SILICON VALLEY STEAK MASTERS

2nd Quarter 2017 - Dinner at Henry's Hi-Life, San Jose w/ Sal Pizarro

April 6, 2017  |  Case Swenson "Mozyington"

 

 

OVERALL RATINGS

• Case Swenson "Mozyington" - 4/5

• Gary Christensen "Wingman" - 5/5

• Bill Baron "The Chairman" - 4/5

• Ron Zraick "RonZ" - 5/5

• Mike Preston "Ditch Digger" - 4/5

• Mike Johnson "MJ" - 3/5

• Michael Mulcahy "Lord Mayor" - 5/5

• Patrick Quinn "The Dictator" - 4/5

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Case Swenson "Mozyington"

 

Overall Experience:  4/5

• It was not the best food, not the best venue, not the best service, (due to not being able to get a reservation), but it was the best overall old school/unique experience we have had thus far.

 

Food:  5/5

• Once seated the garlic bread and salads arrive quickly and the meal is under way.  The garlic bread is unique but tasty and the salads are fairly standard fare.  The steaks arrive with one of the best baked potatoes you will ever eat.  The porterhouse was grade B+, a little under cooked yet very juicy. The side of horseradish was straight up like I like it.

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Ambiance:  4/5

• When entering the venue there is an instant feeling that this is a longstanding establishment riddled with history.  The bar tender has a nice sass that tells you that you are in his house, not yours. Their reservation system is genius. You take a number once your party arrives and they take your order before you sit down.  This allows them to turn tables more quickly and accommodate more patrons as the venue is small.  

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Gary Christensen "Wingman"

 

Overall Experience:  5/5

• This particular outing strayed from our normal Steak Master routine. It is therefor difficult to rate it on the same scale as the others or make a fair comparison of the food, service or venue. The overall experience however was refreshingly new and relevant to the vibrant personality of our host Mr Swenson (Mozyington). To use his words it was a blast for sure. I’ll admit I was skeptical of the plan when I heard where we were going, I should have never doubted that Case would pull it off. I think I can speak for the majority of the group that the change of scenery came at a perfect time where we all needed a break from reality. What better way than to take a brief moment to refocus on our friendships and catch up with whats happening in each others lives. For the 3 or so followers we have on this blog it’s important to point out that the purpose of the Steak Master group is first and foremost about comradery and friendship, steaks are just a condiment.

 

Food:  3/5

• Henry’s Hi-Life is a San Jose Icon. You will hear it a lot in these reviews and justifiably so. It’s nothing like the traditional steak houses we have visited. They most likely don’t have an executive chef and if you come here for a white table cloth fine dining experience you may be disappointed. If you want a salad they are happy to squirt any type of the 3 dressings they have in squeeze bottles on any of the bowls of lettuce at the table. The toasted bread they bring out is simple but extraordinarily delicious. I had a steak, not sure what cut or even what region of the animal the meat came from. It was red, cooked well and very good. A loaded up baked potato seems to be a mandatory item, everyone at the table had one. If you like BBQ sauce there’s a big bowl of it on the table so help yourself. There was also a bowl of mushrooms on the table, Im not sure if we ordered them or not but they were good. If your looking for the white wine sauce, fancy side dishes or Wagyu beef better bring it from home, thats not what this place is all about.

 

Bar/Wine List:  5/5

• Ok, first impression of the Henry’s bar was that the bartender really couldn’t care less if you sat down or not. Wrong again wingman, this guy was a hoot. Went out of his way to help me with their rather impressive spirit selection including a taste test. I walked away a bit more educated and with a new scotch on my list of favorites. The bar is at the entrance to the restaurant, it’s old and has character. I’m quite certain that if the walls could talk the history of this place would be fascinating. This is a regular hangout to many and just around the corner from the Shark Tank. Great bar to just stop in and have a beer and catch a bit of the game. We hit several bars before dinner including an underground relatively unknown spot which just happens to be the practice venue for a well known local band. You can’t Google the “Garage Bar” and I’m sure the guest list is exclusive. Just know from this review that if you ever find yourself at the door ‘Jazz Hands” will most likely get you in. 

