Durant's

So, this is yet another restaurant that I visited while working at the courthouse, but it's not quite downtown, so I thought I'd give it it's own post. Plus, it's Durant's, so it deserves special attention. Durant's is supposed to be the place to go for the traditional 2-martini lunch, and it's not hard to see why when you walk in.

To start off, I came in through the back door, which I'm pretty sure is the only door to the joint. Walking in from the scorching, blinding sunlight into the dark, mahogany paneled restaurant, and through the back door, no less, made me feel like a mobster's molly. I felt like I needed to shout back through the door, "Guido, once you've cleaned out the trunk, get back here to drive me home..." I digress.

The ambiance is definitively old-school. It's the kind of environment that requires you to leave your diet at the door, which is perfectly fine with me. Unfortunately, I had to resist the urge to either order multiple martinis or a whole bottle of wine, since the whole reason that I was there was in honor of the departure of our court reporter (who got an awesome job in California), and the entire court staff - including the judge - was present. Instead, I had to intoxicate myself with a large hunk o' beef, which is always a good thing. I had a big, fat steak, plus the requisite baked potato, and while the menu isn't remarkable (standard steakhouse stuff), I can't wait to go back and act like a 60's era lush - the way that lunch at Durant's was intended to be!