Sarah ArnoldA couple of years ago, my husband, Nick, and I had our first meal at the River Town Grill during MOV Restaurant Week, which remains one of his all-time favorite meals (he is still raving about those Monte Cristo Bites and Blackened Ahi Tuna.) So, our expectations were high when we decided to make River Town Grill our first stop during this year’s event – and we were not disappointed.
Although we’ve eaten at River Town Grill many times over the past two years, we were still pleasantly surprised when we walked in to see the tables draped in black linens, softly lit with a flickering candle – the perfect ambiance for a cozy date night out.
We kicked things off with the generously portioned appetizers, splitting the buffalo chicken bites and bang bang shrimp between us. The buffalo chicken bites were quite creamy, with a blend of buffalo chicken, aged cheese, cream and pepper sauce fried in a flour tortilla. This dish is typically served with an extra chunky bleu cheese dressing, but as I’m not a big bleu cheese fan, I dipped mine in ranch instead. I could have easily made an entire meal out of the buffalo bites, they were that good – and filling! The bang bang shrimp were oh-so-tasty, drizzled with a deliciously tangy house-made sauce; this was definitely the lighter choice of the two if you are saving room for the main course.
Which, I highly recommend if you are planning to order the roasted blacked prime rib.
Normally, we divide and conquer a MOV Restaurant Week menu and split everything in half so that we can sample all of the options. This slow roasted prime rib was our exception – neither wanted to miss out on what we knew would become a ‘steak-to-remember.’ The second our waitress brought out our entrees, we knew we had made the right choice. Roasted to perfection with a red wine demi, this was one of the most flavorful prime rib cuts I’ve had the pleasure of eating. Blackened and seasoned with rosemary, it was the highlight of my meal. The prime rib was served with grilled asparagus (tender and well-seasoned) and smoked Gouda mashed potatoes. While the dish was served with gravy, I found that nothing on my plate required it – the mashed potatoes held their own with a wonderfully cheese-y consistency, and to add anything to the prime rib would’ve been sinful.
Needless to say, we were both quite full by the time our desserts arrived. In fact, I had the second half of my steak boxed up for a future meal – knowing my ice cream was less likely to keep.
My fried apple cinnamon bites were a pair of decadent hand-rolled torts filled with a blend of apples, cream, cinnamon and sugar drizzled with caramel over two heaping scoops of vanilla bean ice cream. Think fried ice cream + apple pie. I hope this dessert finds a permanent home on their menu as I would certainly order this again, perhaps with a lighter meal.
Nick’s brownie sundae was just as impressive! The warm, gooey brownie was served with a scoop of ice cream coated in a caramel and white chocolate candied shell. Cracking the candy shell with a spoon, we savored each bite of this sundae.
River Town Grill continues to impress us with each meal, and now we have a new favorite spot when we are in the mood for a great steak. If you miss out on their MOV Restaurant Week menu, you can still order their blackened prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights. Trust us, it’s worth it!