Oscar’s Lives Up to the Hype (Business Lunch)
by January 3, 2005 12:00 am 259 views
Biz Lunch 1-3-05
Oscar’s Prime Rib Steak House
530 N. 47th St., Rogers
The buzz about Oscar’s was good.
The owner of two respected Memphis restaurants, the Butcher Shop Steak House and The Pier, spent a half million dollars this fall to beef up the old Shorty Small’s location in Rogers. The result is a restaurant where the culture and cuisine live up to their creator’s reputation.
Elegance starts at the front door, which has a feel like the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel. The bar is beautiful and inviting, but it was lunchtime on this Tuesday so the no-smoking section had to do.
One diner started off with a dinner salad topped with Italian dressing. It was about the freshest salad he can remember in Northwest Arkansas. Very few others are even in the same league.
Our duo ordered two entrees and shared them to get a well-rounded taste of Oscar’s.
We ordered the grilled shrimp ($8) from the lunch express menu. Even though the menu said “four char-grilled jumbo shrimp served with rice and vegetable medley,” one diner was still a little disappointed when it arrived and there really were only four shrimp. They were delicious, but we wanted more.
The other choice was the 10-ounce New York Strip ($18) off the dinner menu. It was cooked medium as ordered with just the right tint of pink inside.
Both diners at the table sampled the steak and declared it “excellent.” There was consternation over whether or not it’s the market’s best, but suffice it to say Oscar’s hand-carved cuts are comparable to the area’s A-list steaks.
Both reviewers suspect they’ll have to return to try the prime rib, since it must be a signature selection with a mention right there in the restaurant’s name.
For dessert, we split a blob of “sizzling apple pie” ($6). The hot apple pie is served in a cast-iron skillet, topped with vanilla bean ice cream, cinnamon and caramel sauce. It was one of the best desserts we’ve had locally.
Summary: Oscar’s Prime Rib Steak House in Rogers gets four stars for excellent steak and shrimp.