Food Foolery

Shenanigans' sleight of hand is all thumbs

A A A Comments (0) By Mark Stuertz Thursday, Feb 21 2002

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Fortunately, the service mated to much of this mayhem was smooth, gracious and attentive, though the servers' knowledge of the menu is questionable. Our waiter on one visit highly recommended the flame-grilled center-cut pork loin over the whiskey chicken, a boneless breast pan-seared in Jack Daniel's. Any dish from this menu cooked with a shot of whiskey or any fluid with moderate-to-high proof should be considered over one cooked with temperance.

The pork loin looked good on arrival, neatly placed in a puddle of roasted shallot demi-glace near a Granny Smith apple slaw with scraps of mint (the slaw was one of the best chews on the menu). But the meat was dry and dull, almost pulpy, and the sauce did nothing to enliven it. A dollop of Parmesan mashed potatoes was even more bewildering, tasting suspiciously like potato buds.

Stephen P. Karlisch

Fishing at Shenanigans is fraught with peril.

Details

972-818-7557. Open 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Monday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday; 10 a.m.-12 a.m. Sunday. $$$

Salmon rolls: $8.99
Calamari steak strips: $7.99
Sea bass: $21.99
Lobster Napoleon: $23.99
Ribeye steak: $23.99
Pork chop: $14.99
Key lime pie: $5.99

Closed Location

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The only entrée to hover above mediocrity was the 16-ounce certified premium ribeye with a spice rub that tasted no different than a decent cut of beef sprinkled with pulverized black peppercorns. Shenanigans tags most of its meat "certified premium," suggesting perhaps another meat grade (there is a 12-ounce USDA Prime top sirloin on the menu). Our server said the labeling was put on the menu to indicate Certified Angus Beef, but it's odd that Shenanigans didn't put the designation on the menu. The ribeye was rich, tender and juicy--a truly decent steak.

Dessert wasn't bad, either. The pecan-crusted Key lime pie was light and fluffy with a good crisp crust. The only thing that was a little short was the custard, which could have been pumped up a little with citrus intensity to better wrestle with the hearty crust.

Shenanigans is operated by Ram International, a Lakewood, Washington-based restaurant company founded in 1971. Ram operates restaurants in the Pacific Northwest and other states, including Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Illinois and Texas, where their restaurants are primarily under the Humperdink's moniker. Ram says its restaurants have "comfortable classic designs" with "high ceilings, large windows and a spacious open feeling where no one feature overpowers another." Shenanigans leaves the overpowering to the menu.