 

Service:  3/5

• Service was decent at Henry’s. Like I said, if your looking for a waiter in a tux with a white cloth draped over his arm your gonna have a rough night. The Bartender as I mentioned was great once you engage him, the hostess who seated us was pleasant (Henry’s doesn’t take reservations). The wait staff was attentive and our food arrived at the table in what seemed like moments after we ordered it. This venue is set up to feed the masses. Get in, get fed, have some laughs and get out. Thats what we did and it was great. They know that routine here well and practice it nightly.

 

Ambiance:  4/5

• Again, you gotta consider the nature of the beast. Henry’s is a destination with it’s unique purpose and has been around forever. They create their own ambiance and it’s just the way they like it. If you come here with the expectation of a fine dining experience with all the bells and whistles you should also have a back up plan. There’s definitely a good time and some decent food waiting to be had here if your expectations are in line with the reality of what Henry’s is all about.     

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Bill Baron "Chairman"

 

Overall Experience:  4/5

• This is a classic, old-time steak and BBQ joint located in downtown San Jose.  Been around for decades and has been through a lot over the years, including floods. Our experience was a good one and entirely different that the top end steak houses of our area insofar as setting and atmosphere, but that doesn’t mean that the steak was any less.  In fact, the steak was damn good.  I’d say if you want a casual, sort of rough shot experience, but with a damn fine and affordable meal—head to Henry’s in downtown San Jose.  You won’t be disappointed.  If you’re looking for a white tablecloth place, this is not your place. The Steak Masters also were in full count and we enjoyed a guest, Sal Pizarro, local columnist for the San Jose Mercury News and all around great guy.  From what I remember—we all had a very good time.

 

Food:  4/5

• For me, it’s always the New York—no sauce or other takeaways.  It’s my go to for steak in a steakhouse and oh my goodness, this steak was good.  Flavorful, tender, cooked medium rare “+”, as requested.  Also on the plate was a baked potato and on the table, a whole bunch of garlic bread.  The starches were very good, flavorful and enjoyable.  I don’t remember eating any vegetables, and that’s just fine with me.

 

Bar/Wine List:  4/5

• As I stated earlier, knowing Henry’s as I do, I can’t set the expectation of a fine bar setting.  But, for the super casual hang out bar, this is a great and comfortable place.  Kind of rough around the edges, but again, all good with me as I knew what we were getting into and therefore, found it damn fun.  We made our order for food upon walking in and then enjoyed a drink in the bar.  When the food was ready, we were walked to our table, sat down and the food was delivered.    . 

 

Service:  5/5

• Again, this is not your typical place, so as long as you’re not trying to compare with a traditional high end steak house, then you’ll have a great experience.  The service here was very good—particularly from our greeter and attendant Mr. Herhold.  We enjoyed very good service; in fact, as good as we’ve had at the higher end facilities.  The whole Henry’s team that served us, I wish to share a loud shout out “thank you”.  Your good service helped to make our night a very good one, indeed.

 

Ambiance:  3/5

• It’s good, nothing wrong with it at all.  Again, it’s all about calibration and expectation.  If you want super casual, this is the place.  I usually prefer a different experience, but this one was damn fun.  There were lots of other extracurricular activities going on due to our host, Mozy, and his private Garage Bar.  Let’s just say good music, private bar, good friends, great steaks and a guest of honor has the makings for one heck of an evening….from what I remember.

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Ron Zraick "RonZ"

 

Overall Experience:  5/5

• This steakhouse was good, but the overall experience was very special.  Henry’s Hi-Life has been around forever…and then some.  Founded in 1960, it’s considered more of a BBQ joint than a steakhouse.  But there are plenty of delicious steaks on the menu.  More on that later.  For this adventurous evening, we had all of the Steak Masters in attendance as well as “distinguished guest” and all around great guy Sal Pizarro.  Our “hostess with the mostest” (his words, not mine) Case Swenson led us on an alcohol fogged journey that included stops at the San Pedro Market for drinks, the very exclusive, members only “Garage Bar” for more drinks, LOUD music and manly dance moves followed by dinner at Henry’s.  To cap things off, some brave souls ventured back to the Garage Bar to complete the evenings round of alcohol poisoning.  No wonder the details are blurry. But what we remember was wonderful…and what we can’t… oh well.  That’s why we take Uber!!!  Hey…does anyone else remember two hot blondes showing up and drinking wine in the middle of our dinner?  Thanks Elyse and Katie for making a great night even better!!!  Oh, and kudos to Henry’s for holding their annual golf tournament at Cinnabar Hills, this year on July 10th 2017.     

