Review: Steak on a Stone, Fairlawn

After hearing both good and bad about this restaurant, I decided to give it a shot last night. Right off, I should say that this place is a definite improvement over the old Don Pablo's that occupied this space, but I think they could have done better. First of all, the menu hints at desperation, with selections from all over the world. They style themselves Greek, but then offer American and Italian dishes in abundance as well. The appetizers we ordered were uninteresting, except for the cheese flambe. That dish ended up being a pile of grease after the ceremonial lighting and shout of "oopah!" (which seemed inappropriate for the occasion). Salads were fresh, thankfully, but once again uninteresting. The main feature is, of course, the volcanic stone dishes. They push the beef options, but also offer poultry, pork, and seafood. We went with the beef since that is their specialty, but other members of our party ordered chicken. Along with the entree, you decide on two sides. Some are styled after Greek food, but most are American. Nearly all are starch. The sides were cooked to perfection. Then you pick two dipping sauces for your meat. This by far is the most disappointing part of the meal. Although there are over a dozen sauce choices, most are made by adding one or two ingredients to chicken broth. Thus, all of them taste about the same. I find this to be a great shame. They really have an opportunity to make this a unique feature of the restaurant, but they blew it. The server then brings out your meal with the meat on the stone. He sears the beef at the table and then the customer is left with cooking each individual bite. Overall, this experience was interesting and somewhat tasty. However, sitting on the stone dries the meat out halfway through the meal, and a perfectly good cut of meat is ruined. When ordering, try to go with a fattier cut so to put this off as long as possible. Those that order anything but beef, have to wait for the server to cook the meat on the stone for them. Once again, remove the meat from the stone after its cooked, because it will dry it out. None of this was mentioned when we ordered, so we all ended up being disappointed. Our server was very personable and knowledgeable. However, the management staff tended to bother and loom over the diners, cracking jokes and acting a little creepy. Their over attentiveness again hinted at desperation. Presentation was somewhat sloppy. I had a fleck of raw meat in my vegetables and there were splatters of sauce all over the serving dishes. Our server was in dire need of a clean apron and napkin. There was also an over abundance of fruit flies in the dining area, possibly meaning there is something rotten in the kitchen? Lastly the decor is rather spartan, with only frightening looking fans hanging to break up the smoke. This wasn't very affective, and we all smelled like a smoke house when we left. Although the prices suggest a fine dining restaurant, the clientele clearly disagrees. Everyone in the room looked like they were dressed for a truck stop. We left at 8pm, and by that time most of the restaurant was empty. During our meal, only 1/3 of the tables were occupied. We won't be going back, but I wouldn't dissuade you from cooking on a stone at least once. 2.5 out of 5 stars. $$$

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