By David Nelson
SDUN Restaurant Critic

When New Yorkers say that a new restaurant is “really uptown,” they’re usually talking about a place downtown or in Midtown. They’ve been doing this ever since Duke Ellington suggested taking the A Train uptown for the ultimate night out.

Our Uptown is definitely San Diego’s hip zone. But because expense account types, conventioneers and others make downtown their headquarters, the city’s more formal, special occasion restaurants tend to cluster there—the closer to the convention center, the better. So when a special occasion comes along, it’s doubly special for us in Uptown if it coincides with a special offer at one of the relatively few really fine downtown eateries, such as Morton’s The Steakhouse.

An international icon that was founded a few feet from Rush Street in Chicago’s uptown district, the Morton’s chain is synonymous with luxury, specifically with oversized portions of deluxe meats, seafood, side dishes and desserts, served by highly trained staffers in deluxe settings. Even the music is recorded to suit Morton’s ambiance, and in San Diego, as elsewhere, Frank Sinatra is likely to narrate dinner from the first martini through the last bite of hot chocolate cake. Dinner is quite an experience, and given the exceptional quality and lavish servings, it’s quite an extravagance, too. At least it is much of the time.

At the moment, however, Morton’s is offering a specially priced, three-course dinner for two that will make you want to celebrate your birthday or anniversary before the end of September, no matter when on the calendar the event actually takes place. At $109.99, it’s by no means inexpensive, but the meal is quite grand and is definitely a bargain compared to the restaurant’s regular prices.

The usual Morton’s experience is something of a theater piece, since after the cocktail order is taken, a server wheels over a cart laden with the prime steaks, giant lobsters and slab-like cuts of fish (the swordfish can be amazing) that are the restaurant’s all-American specialties. The show-and-tell can be fun, once, but another nice aspect of the prix fixe special is that you get down to business quickly.

Here’s the deal (details about the individual preparations will follow). For the first course, choose a Caesar salad or the unique Morton’s salad. This will be shared, but since the servings always are over-sized, there will be plenty, especially since the salad will arrive alongside a loaf of irresistible onion bread. (Slice the bread into thick wedges with a steak knife, slather it with butter and enjoy, but remember, it’s very easy to fill up on this spectacularly flavorful loaf.) The second course really is extravagant, since it offers two single-cut filets, paired with two of the following: broiled sea scallops; colossal shrimp served in the restaurant’s suave, buttery Alexander sauce; or a jumbo lump crab cake. The main course also includes one of Morton’s signature potato preparations and a fresh vegetable dish, both meant to be shared—and both served more than plentifully. Finally, split a hunk of hot chocolate cake, a giant wedge of key lime pie or an island-sized crème brûlee. Chances are, some of the cake or pie will go home, along with enough steak to build a couple of deluxe sandwiches for lunch the next day.

The key to Morton’s cuisine really is quite simple: everything is prepared knowledgeably and made exclusively from the best. The Caesar salad, for example, is composed strictly of crisp hearts of Romaine, tossed with a mellow-sharp dressing and crisscrossed, unless you opt out, with pungent anchovy filets. As hearty as it is, this probably makes the lightest preface to Morton’s dinner-for-two. The alternative Morton’s salad is richer, a jumble of tender butter lettuce with deluxe blue cheese dressing, chopped eggs and anchovies. Each bite fills the mouth with memorable flavors. Since Morton’s is the house that steak built, the main event of individual, single-cut filets features the finest beef available in this country, cooked to order, preferably in the red-to-pink zone for maximum flavor and juiciness. The seafood garnishes that transform the steaks into surf ‘n’ turf events all are prime, too, from succulent sea scallops to shrimp Alexander—so huge they seem to aspire to lobster-hood—in smooth, tart beurre blanc, and on to the oh-so-rich jumbo lump crab cake, served with a robust mustard-mayonnaise sauce that underscores the delicacy of the crab.

If the steak makes the dinner, the side dishes make the steak, and at Morton’s, all the vegetables and most potato preparations are served in boats that feed two more than generously. The steamed jumbo asparagus spears, fresh as dawn and elegantly bathed in sauce hollandaise, headline a list that includes garlicky sautéed green beans, wonderful creamed spinach and a nice medley of sautéed spinach and button mushrooms that is relatively light on the palate. The jumbo baked Idaho can be loaded as lavishly as you like and shares well, but the hash browns are crisp and buttery, and the sautéed Lyonnaise potatoes have a pungent onion garnish that goes quite beautifully with a good filet. Thus, it’s hard to choose. Or is it easy, since everything is good?

After all this, dessert only seems natural, even though the calorie count will climb like the stock market did in days gone by. The prix fixe choices all are Morton’s classics, and the selection depends on your mood. Crème brûlee provides a satisfying close to a savory steak dinner, but anyone who likes chocolate may prefer the gooey, velvety hot chocolate cake. Compared to these, the Key Lime pie seems light as a cloud—but since this is Morton’s, it also is rich as Rockefeller. The nice thing is, at this inclusive price, you don’t have to be a Rockefeller to enjoy a memorable splurge. Remember that tax, tip and beverages are in addition to the prix fixe.

Morton’s the Steakhouse
285 J St.
Centro
696-3369
mortons.com