After 5: Restaurant Review: Bijan's

That sums up the ambiance at Bijan’s – slightly flirty, definitely downtown, upscale and very sophisticated. The zebra print mingled with touches of red is the first clue; the cigar bar upstairs is yet another. It’s the kind of place that makes you feel like anything can happen.

With my usual escort out of town on business, I asked my daughter, Dana, if she wanted to check out Bijan’s with me. While I’d been there before, she lived out of town during downtown’s formative years and hadn’t yet tried it. In spite of living across the street in one of the loft apartments (or maybe because of it), her budget doesn’t always stretch to steak and seafood.

Surprisingly, with the upscale reputation Bijan’s has earned, we found that their prices were affordable for most special evenings. Menu items ranged from the Alaskan King Crab Legs at $34.75 for a pound, to the $16.50 Chicken Bijan’s, said to be one of the eatery’s more popular items. On this night, however, Ty recommended two of their wood-fired house specialties – the Chilean Sea bass ($27.50) and the rib eye ($26.50).

For an appetizer, we went for the Alaskan crab and artichoke dip ($10.50). It came in a dish with both chips and warm homemade tortillas, with a hint of tomato on top and a lime wedge to drizzle for additional flavor. Even with that, sorry to say, it was bland and not worth the calories, though it was beautifully presented.

So, we let it sit and concentrated on the bread and garlic dip that came with the table. Now that exceeded expectations. It was a fresh garlic bulb, with a mixture of Gorgonzola, fresh rosemary and Worcestershire sauce served with fresh slices of bread. Our advice: skip an appetizer and enjoy the table treat.

Fit for a king

I’ve eaten at a lot of lovely restaurants over the years, been served by some amazing chefs, and worked as a food critic off and on. My daughter has dated her share of chefs and has enough tales about their perfectionism to make your carrots curl. She spent two years in a dormitory set up in Germany, working for the Armed Forces Recreation Centers at its R & R facility in Garmisch, complete with a four-star restaurant.

Given our combined experience with beautiful platings, we still gasped ever so slightly at the presentation of the main course. Her sea bass was on a wooden plank, encrusted with cashews, pecans, and caramelized onions. It was delicious. It came with a side of green beans (a bit too al dente for our taste) and truffle wild mushroom risotto, which we both declared amazing.

My steak was the biggest “ooh and ah,” topped with a portobello mushroom, a broccoli spear (done just right) and a tall sprig of rosemary. A beautiful stack of Gorgonzola potatoes rounded it out. I cut through the stack and sat back in pure enjoyment of the taste sensations. It was lovely to see how introducing a few new flavors to the traditional rib eye could make it so interesting.

All’s well that ends well

We had a terrific ending to our meal. On return trips I’ll be tempted just to start with dessert. The trend in fine dining is mini-desserts, which allows you to have a bite or two of several choices. Bijan’s does it one better – they allow you to try two for the price of one, but the portions are far from mini.

We opted for Ty’s recommendations again – a half order of the banana crepes and a half order of the chocolate lava ($6 total).

Although we moved it aside, the wine list was massive. The service was great, with good recommendations, patience and humor exhibited by Ty.

When you go, be prepared to feel comfortably at home in an environment where the waiters dress up their jeans with starched white shirts and white ties, and to savor new flavor combinations. Come as you are after work to enjoy the lively jazz, and the downtown clientele.

The raw bar near the entrance gives you a clear view of the food, and the chefs work out in the open in an efficient space that produces some of Springfield’s best fine dining.

Kay Logsdon is director of the Food Channel for Noble Communications.

Bijan’s Sea & Grille

Address: 209 E. Walnut St. 65806

Reservations: (417) 831-1480

On the Web: www.bijans.com

Owners: Mike Jalili (executive chef) and family; holdings include Flame on West Walnut and Touch in south Springfield

History: Founded in 1997; added Flame three years ago and Touch two years ago

Unusual Feature: Downtown location, raw bar, walk-in humidor, martini bar

Features: Steaks and seafood with daily specials. Free dessert for birthday/anniversary

Most popular: Sea bass and rib eye

Price points: Entrees from $16.50 to $34.75

Total bill: Dinner for two was $85 before tip, with appetizer, dessert and coffee

Seating: About 85; catering and private rooms available

Hours: 5–10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5–11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Parking: Free parking at the door or paid parking available in nearby parking garage