 

Food:  3/5

• Henry’s set up is kind of unusual.  They don’t take reservations.  The entrance leads to the bar, which is always a great place to start. start. We were greeted by a host who pointed to an easy to read menu on the back wall of the bar.  Right there, standing in the bar and staring up at this menu like a bunch of… the host took our food order and told us he would let us know when our table was ready.  Henry’s has a really nice selection of steaks and BBQ items.  Since the Sharks were playing that night, there was prime rib on the menu.  I don’t cook prime rib; others do that for me.  I ordered the 16 ounce cut medium rare and salad with bleu cheese dressing.  Then headed to the bar for a Jack on the rocks.  This is no place for frilly drinks.  In a few minutes, we were told our table was ready and when we sat down our “old school” salads and garlic bread were waiting for us.  The salad was small, consisting mainly of iceberg lettuce and served in a wooden salad bowl. Kinda cool…I remember when most restaurants served little iceberg salads in wooden salad bowls.  Henry’s still does.  Not great but nostalgic and I was hungry so it disappeared.  The prime rib was medium rare with a nice fat cap.  Not outstanding but very good and definitely better than I could prepare.  It came with an au jus and a creamy horseradish sauce.  The baked potato on the side was accompanied by a rich herbed/garlicy butter and sour cream. We had a side order of mushrooms which were ok, but the side of BBQ onion was a nice surprise, with a sweet almost creamy flavor.  Does anyone remember having dessert?    Finished off the meal with a 17-year-old Balvenie.  Very nice.  All in all, a good meal that I would definitely return for.

 

Bar/Wine List:  5/5 (Wine)

• The bar experience at this Steak Masters dinner was unique and FUN.  We started out at San Pedro Square.  It was raining so we sat at some tables under umbrellas.  Ok for a while but some of us started getting wet so we moved and stood under the roof overhang for a while.  For a very different and surprising experience, Case led us to a non-descript warehouse door right around the corner from Henry’s. Inside was Case’s “man cave/garage bar/band studio”.  Epic!! The bar was stocked with great whiskey and we played loud music, man danced; and sang at the top of our lungs.  To an uneducated observer, this may have looked like a gay bar for those over 40. We had a blast.  Henry’s bar was good too.  Bartender Dave reminded me of Warren Hayes, and had that great no bullshit bartender attitude.  Again, this is no place to order fru fru drinks.  They also had Caymus Cabernet by the glass (not sure which year).  It went very well with the prime rib.

 

Service:  3/5

• Service was just ok, mainly because they screwed up our distinguished guest’s NY steak and he had to wait about 10 minutes after we all got our meal.  Unfortunately, we were too hungry and hammered to be polite, and didn’t wait for him. Otherwise, the service when we walked in to order was good, the bartender was great and our servers were attentive.    

 

Ambiance:  4/5

• You gotta love a place where you have to send all of the clothes you wore to dinner to the cleaners because they smell like BBQ!  Henry’s “wanna be dive bar/restaurant” atmosphere has been drawing customers for years. The ambiance was fantastic; well-worn and comfortable.  A San Jose icon along the lines of Original Joe’s.  I’ll be back!.   

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Mike Preston "Ditch Digger"

 

Overall Experience:  4/5

• A Fabulous evening with the Steakmasters.  Our Steakmaster host, Mr Swenson,  was gracious and entertaining as usual. His itinerary for this evening was well planned and finely executed in its simplicity.  With “casual night” as the agenda, last minute adjustments due to rainfall seem to fit the evening very well. From the San Pedro square to the super special “Garage Bar” to the very casual Henry’s Hi-Life and back to the “Garage Bar” the evening was a blast. The “Garage Bar” gets a 5 of 5 for sure. However this review is not about the Garage Bar, it is about Henry’s Hi Life.  As for overall experience at Henry’s I would say 4 of 5 with my more detailed response below addressing why.  Henry’s is very basic, very casual, very historic, and needs to be appreciated for what it is. Great time.

