Hillstone

Near the entrance to HillStone

HillStone is one of the classiest places I’ve been to in a long long time.  From the outside entrance of the restaurant to the inner reception area, HillStone gives you full visibility to pretty much their entire operation.  As you can see from the upper photo, you can see right back into the preparation area.  I just stood there after dinner for a few minutes, because it was like watching a show on Food Channel or Travel Channel.  To the left of the rotisserie oven you had all the chefs working on the entrees, and to the right the cooks doing prep work.  HillStone was a really neat experience, I thought the food itself was outstanding, but what would make me come back over and over again, was the service.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Start her off with a little Artichoke Dip.  It was delish, but before I get too far into my food reviews, I have to rant and rave a bit about the service and our waitress(es).  HillStone was the best service I’ve ever had.  At no point did I ever have to think “I wish I had more Coke” , or “Where is my food?”  or “This plate is in the way” .  It was almost scary, I was genuinely concerned that the service people there could read minds.  And it wasn’t just our main waitress, I believe there were at least 5-6 different people who stopped by to bring us drinks or food, or just politely thank us for being there.  My friend even asked our waitress if she would get fired if she didn’t smile.  hahaha.  We all shared a really awkward laugh with that one.  Places like this are just worth their weight in gold.  I love feeling like a king when I go out to eat.

Thai Steak and Noodle Salad

My buddy said that some of the best steak he has ever had didn’t even come as a steak, but part of a salad.  I have it pictured above.  Luckily I got to sample a bit, and it was fantastic.  If you are salad type of person, hey I’m not going to judge.  If that is how you roll, then more power to you.  GET THIS!

barbeque Pork Ribs

I narrowed down my decision between the French Dip Au Jus and the Barbeque Pork Ribs.  I asked our waitress that if she had to enter an entrée to win a million dollar prize, which dish would she choose.  I think I embarrassed my colleague with this question, but our waitress managed to share a laugh with me over my awkward question and made it clear I needed to go with the ribs.  Now  I have to tell you, that I’ve had a LOT of ribs in my day.  I understand that when you order ribs, you have to get your hands a little dirty sometimes.  Well that is actually optional with these ribs.  These pork ribs and I were one that night.  At no point did I have to fight to extract its tender meat.  Just a little nudge of one of the rib bones, and the meat just fell away.  And you know what the perfect end to my rib eating experience was?  Just as I finished off the last rib, a smiling waitress passed by with a steamed towel, so I could not only wipe my hands, but also wipe my face with hot steam.  Ah I was so happy I could just cry.

Okay now on to my favorite part of the evening.  HillStone had just three dessert choices.  My friend ordered the Hot Fudge Sundae without consulting me.  He normally does this when he knows I am going to be impressed.  I was a little worried about his choice though you see.  Up until now in my life, I have lived under the assumption that  certain types of food are pretty much the same everywhere you go.  I mean take a Hot Fudge Sundae for example.  How good can a sundae really get?  I’ve had a ton in all the places I’ve been in, and the they are all pretty much the same; ice cream, fudge, and some sort of nuts with whipped cream.  Boy was I wrong.  Out to our table came the Lamborghini of Hot Fudge Sundaes.

Hot Fudge Sundae

Not only do they have the ice cream already coated with hot fudge, but our waitress explained that they imported French chocolate in bricks from …. France, and then melted it down inside a gravy bowl.  It was both fudgy, chocolatey, and velvety at the same time.  Another key part of this sundae was the ice cream.  It seemed to have that perfect coldness to it.  It wasn’t too hard where you have to really press your spoon hard into it, and it wasn’t so soft that it was runny.  It was like soft serve, but only hand scooped and delicious.  Plus they upgraded the nuts into these candied pecans.  It was so fantastic I had to make a short video.

Oh boy what a dinner.  La Grande Orange for breakfast and Hillstone for dinner.  It was almost the perfect food day.