The Drover invented the whisky marinated steak idea over 40 years ago. It opened in 1969 as the “Cork ‘N Cleaver” and changed to the current name 10 years later.  It is a large place divided into several smaller rooms of 4-5 tables each, all with no windows.  A large bar is in one room, the lights are lowered and no music is in the background.  Bare wood tables, brick walls, lower ceilings and carpet keep the conversation noise very manageable.  There is a different menu for lunch but most of the steaks on the dinner menu are available if you want.  The steaks are marinated in a combination of secret ingredients for just 15 minutes before grilling so the marinade does not overwhelm the flavor of the beef but does enhances tenderness.  Steaks can be ordered without the marinade soak but you would lose out, even if you are not a whisky fan.  All dinners are served with bread, soup or salad and choice of potato or vegetable.  At lunch they skip the bread and the salad is via salad bar.  It’s old school and good.

Set-up

The Charbroiled Whiskey Grilled Prime Rib came with choice of soup or salad bar and choice of fries, cole slaw or cottage cheese.  The salad bar was right in front of the grill area so you had a show while serving.  The plates were chilled metal and there was a huge bowl of torn lettuce and toppings that included cherry tomatoes. onion, carrots, mushrooms, cucumber, green pepper. olives, pepperoncini, carrots along with pickled beets.  The dressings were in separated plastic cups.  Finally there were toppings of seeds, croutons, grated cheese and bacon bits.  I had the blue cheese dressing which was way too mild but gave it a creamy topping that melded it.  Everything was nicely fresh and good.

The excellent Whiskey Grilled Prime Rib was able to stay nicely rare even being cooked twice.  It was set on a piece of griddled toast prior to serving that soaked up juices and fat and was really tasty too.  The marinade was mostly tasted on the edge pieces and it gave it a slight sweetness that was very pleasant.  I accepted some creamy horseradish sauce on the side but found I didn’t want to use it – the meat was so nice on its own.  With the meat we both chose fries which were the frozen variety and not very crisp.  They were okay but I filled up on the meat and didn’t need them.  Dessert was an oral menu that mostly consisted of cheesecake variations.