 

Food:  3/5

• I had the rib eye steak, done medium well.  Unlike other Steak Masters I like my steak fully cooked. With that order came a small salad and a fully loaded baked potato.   And of course our host ordered several sides but I only loaded up on the sautéed mushrooms.  My drink of choice to accompany this steak dinner was the Caymus Cabernet wine.  First to come was the small side salad which I was under impressed with. Basically a small bowl of not the freshest mixed greens lettuce, and a few shavings of carrot with a dab of blue cheese dressing dropped on top.  Ok enough to eat but don’t go to Henrys for the salad. The remainder of the dinner took quite awhile to arrive but when it did I was pleased with my meal. The steak was cooked to my liking and was quite flavorful. The size of the steak was perfect for me, not too big, not too thick.  Also not too fatty. A fine cut of beef well cooked and very tasty. The baked potato was delicious. Though I am pretty sure that any baked potato is delicious when smothered in butter, sour cream, bacon and chives. Regardless, it was super tasty.  And then the mushrooms,  I love skillet cooked button mushrooms!!!  Again, cooked in butter and garlic I am not sure possible to go wrong but wow they were good and I had several helpings. Great for me but not sure the garlic was so well received when I got home. And finally the Caymus wine!   That wine is so darn good. Full bodied and flavorful it is the perfect accompaniment to a rib eye steak. The most impressive about this is that the super casual Henry’s carried such a great wine list. Nice dichotomy!

 

Bar/Wine List:  4/5

• I really liked the bar. Super casual old wood floor bar located right in the front entry lobby. Cozy, small and fun this bar is worth visiting on its own. Just a great comfortable feel with a really great old school bartender making the visit a real kick. Somehow felt like one just needed to tie the horse up outside then step in and have a shot of whiskey. Great character. 

 

Service:  3/5

• Service was OK.  I think the wait staff was a little worn out from the mad rush of people that proceeded us. That night was an SJ Sharks game across the street so Henry’s was packed full of patrons for several hours proceeding our arrival.  So for that I am giving the staff a break on criticism.   Service was slow and a little confused.  But the food eventually got to the table, sorted out, and was enjoyed.  Maybe they do that on purpose just to make sure that Henry’s keeps that very low key environment. Maybe they just want us to take a break from the craziness of “Silicon Valley” to just slow down and not expect everything at the touch of button. I can sort of appreciate that.  

 

Ambiance:  4/5

• Just low key super casual almost picnic style steak house. With its simple chalkboard menu, uneven wood floors, old wood table, and original decorations from an era gone by, this place has real character and a solid place in the Silicon Valley must see eateries. Throw on some Levi’s, some boots and a black tee shirt, open the creaky door, step up to the bar and order a shot of Jack. OR throw on the sport coat and tie, some nice loafers, stride on up to the bar and order a Martini. Either way you will be welcome and enjoy this wonderful piece of San Jose history.

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Mike Johnson "MJ"

 

Overall Experience:  3/5

• A Fabulous evening with the Steakmasters.  Our Steakmaster host, Mr Swenson,  was gracious and entertaining as usual. His itinerary for this evening was well planned and finely executed in its simplicity.  With “casual night” as the agenda, last minute adjustments due to rainfall seem to fit the evening very well. From the San Pedro square to the super special “Garage Bar” to the very casual Henry’s Hi-Life and back to the “Garage Bar” the evening was a blast. The “Garage Bar” gets a 5 of 5 for sure. However this review is not about the Garage Bar, it is about Henry’s Hi Life.  As for overall experience at Henry’s I would say 4 of 5 with my more detailed response below addressing why.  Henry’s is very basic, very casual, very historic, and needs to be appreciated for what it is. Great time.

