Ironwood Steakhouse was a 2 story restaurant with views of the falls.  Serving classic steakhouse fare they’re going for a more upscale vibe with purse stools and offering an amuse bouche.  The interior was quite new and modern in design with a few booths and otherwise small bare wood tables.  Exposed ductwork added to the many hard surfaces which elevated the noise level when the place filled up.  The bar was at the end of our second story room but people didn’t seem to eat or drink there.  Older photos (mostly of cattle) supplemented some mirrors and decorative pieces of art.  Service was friendly and efficient and the managerial people frequently rounded to make sure all was going well.  Generous portions were at times over-whelming but our entree beef was fabulous.  Other items more average.   If you go get the Wagyu Zabuton and you won’t be disappointed.

Set-up

 

Food

They started with an amuse bouche of smoked salmon topped with dill creme fraiche on toast.  It was fine but nothing new.

 

Bread and butter were slices of fresh sour dough bread with a whippy butter.   The bread was tasty with a nice doughy texure but had no crispness in the crust.  The butter was okay.

 

Wagyu Chislic was with pepper and onion sofrito, smoky steak sauce and soda crackers.  Chislic is a dish of skewered cubes of red meat, often lamb or mutton, and the food most commonly associated with South Dakota.  Unfortunately this was beef but we needed to try the official state “nosh” of South Dakota.  This one came with several sauces on the plate for enhancement as well as a sofrito of carrots and onions.  The meat was well seasoned but chewy with some bits being much better than others.  The hot sauce was not at all hot but I did like the brown steak sauce underneath the meat.  The soda crackers were saltines that could have been improved by frying.  The sofrito was quite bland.

 

The 8 oz Wagyu Zabuton was a “Denver cut” that is ordinarily a tender, well marbled piece of beef.  This one was definitely that on steroids.  It picked up the smoke flavor nicely.  Absolutely mouth watering meat.  It looked like a small portion but it was so rich it didn’t feel like it when you’re eating it.  Fabulous.

 

The steaks don’t come with sides so we added a side of creamed spinach.  This one was more cream and cheese than spinach.  Topped with buttered bread crumbs, it was good but way rich with not enough green.

 

Another side was hand-cut rosemary fries that came with truffle aioli and we added some ketchup.  The medium cut potatoes came out hot with lots of truffle flavor.  They didn’t retain their crispness, though.  Also the truffle aioli tasted more like ranch dressing.  Good but I preferred ketchup.

 

We were really too full for dessert, but the server told us the manager wanted to comp us a dessert of our choice.   We tried the carrot cake which was a spiced cake with toasted walnuts, cream cheese frosting, plump fruit and whipped cream.  It was a huge piece with the bottom covered with liquor soaked fruits.  The four layers of cake were well filled with cream cheese frosting. and cinnamon flavor.  The cake was delicious and moist.  The fruit was also good and made it a bit different than most carrot cakes but I would have also loved it without adornment.