Dining Out: Flank

One of my favorite people to follow on Instagram is Boston-based photographer Brian Samuels. I love seeing all the different clients he's working with and the amazing food shots he takes while out to dinner with his husband or on vacation. You can check out his account @myfoodthoughts.

It was on Brian's Instagram account that I learned a new steakhouse had opened in Waltham called Flank. The restaurant is in the same plaza as the brand spankin' new Not Your Average Joes, which boasts a fire pit and a bocce court. 

Though I don't eat meat, I knew three guys who would really appreciate a trip to a steak house. Every month I have dinner with my friends from my very first PR job (I started working there in April 2008). The group used to include six of us, but now we're down to four and I'm the only girl. I pitched the boys on my Flank idea for our next dinner and they were psyched. 

We arrived for our 7:00pm reservation and were escorted to a round booth beneath a gorgeous chandelier. 

On the back wall of the restaurant were portraits tagged with graffiti. 

There was also a large photograph of men wearing bibs and eating steak with their hands. 

The restaurants has tables and booths of all different sizes, most with luxurious leather banquettes and benches. 

From most tables you have a view of the beautiful, all glass wine cellar. 

Once we scooted into our booth, our waiter arrived and walked us through the menu. At the top of the first page it says, "The Flank Experience," and describes the restaurant's approach to steak. 

On the far right side of the menu were the family style options. There are three choices - The Butcher, The Banker and The Butter & Egg Man. The Butter & Egg Man includes a serious dessert spread (note to self - come back and convince people to do this with me). 

Before we began discussing dinner options, we wanted to order drinks. I made a very out of character choice and asked for a Manhattan. 

This drink was strong! I was buzzing like a bee before I even reached the bottom of the glass. Please also notice the gorgeous glassware, both my cocktail glass and my water glass. 

With drinks in hand, we started to make a game plan. At Flank, like at many steak houses, you choose your cut of meat and then the sides are served family style. We wanted to strategize how to sample as many sides as possible, naturally. 

After a heated discussion (Are two sides of mac and cheese too many?), we finally ordered. A moment later our waiter brought us a loaf of bread with a side of herb butter. Though it looks like the bread is already sliced, it was actually kind of tough to rip off one or two pieces! 

The bread was really just a vehicle for the wonderfully rich herb butter. I could smear that on everything. 

We were in total gluttonous mode, so we each decided to have a starter before the main course. Across from me, one of the guys ordered the chipped beef on toast which was braised beef with Bristol cream gravy, slow egg, hen of the woods mushrooms, dry jack and tobacco onion on marbled rye. 

Once he'd cleaned the plate he shared, "I liked this because it was light, like an appetizer should be. For me, the egg was the best part of the dish. When you cut into it, it was a little runny, making a nice sauce for all the components. My one complaint would be that it felt like there were more vegetables than beef. I was expecting more meat." 

Next to him a friend ordered the French onion soup. As he went to crack the layers of onion strings and cheese over the top, he realized he had been given a small spoon, rather than a soup soon, which left him perturbed. 

One seat over a friend was enjoying the new American Caesar salad. Flank's rendition includes little gem lettuce, anchovy relish, fine herbs, garlic croutons, dry jack and Caesar aioli. 

As he cut through the heads of lettuce he said, "The most important thing about a Caesar salad is the ratio of the lettuce to the cheese to the croutons to the dressing and this version is spot on." 

For my starter I chose the house salad with Boston Bibb lettuce, radish, cornichon, brioche and a deviled egg. Let's be honest, I got it for the egg. 

The Boston Bibb lettuce required a lot of cutting. I am not sure I was the most graceful person eating this salad. I did really love the deviled egg and the cornichon pickles. 

With the first round of plates cleared, it was time to really get down to business. One of the boys ordered the New York strip which he described as "A great cut and very tender. It has a nice seasoning / crust on the beef." 

Next to him, a friend had gone with the filet. He commented, "While it was not the best filet I've ever had, it was a nice cut and cooked well." 

The third musketeer went with the steak frites. The plate was marinated prime flank with black truffle, beef fat fries, dry jack, bernaise and beefsteak sauce. 

A few bites in he said, "The steak is good, but a little too fatty for my liking." 

He did love the beef fat French fries which he described as, "Excellent and expertly crisped." 

For my entree I went with the risotto. To be honest, I never even looked at the Flank menu before suggesting we try it. I just assumed I would do what I always do a at a steak house and eat tons of side dishes. To my very pleasant surprise, Flank has two vegetarian entree choices, the risotto and a pappardelle. 

The risotto is aquerello rice with caramelized tomatoes, leeks, red cow parmesan cheese and petite herbs. It arrived in a rather fancy presentation that immediately had me skeptical. Risotto is supposed to be served piping hot from the pot or pan and should never be able to stand up like this, even with the help of a mold. 

As I predicted from it's vertical presentation, the risotto was dry. 

Between all of us we shared four side dishes. The first to arrive was the mac and cheese, a generous bowl of pinwheel pasta topped with breadcrumbs. 

I put a big scoop onto my plate. I took a bite and for a minute I thought maybe I was biting into a mushroom, but then texture just seemed a bit too chewy. I turned to my friend and asked, "Do you think there could be meat in this?" He offered to take a bite to confirm and sure enough, there was steak in the pasta. So, I promptly stopped eating it, however, the boys said it was their favorite thing they ate all night. 

Another delicious side, the potato puree. These mashed potatoes with sweet cream butter and herbs were at a Thanksgiving level of amazingness. Next time I might just order these. 

We also sampled the roasted sweet onions with black pepper and sherry. We were all in agreement that these were nothing special.

Lastly, the broccoli crowns with sharp grafton cheddar. I hate to say this, but I could have made a better version of this dish and I don't even cook. 

Overall, Flank is kind of a mixed bag. The restaurant itself is beautiful. The servers are attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. We had some dishes that we really loved, but some that we'd never order again. 

Since this was a bit of a flop, I asked the boys for their favorite steak house in Boston and the unanimous winner was Mooo in Downtown Crossing.

What do you think? What is the best steak house in Boston?