We received a gift certificate from our gym to visit Sam Snead's. We were aware when we arrived that there was little vegetarian on the menu as a copy had been sent with the gift. So originally, we didn't expect much from the restaurant. The grand total for the meal was about $45 including tip.
I called Wednesday afternoon to see if I needed a reservation and asked the girl on the phone if there were any menu items that worked for vegetarians. She said no, but we could piece a meal together. She also said that at 5:30 in the afternoon, they weren't busy enough for a reservation, but would reserve a table just in case. We ended up being 15 minutes late for the reservation, and there was no issue and no mention of the delay.
Indeed the restaurant was fairly empty. We had a few larger groups around us. And, even though it is mainly a "man's" restaurant similar to Del Frisco's with dark colors (and steaks and wine the main attraction), there was one table with all ladies and another table with three ladies and a gentleman. However, not to discredit its purpose, the restaurant did attract a group of about 8 men who sat at the table beside us--no doubt long after we left.
Our waiter kindly offered us a variety of drinks. Paul had a lemonade from concentrate that was good. The waiter then asked us if we had been to Sam Snead's before. We said no, and he began to highlight the restaurant's assets including something called Angus beef and other characteristics regarding meat that I pretended to listen to and to understand. I interrupted when the guy took a breath and asked if there was a vegetarian menu. He said no and moved on to explain the specials of the evening. Paul then politely interrupted somewhere in the middle of description to point out that we would not require him to go into detail about steak dishes.
This restaurant was a great opportunity to highlight how a meal made up of appetizers can be filling and as tasty as ordering entrees. We had a salad with a grapefruit vinaigrette, which I had learned about before the evening and was anxious to try. It had lettuce, tomato wedges, red onion slices, an olive and a pepper. Fettucini Alfredo was considered an appetizer on the menu (broccoli is extra). There was also a spinach and cheese dip and corn chips with a side of salsa. We even had the choice of a tomato mozzarella flatbread or a bruschetta with goat cheese. After trying the flatbread, we suspected that we missed out with the bruschetta. We also had a side of grilled asparagus so we could experience the oak grill.
The quote of the evening came from the manager on duty who came to our table before we had gotten our plates. She said she had seen our food come up in the window and realized we "were ordering around the meat." Suspecting we were vegetarians, she wanted to let us know the fettucini had a chicken stock base. She offered to have the chef make it again with a tomato-cream sauce and would have him add steamed broccoli "her treat". The rest of the meal arrived ahead of the fettucini.
The staff and service was positively remarkable (aside from the poor waiter who had probably never seen a vegetarian before). They even offered to let us take a dessert home since we did not use the last $10 of our gift certificate. However, the food wasn't exceptionally special. We ate well and enjoyed the atmosphere. However, it is definitely a place that focuses more on the drinks and the steak. This makes since as there is a market nitch for the restaurant. We were happy to have the experience of "ordering around the meat" and proving that a meal of appetizers won't leave you starving.
