Phantom Gourmet Approved!

One Eleven Chop House takes a basic steakhouse formula (USDA prime cuts of beef, hot bar scene) and then bolts for more modern pastures (trendy menu additions, brasserie atmosphere). Some of the detours are exciting, but others make Phantom nostalgic for tradition.

Atmosphere: 8
One Eleven Chop House is a flurry of activity from the flashy open kitchen to the horseshoe bar and the windows of wine in between. The vast, tiered room looks more brasserie than steakhouse, with vintage French posters and suspended stained glass lighting.

Menu: 7
The menu also strays from steakhouse classics with trendy seafood and random distractions like duck maki.

Appetizers: 8
Beginning with shrimp cocktail, 4 thoroughly cleaned, jumbo curls fanned out like a fountain around an elegant cocktail sauce cup. The balsamic Portobello fritters came stacked in crumb-coated logs with hot, juicy insides and a delightful dipping sauce of bitter radicchio aioli.

Entrees: 7
For entrees, the delicious Berkshire pork chop had a charred complexity grilled into an already flavorful, amazingly tender porterhouse cut. However, the stuffed beef tenderloin bombed with an upsetting, mushy texture, rolled around a spiral of mushroom stuffing.

Dessert: 7
Dessert included decent profiteroles of cream puffs, ice cream, and chocolate sauce. The more memorable bread pudding came as a crusty-edged cake with a silky, sweet center decked out in dark chocolate, toasted walnuts, ice cream, and fluffy caramel.

Portions: 9
The chop house is full of non-traditional surprise, but portions are as big as you’d expect. Every entrée includes an iceberg wedge salad with Stilton Bleu cheese dressing.

Service: 7
Servers double-team each table, but poor communication meant Phantom had to answer every question twice.

Cleanliness: 8
The wide-reaching room was as groomed as the guests, who sipped their cosmos from red velour seats.

Value: 8
Appetizers average $9, and entrees are rather reasonable at $17 to $40.

Location: 7
Located on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, One Eleven is nearby its seafood sister, The Sole Proprietor.

Review Date: 10/1/2005