Restaurant Review: Black Sheep

As far as my experiences go, I wanted to title this post “Black Sheep:  Not Just For Brunch Anymore”, but that would be misleading.  The truth is I went there once for brunch years ago and had such a great experience that I only associated it with brunch from there on out.  What I ordered was delicious (to the point that I would think about it randomly throughout the week), the mimosa was served in an oversized “adult” kids cup (or so we called it), and it was so affordable.  Our group had a blast.  Definitely in the “Top 5 Brunches of All Time” list.  The idea of dinner didn’t even occur to me for months.  

                     My brunch obsession:  The Barn N Bay Breakfast Sandwich

But finally a few weekends ago, I got the chance to go check out Black Sheep on a Sunday night, versus a Sunday morning.

As we approached the small establishment at 901 W. Marshall Street, we noticed there wasn’t a mob of people waiting outside.  We didn’t have to wait for a table?  Well that was a welcome deviation from the usual brunch process.  

I ordered the Steak & Salad entrée, which was an 8 oz N.Y. strip steak with a “sauce vert” and came with a little arugula salad (duh, steak and salad) and roasted potatoes.  It was alright to be honest.  It wasn’t exactly cooked to perfection, but more than that I think I just don’t like strip steak.  I feel like there was more fat and gristle than meat :(  And those sides are so run-of-the-mill, there wasn’t much to make up for the steak not being awesome.  But the sauce was good! ...Yeah that’s all I got.

My friend ordered the “Saltimbocca! entrée” (I luv how the website is so excited about this dish!) which was described as “pork loin with prosciutto ham and sage in a marsala wine and tomato sauce”.  Now from that description, he thought was getting a slab of lamb with some sides, but it turned out to be served over pasta (which I guess if he knew what Isreali cous cous was, he would’ve known that).  He seemed pretty disappointed at first, but when I gave it a try, I told him he was silly!  It was a crazy combination of flavors.  I thought it was delicious, and I think after a little while he warmed up to it.

Black Sheep has a pretty good beer selection, and the wine selection is nothing special, but it’s still good.  So between our meals and the alcohol, we were too full for dessert.  I hate to say it, but in my opinion the whole experience was a bit underwhelming.  Our waitress wouldn’t even let us move from the table right in front of the door to a booth in the back (when it’s winter weather outside mind you) because she said she had to save it for a table of four….despite the fact that almost every couple there was sitting at a table for four.  The only thing that saved us was a man with a wheel chair came in who had to have a table versus a booth, so we pretty much had to move haha.  But I’m still going to go back and give dinner or at least lunch a try.  After all, Black Sheep is known for their battleship sandwiches.   And I’ve only seen those mammoth creations so far.  Still need to try one.