Phantom Gourmet: Chopps American Bar And Grill In Burlington
BURLINGTON – Where there's Chopps, there's fire, and at Chopps American Bar and Grill, there's bound to be serious steaks and top of the line service.
Located inside the Marriott Hotel in Burlington, Chopps is a sophisticated space with an open, airy lounge outfitted with plush couches, cozy half-moon booths, and an elegant fireplace. Just beyond the lounge, you'll find an intimate dining room where General Manager Davide Crusoe works hard to make sure every guest is happy, while Executive Chef David Verdo fires steaks from a very open and extremely entertaining kitchen.
"I think people like to see what's going on and how things are happening and how things are compiled. So it really makes for great excitement in the dining room," said Crusoe.
While they offer the best steaks carefully sourced from the finest farms, there is a whole lot more to the menu.
"I think we're a steak house plus," Chef David explained. "We are technically a steak house but we take a lot of pride in our small plates, our fish, shellfish, our sides, as well as our bar."
Appetizers at Chopps are as tasty as they are creative. There is Chopps' own spin on guacamole called Guacamame. It's spiked with healthy and delicious edamame and served with hot tortilla chips for dipping. Or you can try the smoky and satisfying Boston Clam Chowder plated with a mini corn muffin for dunking.
The ultimate way to start your Chopps experience is by ordering the Maine Lobster Cocktail. Dressed with tarragon aioli, this luxurious lobster is great on its own, and even better stuffed inside one of the Parker House Rolls to make a slider.
"We use some great local lobster. We do it with a nice aioli and a little bit of chopped celery and we like to put it in those fresh rolls and make the little lobster bite," said Crusoe. "And you have a delicious starter or an awesome little sandwich to start the meal."
Since Chopps is a steak house at heart, choice cuts are taken very seriously.
"I think what separates us from other steak houses is I can tell you where I'm getting the steak from," explained Verdo.
There's ultra-tender lamb served with flavorful chimichurri sauce, and a perfectly grilled New York Strip served with a decadent bone marrow butter. For a true show stopping steak, order the Tomahawk.
"The tomahawk steak is 34 ounce. It's from Pineland Farms in Maine," Verdo said. "It's definitely for two people; I wouldn't recommend trying to eat it by yourself. It's a really thick, thick cut of meat long bone. It takes up the whole plate, presents well and people love it."
While deciding on the Tomahawk might be easy, choosing between all of the housemade sauces is certainly a challenge. Among the sauces are the ginger soy, chimichurri, bernaise, au poivre and the restaurant's own Chopps steak sauce.
If you're craving a steak without all the commitment, order one of Chopps' dry aged burgers served with a basket of handmade tots.
"Our burger's a mixture of short rib and brisket. River Rock Farms dry aged it for us. What that does is it intensifies your meat flavor," explained the chef.
If that wasn't enough, the patty is then piled with BBQ sauce and crispy onions.
"So you get the crunchy going. You get the BBQ. You get the lettuce going and then you get ground aged beef, which if you ever had that ground up, it literally tastes like you're eating a steak," described Crusoe. "Honestly on a brioche roll, there's nothing wrong with that and a cold beer. It's a good way to go."
The kitchen also shines when it comes to seafood, with crispy crab cakes served on a Granny Smith and Jicama Slaw. There's also the artfully arranged diver scallops plated with a carrot ginger puree, turnips, micro basil and kale. For a dish so indulgent you may have to share, order Chopps' Lobster Gratinee.
"Who can go wrong with some lobster, cheese and some great pasta?" Crusoe said. "I think that adding mac and cheese and lobster together with a little bit of cognac - all together those flavors happen and it's a magical little dish to share as a side or to just eat as a main meal."
All of that decadence continues right through dessert with the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar, served with a mini milkshake.
"It's kind of my take on Reese's peanut butter bar," said Chef David. "We take peanut butter, graham crackers, chocolate, condensed milk, and we make this bar that looks like a Reese's just much, much bigger and it gets served with our milkshake."
Lobster Sliders, a tomahawk steak, lobster gratinee, and a chocolate peanut butter bar make for the perfect meal at Chopps.
You can find Chopps inside the Burlington Marriott, and online at choppsamericanbarandgrill.com.
Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.
