For a long time, Providence had only one steakhouse: the Capital Grille. It was expensive and very deluxe; I've only ever had dinner there once, for a colleague's farewell party, and I felt like an orphan foundling at a Presidential dinner. The service was immaculate, the food excellent, the ambiance old-school: lots of wood paneling and wine bottles and waiters who shimmered up out of nowhere.
Now high-end steakhouses have popped up everywhere. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Fred & Steve's Steakhouse, up at Twin River. Fleming's, which Partner and I visit every few months, and which has given us some really tremendous meals.
And we finally hit Shula's 347 Grill on Independence Day.
We felt like trying something new, and I happened to have a gift certificate, and we had nothing else to do. We got there around 2:00 p.m., and there was – literally – no one else in the place. We had a server named Milton, who was perfect in that old-fashioned steakhouse way: very attentive without overdoing it and without intruding. We had appetizers and burgers, so we can't speak to the high-end steak menu, but I can tell you that we had an excellent meal.
Partner's big problem with the place, of course, had to do with the founder. “So,” I said, “Shula was a football player.”
Partner grimaced. “Coach,” he said. “Miami Dolphins. He won a couple of Super Bowls in the 1970s. Big deal.” (Partner is a New England Patriots fan.)
I pointed over to the entryway, where two huge metallic football-shaped trophies stood. “I assume those are Super Bowl trophies?”
He glanced over disdainfully. “Replicas.”
“Maybe, when you win the Super Bowl, they give you as many trophies as you want,” I said.
Partner grunted. “Bill Belichick won three Super Bowl trophies.”
“Well, he should open a nice restaurant too,” I said. “All the waiters could wear hoodies. And when you compliment the waitstaff, they can say: 'I can't take credit. It was a team effort.'”
Partner grunted again.
Well, it was an excellent meal, despite the fact that we were surrounded by photos of Don Shula shaking hands with celebrities I didn't recognize.
As we were leaving, I spotted one last photo on the wall: Shula shaking the hand of Bill Belichick. I called Partner over to see it. Belichick had signed it, and written a long note to Shula on the photo.
And he signed it: Bill Belichick, SB 36 / 38 / 39 champions.
One more Super Bowl than Shula won, see?
Bill Belichick is a shady bitch!
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