Gourmet | Moreton Neal | Back to the Future: Bin 54 Steak House

Back to the Future: Bin 54 Steak House

By Moreton Neal

Warning: Vegetarians and teetotalers may want to skip this article-likewise, delicate souls offended by the thought of boiling live lobsters, force-feeding geese or massaging cattle with sake. For those on cholesterol-lowering medication or strict dining budgets, proceed at your own risk. Our first destination is not for the faint of heart, stomach or bank account. We'll be talking about hard liquor, red meat, buttery sauces, rich desserts and none of them cheap.

For those sinners still reading, follow me. We're going straight to heaven. Its name is Bin 54.

But first, let's backtrack. When the extravagant Spice Street opened in Chapel Hill in 2003, I was absolutely certain that it was George Bakatsias' pice de rsistance. I considered his decreasing visibility there a sign that he was busy overseeing other restaurants in his empire, among them Vin Rouge, Parizade, George's Gourmet Garage, and Verde. Well, Giorgio has been busy, all right, and now we all know why. Maintaining the status quo is never enough for George Bakatsias, a man with boundless energy and imagination. The name of his game is vision.

As so often happens with visionaries, the flip side of that coin is usually excess. Bakatsias' restaurants, though wildly different in theme and style, all share a delightful over-the-top quality. But not Bin 54. Ironically, the "wow factor" of the place is in its restraint. Stained concrete surfaces, soft leather banquettes, deep rich colors and human-scale rooms give the space a quiet, contemporary elegance. Dramatic drum-shaded ceiling lamps bathe diners in a flattering glow. This is a place one would expect to see the sleek, well-dressed cast of a TV courtroom drama rather than more typical Chapel Hill carnivores-coaches with seven-foot recruits knocking their heads on the chandeliers.

When general manager Brett Davis handed us the cocktail list, we realized the mid-century lampshades were a subtle hint of things to come. At Bin, the old is new again. Highballs, lowballs, all the drinks our parents and grandparents ordered in the '40s and '50s are here-Daiquiris, Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Sazeracs-and the bartender is either old enough or well trained enough to make them exactly right. Even the garnishes are traditional, down to the maraschino cherry in the Rob Roy and the slice of lime and mint sprig in the Mai Tai, just as Trader Vic first served it in 1944.

Bin's menu is simple and familiar, a throwback to upscale steakhouses of the '70s when the tradition of "baked potato and salad included" gave way to strictly "a la carte." When you order steak, you get just that, accompanied by nothing but a small gravy boat of your chosen sauce. Not even a sprig of parsley. Can this concept work in a town whose hotspots are Lantern, Crook's and Top of the Hill, places where garniture and side dishes are as important as the main course? There's good reason why steakhouses such as Ruth's Chris and Capital City Chophouse chose to locate on the other side of the Triangle: Contrarian Chapel Hill has never been a steakhouse kind of town.

That being said, never underestimate Bakatsias, the man who rushes in where angels fear to tread. In this case, he revisits a well-worn path, but with a twist. Bin's slightly tongue-in-cheek retro style is clever, but its substance is unquestionable. Chef Dale Ray, trained at the Inn at Little Washington, takes his straightforward dishes to a level of perfection rarely achieved. Dry-aged New York Strip with Bearnaise Sauce, American Kobe Ribeye with Green Peppercorn Butter, even the humble but incredibly flavorful hanger steak, surpassed expectations. Truly, I didn't think it was possible for meat, or even lobster, my favorite protein, to taste quite this good. Is there a secret beyond the quality of ingredients? "We cook everything over a wood fire," Bakatsias revealed, "just as we did when I was a child in Greece. It's primitive but basic."

Appetizers were equally impressive-an extraordinary crabcake with dijonaise, fresh foie gras on polenta with fig butter, caramelized sea scallops with truffle potato puree. With one of Bin's large salads, each of these would be an excellent meal in itself.

We had just as much fun with the desserts as we had with the cocktails. "We're taking the classics to the next level," Davis claimed, though this could be said about every item on the menu. At this point we could guess many of the sweets: banana pudding (made with crunchy bourbon pecan cookies instead of vanilla wafers), apple crisp with homemade vanilla ice cream, a molten chocolate cake with orange sauce and buttermilk ice cream, pecan pie. Dj vu all over again-but better!

Bin is located on the site of the former Grill at Glen Lennox. This address has housed a succession of popular neighborhood-oriented eateries dating back to the long-lamented Dairy Bar in the '50s. Is Bin the natural successor to these beloved hangouts? Maybe not. The place is nothing if not "fine dining." But I can honestly say that by the time the meal was over, we were making plans to return, even if just for the hamburger or the hickory-grilled chicken, as soon as possible.

Sharing responsibility or, I should say, bragging rights for Bin, is a new face in town, Charlie Deal. A well-known chef on the West coast, Deal has teamed with Bakatsias to form the Noble Food Group whose goal is to "bring inspired new dining concepts to a savvy market." The team's first restaurant, Grasshopper, opened last month in Durham next door to Vin Rouge on Ninth Street. As Fred Benton described in October's "Off the Menu," it features a light Southeast Asian menu, the polar opposite of Bin. The look is '60s Saigon and I expected Graham Greene to walk in at any moment.

Back in Chapel Hill, Glen Lennox's new neighborhood hangout may well turn out to be the Noble Group's third effort, Jujube, another Asian caf scheduled to open soon right next door to Bin 54. Jujube promises "modern dim sum, noodles, and cocktails." Judging from my happy experiences at Bin and Grasshopper, this prospect sounds tantalizing. My crystal ball shows plenty of noodles, dim sum and Mai Tai's in my future, probably with lime and mint but I'm hoping for a paper umbrella.