WOODHAVEN HOUSE

WOODHAVEN HOUSE

63-98 Woodhaven Boulevard
Rego Park, NY 11374
(718) 894-5400

If any restaurant in central Queens looks like an old-fashioned steakhouse, the kind that caters to 1920s tycoon types killing time between the office and an Ivy club, it's Woodhaven House on Woodhaven Boulevard. I can almost picture the Packards lining up outside and the tops hats being taken from the bald heads of men who live in tuxedos. The interior is filled from floor to ceiling with dark woods, alabaster, frosted cut glass, brass chandeliers and leather.

In reality though, Woodhaven House is an upscale bar serving upscale bar food (and charging upscale prices). Pike, who will be leaving Park Slope and moving to Forest Hills, came out for some apartment hunting. Afterward, we met up, found Bro, and shot over to Woodhaven for some dinner, some beer, and a hearty political discussion. The crowd at Woodhaven is a decidedly older lot. Most people were in their 40s and up, the high school girls soccer team in one corner and the frat-boy types at the bar notwithstanding.

After getting some drinks, we ordered a round of appetizers. Bro started with Chicken Dumplings, deep fried with a sweet chili dipping sauce. Crispy, chickeny. Nothing fantastamazing, but not a bad thing to nosh on while nursing a beer and waiting for your main dish to arrive. My appetizer was the sweet Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops, which were fantastic. The bacon wasn't dried to a crisp the way it can be with these types of dishes and the scallops were extremely light. It was almost like eating a very firm custard. Centered around a bit of shredded fried zucchini, this was the fanciest dish of the night. Pike's starter was French Onion Soup, which he said very good but I did not taste it myself. Next time.

For dinner, Pike and Bro went the somewhat traditional pub fare route. Pike ordered Steak Frites Grille, medium rare with fries. Oddly, it came pre-cut into strips. This made it easier for myself and Bro to swipe pieces to try, but it seemed almost like a violation of the steak. Either way, Bro and Pike thought it was great. Tender, well seasoned. I thought it was too salty, but Bro, who consistently claims he can taste even the smallest amount of salt, said he didn't agree with me. Bro ordered Traditional Shepherd's Pie, a baked ground beef and vegetable dish with a mashed potato top. This was my favorite dish of the meal. In fact, I returned a few days later and ordered it for myself. My dinner, the Oven Roasted BBQ Baby Back Ribs, with a side of mashed potatoes, while tasty, won't win in any competition against Dinosaur or Blue Smoke. Still, they were tender and the sauce had a nice amount of zing. The dinner portion is large and I wasn't able to finish the whole thing.

We did not have dessert for some reason.

Three drinks, three appetizers, three entrees, plus tax and tip came to just a bit over $115.