The Marathon Grill

Tonight we went to the Marathon Grill on south 6th street. We were a party of 15 and were managed fairly well by the wait staff. I ordered a refreshingly bitter IPA at 7.2% alcohol and settled into deciding what to order of their apparently American comfort food based menu. I was struggling between their 18 hour brisket and their meatloaf which both came with a different type of mashed potatoes. After some discussion with the waiter I decided to go for the meatloaf topped with a homemade BBQ sauce with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and spinach. In true me style I also ordered a side of parmesan topped grilled brussel sprouts because I can not resist some sprouts.

I was pleasantly surprised that even with a group of fifteen people, our food came out quickly and as a group. As you will see from my picture the plating and presentation was modern and clean. Some of the other plates were really nice, some that I would like to have in my home. But now for the food.

Though, the meatloaf was good but nothing special, the BBQ sauce lingered nicely on the tongue and had a bit off a back end kick that made up for the lack of taste in the meat. The spinach was cooked well if not a little oily. The biggest disappointment in the main dish was the mashed potatoes. When the waiter insisted on me keeping the garlic potatoes over substituting the horseradish potatoes I was really excited. Unfortunately the sweet flavor of roasted garlic did not come through in any way on the dish. I may be that it was overpowered by the layering of spinach and meatloaf on top or a complete lack of seasoning but for a mashed potato fanatic, it was extremely unfortunate. Lastly, the brussel sprouts were cooked well but they needed some additional flavoring aside from the cheese. Some fresh cracked pepper or even some bacon would have made all the difference.

All in all, it was a mediocre meal at a well put together restaurant with a friendly and very attentive waitstaff. I will say though that the beer was great! I would go back again but I would definitely try the brisket or the braised pork nachos that Renee ordered.

Rating: 5/10