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Morton’s, The Steakhouse
Nashville, Tennessee
Posted: Friday, June 02, 2006
By David Savona
Telling a beef lover that he should pay a visit to a Morton's is a pointless exercise. The steak chain, it is fair to assume, is hardly a mystery to any full-fledged carnivore. But the cigar and steak lover may be forgiven for not realizing that Morton's, The Steakhouse in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, is a cigar-friendly paradise worthy of a lengthy detour.
Stepping inside the window-free restaurant, the first thing one spies is a humidified cigar cabinet stocked with all manner of C.A.O. cigars. (C.A.O. International Inc., which is headquartered in Nashville, is the only cigarmaker in this southern city known more for its music and barbecue than for making coronas.) To the right of the well-stocked bar is another cabinet, with a few Montecristos and other smokes. At center stage in the bar is a stately Davidoff desktop humidor, flanked by bottles of premium Scotch, gin, vodka and Bourbon. A glorious Baccarat decanter of Louis VIII beckons from its glass sarcophagus, tempting those with the expense accounts that can handle such a pricey shot.
Smoking laws being what they are, it's a pleasure to find a restaurant that accommodates cigar smokers. At Morton's, your cigar is welcome not only at the bar and the surrounding lounge, but at many tables as well. The smoking section makes up a prime portion of the restaurant.
Follow my routine on a recent visit to this Morton's. (New Yorkers, Californians, Bostonians, Floridians and too many others: don't try this at home.) I lit a C.A.O. Cx2 Robusto at the bar rail, took a seat in the bar's lounge and sipped a Bombay Sapphire Martini while puffing away, then walked with the smoldering robusto (it was only halfway smoked) through the dining room to my table, which was adorned with proper cigar ashtrays. I sat at my table, amidst scores of other diners, and blew smoke rings toward the ceiling. No one said a word.
Properly in my happy zone, I pondered the menu, which is a testament to excess. The words "jumbo," "double" and "colossal" appear often. Morton's has a fine selection of chilled seafood appetizers and hearty salads; I began with a rich salad of beefsteak tomatoes, purple onions and bleu cheese, then moved on to the porterhouse, a mighty beast that was artfully seasoned and seared to my desired medium rare. The wet-aged meat was juicy and delicious, and seemed large enough to sate the subconscious caveman hiding inside any trencherman. When that simply isn't enough, Morton's offers a double porterhouse, although it would require a person of enormous appetite (or at least, someone who could ignore the bread, appetizers and sides) to finish such a meal. I congratulated myself on ordering the dainty porterhouse, and treated myself to sides of sautéed mushrooms and asparagus. I held the potatoes.
Morton's takes its wines seriously, with 200 to 400 selections per restaurant. Last year, 65 Morton's locations received the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator, Cigar Aficionado's sister publication. Big, bold reds from California and France are stars of the list, while Chilean and South African reds make for less expensive, more adventurous choices.
After the meat, I chose to smoke a second cigar in lieu of dessert. The mere act of lighting up at my table was pleasant enough; doing it after having enjoyed such a meal made it all the more memorable.
Morton's, the Steakhouse
618 Church Street
Nashville, TN
Phone: 615-259-4558
Monday through Saturday: 5:30 to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 5 to 10 p.m.
Go to Cigar Bar Central.
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