what it could have been with freshly mixed greens.

Their website proudly proclaims that their lobsters "taste like they were just plucked from the water".  Well I should bloody well hope they do!  Aren't you supposed to pluck lobsters from the water and then cook them, like, soon after, if not immediately?  I cannot confirm or deny their claim, as I didn't order lobster proper, but I can say that their lobster cocktail "tasted like it was just plucked from the water and cooked yesterday."  Ice cold.  With a bunch of cocktail sauce.  Think "glorified shrimp cocktail".  Tasty enough.

We ordered a simple, fruity, inexpensive wine from that wine list.  The wine list included representatives from most parts of the world, and seemed reasonably priced.  But judging by the temperature at which our wine was served, I'm not sure I'd spend more than 50 dollars on a bottle here.  The wine was well above an appropriate temperature.  Probably more than room temperature.  I asked the (very nice) waitress (who really doesn't do much other than take your wine order, what with this stand-in-line-to-order approach) if she could chill the wine down a bit.  She brought one of those plastic sleeves that are usually used for white wine.  Not a metal and chilled sleeve, but a plastic not-chilled sleeve.  It doesn't take an engineering degree to figure out that this thing did nothing but help keep the wine at the well-above-room-temperature temperature.  Sigh.

We also ordered two glasses of "Great Western Champagne."  Since I was pretty sure that anything named "Great Western" was most likely not from Champagne, France (should probably not be called "champagne" in that case), -- and being curious about its origin -- I asked the waitress where it was from (that award winning wine list didn't mention that bit of information).  She acknowledged that she didn't know (thank you) and said she'd go find out, which, of course, is the appropriate reaction.  She returned moments later and said that it wasn't from France, "so it's not really 'champagne"' (YAY!) and that it was "from Mexico...or New Mexico, or something like that."  Sigh.

Anyway, having recently returned from a vacation in New Mexico, where I enjoyed much of their local sparkling wine (Gruet), and having never had sparkling wine from Mexico, I figured I'd give it a shot.  It was a bit flat, and some extra bubbles might have help cut through the cloying sweetness.  But, it was a big pour for a few dollars, so I can't complain too much.  As an aside, some googling didn't turn up any "Great Western" in Mexico or New Mexico.  There are "Great Western" wineries in New York and Australia, though.  I can see where the confusion came from.

All of this aside, I still had high hopes for this steak.  We ordered the porterhouse for two.  A benchmark cut in my opinion.  The steak is dry-aged, according to the restaurant.  It is not, however, USDA Prime.  I'm not that much of a stickler for Prime as the grading system seems nebulous, but I am a stickler for expecting the telltale qualities of dry-aging (tenderness and minerally flavors) and proper cooking technique.  I always qualify my preferences on steak by stating that I have a bias for the Luger's school of aging and cooking (charred on the outside).

Out comes the steak, covered with a pile of french fries.  I have to think that a pile of fries does nothing for the char of the steak or the crispiness of the fries.  We took a few minutes pushing the fries around looking for the steak and uncovered a few pieces of beef which had been sliced off the bone. 

The steak had very very little char.  Some places had a bit of char, but mostly there was none.  Upon further inspection I determined that it was likely cooked on one side and then put on a hot plate to cook the other side.  While it was pink inside, that pink just kind of faded away to gray.  The bone, however, had a lovely char on it.  A char that just didn't jive with the steak.  We couldn't help but think that they re-use the bone, which would get more and more charred each time.  Which makes me wonder what steak they were placing next to it.  OK, so I'm pretty sure they're not reusing bones, but I'm just sayin'.

One piece of filet did have some nice minerally flavor.  But that was it.  The rest had little steak or mineral flavor at all.  It was also not seasoned with salt and pepper as aggressively as I would have liked.  On a positive note, there was no chewy sinew running through the pieces we ate (we didn't bother finishing the thing). 

The fries were pretty good. 

We were still kind of hungry but decided to skip the vegetable of the day, which on this day was steamed broccoli.  Steamed broccoli.  No salt.  No pepper.  No butter.  No olive oil.  No garlic.  Just steam and broccoli.  Who eats steamed broccoli?  Babies?  People on weird diets?  I just don't understand why they'd serve this stuff.

For your 100 dollar steak-for-two, you get that broccoli, those fries, the limp salad, and dessert and coffee.  Dessert and coffee were quite decent.  Or maybe that's only because we were so hungry when it came.

Sammy's Ye Old Cider Mill : 353 Mendham Rd West (Route 24) : Mendham, NJ : 973.543.7675 : Reservations not accepted

Comments

[dansroka]

Thanks for the warning! I'll be sure to avoid the place. There's something about having to stand in line for overpriced mediocre food that just ain't appealing. I stumbled upon your blog a couple weeks ago, and am glad to have found it. It's good to have some local restaurant reviews! Thanks.

[tommyeats]

Thanks Dan.

Although, I do hope you get the chance to try the place for yourself some day. I hate writing negative stuff about local places, knowing that it could impact business. But this place is so popular and so old I figured it wouldn't really matter this time.

Lots of people love it. I suppose, as with most of this stuff, it's a matter of taste.

Who knows, maybe I just had a bad steak. The waiting in line bit, though. C'mon with that.

