Reviews

Cleveland's XO restaurant is ready for the prime time

Plain Dealer
Wednesday, April 06, 2005

There is more than a subtle change to Zdenko Zovkic's upscale Warehouse District restaurant XO, well beyond the change of its name to XO Prime Steaks. The restaurant's bright white walls have changed to dark brown, giving the space a warmer and darker feel. Some will yearn for the old edgy menu, though I favor the new menu.

There are four carryover appetizers: the rock shrimp, wild mushroom ravioli, stuffed calamari and fried rock shrimp. The new carpaccio of beef with a tower of beef tartare in the middle of the plate ($11.50) was just about perfect. The generous portion of beef was sprinkled with some fried capers, a bit of parmesan and truffle oil. The hand-chopped tartare was tender and had plenty of flavor.

A special of plump mussels in a slightly spicy coconut-infused sauce ($11) was good, too.

Steaks are the focus here, and, as the name suggests, they are USDA prime beef. A 16-ounce bone-in ribeye ($31.95) and all the other steaks come with a roasted head of garlic that is wonderful spread over the surface of the steak. The cuts run from a 10-ounce Texas sirloin ($23.95) to a 20-ounce T-bone ($38.95) and a 48-ounce porterhouse for two ($79.95).

Filet mignon comes in 8- and 12-ounce sizes; the 8-ounce ($29.95) was soft as butter and got a lot of flavor help from the garlic. That is one of the most popular cuts, but because it has no fat, it has a fraction of the flavor of the other cuts. Still, at steakhouses throughout the country, people seem to crave the tender filets.

The steaks here are good, as they are at most of the serious steakhouses in town. The sides are what separate them all, and at XO, executive chef Scott Popovic's are very good. Unless you crave french fries with steak, I would pass on them here in favor of other sides (all are $8). It isn't because the fries are not good, it is just that you will get a much bigger bang for your buck with items such as the truffled creamy sweet corn and the three- cheese truffle macaroni with peas and little chunks of prosciutto. The mac and cheese was a wonderful dish - not easy on the waistline, but splendor for the taste buds.

You don't have to be a fan of beef to eat at XO Prime Steaks. Popovic offers a good variety of additional choices, including lamb, veal, lobster, chicken and a half-dozen seafood entrees.

XO Prime Steaks, at 500 W. St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, is open daily for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday. For reservations, call 216-861-1919.

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