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Michael Mulcahy "Lord Mayor"

 

Overall Experience:  5/5

• The Henry’s experience rating of 5 is benefited by the pre and post dinner activities that had nothing to do with Henry’s, but Henry’s is the kind of place that is part of a larger night’s experience – headed to the Sharks, a downtown festival or concert. Henry’s on its own is serviceable, but as part of a larger night out, Henry’s is a standout. A big thanks to our host Mozyington who represented upon our arrival that he didn’t have the night figured out, and on top of that, couldn’t swing a reservation at the “we take no reservations” Henry’s. We started with large beers in the rain, outside under broken umbrellas at San Pedro Square Market. We all really had had a terrible few weeks, facing challenges with parent’s health, the loss of a dear friend, and the typical family and work pressures. We started slow and timid, but finished fast and loud to make it a night worth remembering. And then there’s the jazz hands…

 

Food:  3/5

• At Henry’s, you order before being seated. The menu is painted large on the wall in the bar, and the host takes your seating request, then takes your order as you hang out with a drink in your hand. I ordered the Rib Eye medium rare from our host was is the son of a local newspaper columnist. A local boy who made great recommendations and shared his favorites with us. The wait didn’t feel too long and we were led to our table where salads had already been placed. The salad is simple, crisp with tart dressing and a perfect size. Garlic bread was available and had a nice crunch to it. Then the Rib Eye is delivered accompanied by the long forgotten baked potato. Sour cream, butter and a little shot of the horseradish zipped my potato right up. A killer combo. My rib eye was very good, salty, charred on the outside, and a perfect medium rare center. The fat of a rib eye is best on a flame, gives it that caramelized edge, and Henry’s did it right.  

 

Bar/Wine List:  4/5

• The wait didn’t feel too long and we were led to our table where salads had already been placed. The salad is simple, crisp with tart dressing and a perfect size. Garlic bread was available and had a nice crunch to it. Then the Rib Eye is delivered accompanied by the long forgotten baked potato. Sour cream, butter and a little shot of the horseradish zipped my potato right up. A killer combo. My rib eye was very good, salty, charred on the outside, and a perfect medium rare center. The fat of a rib eye is best on a flame, gives it that caramelized edge, and Henry’s did it right. There is a cool tidbit about the bar doors. From the inside there is a mark on the door where flood waters rose to back in 1982(?) prior to major flood prevention improvements that were subsequently made to the nearby rivers.

 

Service:  3/5

• It goes without saying, but service is not what Henry’s is there for, however, I was a paying customer and if it weren’t for the local San Jose host, this would have been my first 2 on the rating scale. From the bartender described above to the food servers who looked like they wanted to be home after the early rush, nobody went the extra foot to provide service. 

 

Ambiance:  4/5

• It goes without saying, but service is not what Henry’s is there for, however, I was a paying customer and if it weren’t for the local San Jose host, this would have been my first 2 on the rating scale. From the bartender described above to the food servers who looked like they wanted to be home after the early rush, nobody went the extra foot to provide service.

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Patrick Quinn "The Dictator"

 

Overall Experience:  4/5

• I have been walking in the crooked front door of Henry’s since the early 70’s. Nothing has changed. A review of my first ever meal there could easily cover my most recent. Hank’s is long on consistency. What made the night memorable was the crew of high-binders I walked in with. The SVSM ensemble can turn even the most revered and mundane into a gully-washer!

 

Food:  3/5

• Henry’s employs quality meats ,but the smokey BBQ taste makes everything taste fairly similar. The garlic bread is always tasty and twice baked potato is on the money. 

 

Bar/Wine List:  5/5

• Great place to watch sports or the sporting. Reasonably priced beer/cocktails in a lively setting.

 

Service:  4/5

• The service attitude at Henry’s has always been the same…come in and get out. Keep it moving people! At least it has character. 

 

Ambiance:  4/5

• Our table was near the BBQ thus I was as smokey as the meats. The great Guadalupe River Flood of ’95 left Henry’s 4 feet under-water causing the bar patrons to lift their glasses a tad bit higher. Henry’s survived that and it certainly survived the SVSM’s. Wish I could say the same for us.