[chefdave]

It kinda sounds like an over-priced "Sizzler".....standing in line to order mediocre steak that comes with a salad and, in this case, fries. I almost wish you'd said it came with the foil-wrapped baker (with the little paper souffle cups of butter and sour cream). THen it could have at least been kitschy.

And let me see if I understand this....after you wait in line to order, you wait in this pool hall area downstairs, and when your food is ready they call you up to some table? And did you really say that the bill came to almost $200????

I'm left somewhat speechless

[tommyeats]

chefdave,

the steak for two is 100 bucks and includes everything but appetizer and booze. the bill came to about 160, and that was with a very inexpensive bottle of wine, and before tip, and the tip you probably leave the bartender downstairs.

[Rosie]

I am so sorry to hear that you had such a horrendous experience at Sammy's. I love the restaurant even though it is a Dive & note that I am spelling that with a capitall D. We've been going there for over 20 years & have always had a great meal. Perhaps there have been changes. I've never seen a menu, never had the shrimp or lobster cocktail. Always order the steak and the lobster or lamb chops. Love the fries also. Sometimes we order shrimp scampi as an app. The first time you go there I guess it is a shock as you are not used to the ordering system and the wait in purgatory to be called up to the dining room. Actually we go at 5 on Sunday's so the place is not a zoo and we are the first to be seated around 5:30ish. I do like that they put your bar bill on your food bill. They still do that don't they?

[jimmy duster]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You can't beat the steaks off of tommyeats very own pimped out grill. Throw in some unreal brussel sprouts and spuds, beers or wine(whatever is your pleasure) and you have perfection.

The whole shebang comes in at under a hundred. Perfect.

[dbroc]

Ok, so I know I'm not crazy now but I'm starting to think that Rosie is. I've been here twice, a second time just to make sure and I came away with exactly the experience you've so aptly described. Can't imagine why so many people like this place.

[tommyeats]

for the record, more people than Rosie, who I love, and whose opinions I've trust for over 13 years, have recommended this place. SO, Rosie is not the only crazy person. :D

Hey look, i love dumps. I love weird things. I love weird bars. I love being uncomfortable. BUT, in this case, the food just didn't stand up at all. If the food was great, I would have loved it. If it was near Luger's quality, I would wait in line.

[Estaban]

Finally! Thank you for having the courage to deflate the image of Sammy's as a purveyor of good food. After about 10 years we decided to return to Sammy's just to 'confirm' that our meal 10 years ago was really that bad. Indeed it was worst than remembered. The only thing worth eating back then were the fries. This time even the fries werent as good. You were lucky that you didn't have to deal with the bar during the pre-smoking ban era. You would have been even less kind in your review. We decided a long time ago that the trip to Bklyn (Luger's) was a lot less painful and the reward a thousand fold greater than the so called 'Sammy experience'.

[tommyeats]

it's funny you mention the smoking Estaban.

While i was sitting down there at the bar, with the ceiling about 3 inches from the top of my head, i said something to the affect of "this place must have been a pleasure before the smoking ban."

[Rosie]

I'll have to retry this restaurant to see if they have dumbed down the quality of the food.

[Diana]

I had went to Sammy's for the first time in November 2006. I was not impressed with the atmosphere (dive), steak (no taste) and high prices. Reading your description of Sammy's brought back flashbacks of a poor dining choice.

[Thomas E. Lawson]

I REALLY,REALLY wish I had read this review before going to Sammy's. My wife had heard from family that this was a great place. I looked it up on the web & the website made it sound very good. If I had just clicked on the second link that was returned from my search I would have read this review.
This had to be close to the worse meal I have ever had! The salad was made up of only the ends of the letttuce (the bitter part). My steak my barely passing. I've had better steaks from Denny's. I won't even commont on dessert. All this for $337 tip included for four.
If you are thinking of going to Sammy's save yourself a lot of trouble & just goto McDonalds.

[Robert]

I have been to Sammy's 4 times. Every time it was delicious. I have had the steak, and it is better than ones I have eaten at The Strip House, and Ruth Chris. Lobster cocktail is supposed to be served cold and when I had it, I thought it was very fresh and delicious. The ordering system is unique, but I have never had a problem waiting in line. The Martini is served in a classic martini glass 6oz. No less. I have ordered wine every time I have been there, and it was never served at or above room temperature. I don’t think that the salad is good. It is obviously made in advance. But the front door does not open to the outside; maybe you forgot the porch that you walked through, so even the tables close to the door are protected from the elements. It sounds to me like you went to Sammy’s expecting it to be a trendy New York style steakhouse, which you know so well, and when it wasn’t you weren’t happy. I recommend it to anyone who likes steak.

[tommyeats]

you are so right: i was expecting a trendy New York steakhouse, which I know so well.

oh, and, I was expecting a good meal, which I didn't get. The details of that meal can be found above.

[Andrea]

Tommy, I just found you and you can know for sure that I will contribute often, I am Miss Super Foodie...always willing to go the extra mile for the best of anything. You are correct about Sammy's but I really wish you would have tried the spaghetti with garlic and oil. They have elevated the garlic prep to perfection.

[donna]

I've lived in Mendham for 13 years, and I' ve been to Sammy's once. Enough said. We went with three adolescent boys and after figuring out the procedure and prices,(I recall there being a large sharing fee?)we left. My husband and I did go once and actually eat. Like I said, once! It is another overrated place much like the Black Horse Inn in Mendham. People just go to be seen. What I can't figure out is WHY!?