Saloon's $14 Yellow Cab Martini, made with a vanilla infused-cognac and shaken with pineapple and lime juice, is the perfect manifestation of the restaurant's identity. Part tourist trap and part snifter-class, this comfortable and upscale steakhouse hosts a schmoozy crowd that belongs mostly to the old school.
You'll likely find a handful of older men loitering at the rich wooden bar, along with a smattering of younger patrons glued to the latest PGA action on flat-screen TVs. As Saloon is located in the Seneca Hotel, there's somewhat of a suburban fine-dining feel to the spot, and the crowd skews older. While business casual may fly at the bar, expect jackets and ties or polos in the dining room, where candles cast a golden hue over the vintage black-and-white tiled floor.
Sports-heavy decor dominates Saloon, but effects are subtly incorporated; think more hunting lodge than basement. Status items such as a football signed by John Madden, newspaper clippings and around 50 baseballs, all signed, sit in glass cabinets near the stairs. Accordingly, the dinner menu covers all the (meaty) bases; though, a porterhouse steak or its specialty, the prime bone-in filet mignon, will cost you about $50. Naturally, an extensive red wine selection dominates the drink menu, and options by the glass are priced from $6-$13.
Saloon also has a lunch menu, private party room and a semi-private wine room.
Centerstage Reviewer: Libby Ramer