Meaty matters at new Bennett's restaurant

When Epicurus was in high school in the early 1980s, a little old lady with bulldog looks and a grating voice snapped up her 15 minutes of fame by booming "Where's the beef?" on a popular U.S. hamburger chain commercial.

Fast forward a decade. Alas, the aforesaid old lady (Clara something, if memory serves right) has kissed her residual checks goodbye long ago and ridden on to the great cattle ranch in the sky. But if she were still here, and still in search of the red stuff, a good case could be made for Jakarta providing the answer to her question.

City eateries are cooking up a love affair with meaty matters, and their efforts to win over diners' taste buds are not stopping at tried-and-true ribs and the usual cuts of barbecued meats. Assorted game, ostrich and even exotic emu are now appearing on plates near you.

In the past eight months, this column has featured at least four reviews of rib and steak joints, and maybe even a couple more. Today's addition of Bennett's Bar-b-que and Steaks -- located in the new Wisma Bank Danamon on Jl. Sudirman -- will probably be sufficient to have the people from PETA brandishing their celery sticks in horror.

Just another restaurant catering to the avowed carnivores among us? Or does it boast something more substantial to chew on than the rest of its breed?

The blurb on the back of its menu trumpets Bennett's "secret" of using hickory-log fires to impart a unique tenderness and taste to the meat. Not backward at coming forward in self- promotion, Bennett's continues by claiming it has the "best steak around".

That remained to be seen as we sized up the dishes on offer and surveyed the restaurant decor. The latter is regulation Middle America, down to the view of the glass-fronted kitchen with a band of cooks stoking those hickory fires .

Except for the incessant drone of what we assumed was the air- conditioner, the restaurant setup would not have looked out of place in Main Street Topeka (despite the Lone Star State Flag in its logo, Bennett's main restaurant is, intriguingly, in Colorado).

We ordered the Bennett's choice of three appetizers -- stuffed jalapeno peppers, hickory smoked wings, and fried jalapeno cheese -- and the Texas blossom, a hand-battered fried onion.

General agreement was that the best of this bunch was the fiery peppers, stuffed with cream cheese and served with a jalapeno sauce. Next in descending order of preference was the fried cheese and smoked wings; the latter's piquant, hearty sauce may be too overpowering for some diners.

We were unanimous in disappointment over the onion, undercooked for our tastes. The addition of Bennett's special sauce -- falling somewhere between Thousand Island and shrimp cocktail dressing -- failed to liven it up.

Appetizers are hardly a comprehensive gauge of a restaurant's merits; the ultimate test lay in the entrees -- and the quality of the meat on offer.

There were really no complaints here. Outstanding was the ranch beef brisket of deliciously succulent, tender morsels which easily sliced apart with a fork.

There was a similarly positive verdict for the hickory-grilled rib eye, a generous and tasty portion complemented by side dishes of potato salad and beans in a barbecue sauce.

The only holdout to this glowing appraisal was yours truly, but this was no fault of the restaurant's fare. Epicurus, laid low by a queasy stomach, made a brave stab at the panhandle grilled chicken -- sliced boneless meat seasoned with herbs, smothered with sauteed mushrooms and melted Monterey Jack cheese -- but found it a dauntingly rich combination.

Bennett's opened recently, and we found service was spotty at first. By the end of the meal, however, our unfailingly cheerful, accommodating waitress had ironed out the kinks.

A 20 percent discount softened the damage somewhat, and the meal for three, with soft drinks and coffee, cost Rp 148,500. Even with qualifiers over for the so-so appetizers, the restaurant's meat selection was first rate. If that is what you are after -- as it appeared for the sizable lunchtime crowd the day we ate there -- then Bennett's may just fit the bill.

-- Epicurus