Mancy’s Ideal

We tried Mancy’s Ideal on Monroe the other evening and I was not impressed with much, other than the service. Service was impeccable, provided by one of the staff who was not shy when it came to telling us about the food. She asked us about some of our likes, gauged our preferences, then to our surprise, she steered us away from some items. She went over the menu in detail and made recommendations. She was the highlight of the visit. 

When my wife and I arrived at the restaurant, we were wearing casual clothing, and we had our 2 daughters with us, one of whom is only a 7-year-old. Without any hesitation the hostess sat us. She didn’t make us feel uncomfortable or underdressed or underprivileged. She didn’t make us wait. The hostess simply said, come-on in. I have a table. I’ll seat you right now. That was refreshing. 

And it was a great table. It wasn’t in the crowded little room in the rear, it was a booth in the bar area. 

The aloof manager, on the other hand, gave the restaurant that air of pretension that I assume some diners were eager for. She went about selectively, speaking with some patrons, not speaking with others. Of course I found this off-putting. Seeing as how I was dropping $200 for subpar food that didn’t satisfy, and having travelled around the country, receiving better fare for less money, I couldn’t find a single reason to justify the snobbery. 

I should say this: I’m not from Toledo. I have no attachment to the Mancy name. I’m not paying any mind to whether Ideal presents an appropriate “homage” to the founding fathers of the Mancy group. I’m just looking for good food. Is this a place I will tell my friends to visit? Or is it a place I will tell them to avoid? 

In reading some reviews about the restaurant beforehand, I couldn’t help but feel as though many were penned by individuals with a personal interest in Mancy’s. They felt it necessary to defend Ideal by pointing-out bad reviews and dismissing the comments. There were generalities in the rave reviews like, “Best cheeseburger ever!” But among the lower ratings, I noticed some commonality in the  details regarding the poor service and mediocre food. I was willing to give the place a chance anyway. 

The menu needs reworking. There were a few good entrees like steaks, fried chicken, salmon, and burgers. That all sounded good, but the accompanying side dishes along with much of the rest of the menu felt unfamiliar and uncomplimentary, which didn’t do much to stimulate our appetites. The selection of foods as a whole just did not sound appealing. 

We ordered the oven-roasted wings, hoping to be wowed by something tasty. The parmesan on the wings added a nice layer, but the texture was not there. The wings looked boiled, which did nothing for them, visually, either. But it was nice to munch on something while I sipped a Stella Artois draft. Our wedge salads arrived, and here, I was impressed. A large, crisp wedge with plenty of blue cheese crumbles, bacon and boiled egg. I opted for the vinaigrette dressing and it was all excellent. My hopes were rising. 

The server informed us that there was no children’s menu, but then she listed half a dozen dishes—off the top of her head—that she could have specially made for our daughter (seriously, our server blew us away!). One of those dishes was a pasta alfredo, which my daughter ordered. When it came, she had to fight me off with her fork. I thought it was al dente, creamy, and delicious. The pasta in the dish seemed to be torn pieces of lasagna, but it tasted great.  

When my steak arrived—the nearly $30 strip steak—it was nicely plated with grill marks, garnished with pickled veggies and the 1921 steak sauce. The steak was far undercooked. It was rare. It was light on flavor, too. This left me nonplussed as the Mancy name seems to be synonymous with good steak in this town. 

The Strip Steak

The dainty little pickled veggies: meh. I could have done without. The 1921 sauce? Just a smattering on my plate: not enough. Not enough to make a difference, not enough differentiation from A-1. The braised cabbage? Beautiful, interesting, colorful, but also bland and forgettable. 

 

We ordered the $4 side of Yukon Gold potatoes. They were disappointing as well, having all the excitement of plain ol’ boiled potatoes. No character. No frills. Really. As a comparison, think of three little boiled potatoes alongside your steak, versus Chef Will’s parmesan potatoes of the Granite City chain. They both cost the same, yet one potato elevates the meal, the other makes it dull. 

The braised cabbage at Mancy’s Ideal. 

It took a few bites to notice, but under my steak was a small, wafer-thin slice of garlic toast. It just seemed...odd. 

The mushrooms we ordered as an extra  were wasted in my opinion; a large portion of beautiful shiitake, “roasted” (they seemed boiled as well. Does this place boil everything!?) with thyme and garlic, and still, it somehow fell flat! I tasted none of the garlic. The powerful mushrooms outweighed everything else.

And that was how dinner went: I just couldn’t find anything on my plate that was satisfying. No one thing seemed to compliment another. 

Recently, I was in Vegas and had a steak at Gallagher’s inside New York, New York. My ribeye was served and it was enormous. It was beautifully crusted, delicious, and cooked to a perfect medium. My question is: how do I get a huge steak prepared to perfection in one restaurant, then at another, get a 14 ounce steak that doesn’t even come close to hitting the mark? You’d think the former would pose a more difficult challenge. “But, Jo, that’s comparing apples to oranges. Those are two completely different restaurants!” 

That’s right. But a good steak is a good steak anywhere you go. 

My wife got the filet: same problem. It was a two-inch steak with a solid inch in the center that was cold and raw throughout. She had to send it back. She wouldn’t even touch the pickled items, one of which hit the palate like a chunk of horseradish. Maybe that’s what it was; I couldn’t really tell. 

Our older daughter ordered the Salmon Wellington. She thought the fish itself was prepared perfectly. It was tender and full of flavor. But those annoying mushrooms were present here as well, and coupled with the spinach, the taste of the dish was overall, disjointed, floating somewhere between earthy and pungent and monotone. She also ordered the “nojito” which boasted “all the flavor” of a mojito without any alcohol. Sounded good. But when it arrived, the drink didn’t present any sweetness at all, likening it to a sweet tea without sugar. 

Salmon Wellington

Our server went over the desserts, but nothing sounded interesting. Apple pie. Bread pudding. Ho-hum. Secretly, I had hoped that some coconut cream pie was still hanging around from when this place was Revolution Grille. Well, at least the Hickory Manhattan is still here. Speaking of drinks, the second page of the Ideal menu is all cocktails and brews. I get the impression that this is a place that’s more interested in selling high-priced libations than dishing out high-quality food. Hey, I get it: everything’s better when you’re buzzed. No critique from me there. 

Drawing on some of the reviews I read, I’d have to say to those who thought Ideal was “awesome”: do try and get out of the house more often. Also, I think many were hopeful that Mancy’s Ideal would get better with time. As of February 20th, 2018, it hadn’t.