Joseph's Steakhouse

For my Birthday my wife and I decided to go to Joseph's Steakhouse in Bridgeport. I picked the place because I'd been there before and loved it -- the steak was seared perfectly on the outside with the perfect crust and the inside was, as I asked for, a medium rare. So why not go back again, I figured.

Anyway, we arrived this past Friday at 7PM and were quickly seated. First off, I couldn't believe how empty the place was for a Saturday night. There was absolutely no one in the in bar and only one couple and a party of roughly 8. That's it. I even checked in the other small dining room they have when I went to the bathroom, and no one there either.

Our waiter was a nice guy but he never told us the speacial(s) of the day, which my wife and I overheard after we already ordered. But, whatever. My wife and I ordered ceasar salads to steak with steaks four our entrees. I ordered the porterhouse med-rare with a side of mashed potatoes and asparagus and my wife ordered a filet med-well with a baked potato.

When our salads arrived, they were cold, including the plate itself. So we know that they were made early in the evening and left in the fridge. That's fine, we looked past it (but really, how hard is it to put together a fresh salad?!). As it turns out, the salad were good.

When we received our entrees, the first thing I noticed was the steak was black on the outside (not a nice brown/dark brown crust like last time) but black. However, it was cooked perfectly to med-rare on the inside so I decided not to say anything. BUT, when I tried my mashed potatoes, I immediately realized that they were INSTANT!!!!! How can any restaurant, let alone a Steakhouse that sells prime, dry-aged steaks, serve INSTANT MASHED POTATOES?!

So, when the waiter came back to clear our plates, I said, "These instant mashed potatoes were great." Of course I was being sarcastic but I did want to get my point across. The waiter joked that it was a special reciped to which I replied that they were Buds instant. He gave a smirk and walked away. When he returned, he said, "You're wrong, the chef said that they were Idaho Instant." WHAT?! I couldn't believe the waiter would say that. LOL!!!!!

After our table was cleared, the waiter brought over dessert menus but my wife and I declined. So, there we sat for 10 minutes waiting for what I would think would be our bill. But no, our waiter came out from the back and was standing by the door rocking back in forth on his feet whistling dixie. Interesting waiter! So I flagged him over and asked for the check and he obliged.

We paid our $235 bill not including the 20% gratuity and called it a night.

Conclusion: We won't be going back again. This place has really turned and it looks by the reviews here on Yelp that I'm not the only one that feels that way. Too bad, because I loved it the first time I went. What a sad state of decay it is now.