If you're tired of the hour-plus waits at chain steakhouses, there's a new steakhouse in Ellicott City waiting to be discovered.
Tucked behind a dry cleaners and Bella Mia's pizzeria at Routes 103 and 104 is T-Bonz Steakhouse and Pub, which opened this month.
"We were looking for a catchy name that would represent the restaurant since our signature item is a T-bone steak," said Ali Namakshenassan, who also owns Bella Mia. "I suggested T-Bone. Derek [Reese, the co-owner] suggested T-Bonz to make it more flair."
What's a steakhouse without the red meat? The T-Bonz menu features seasoned 14-ounce black angus T-bone grilled steak, filet mignon (two seasoned black angus petite filets grilled and served with a mushroom cabernet sauce), prime rib (slow-roasted and served with au jus and horseradish sauce).
But there are also spare ribs (dry rubbed and finished on the grill with honey barbecue sauce), Chicken Chesapeake (baked chicken served open-face and stuffed with crab imperial), blackened red snapper (blackened in a cast-iron skillet and served topped with roasted peppers and onions and crumbled bleu cheese over a bed of fiesta rice) and shrimp scampi (sauteed shrimp in a creamy garlic sauce served over angel hair pasta or tossed with a creamy marinara sauce).
While some steakhouses cater only to the dinner crowd, T-Bonz is open for lunch and welcomes customers with a variety of sandwich selections and lighter fare. The restaurant offers an array of sandwiches, including beef and cheddar melt (thinly sliced prime rib soaked in sweet au jus and topped with cheddar cheese), Derek's crab cake (Maryland-style recipe "with Derek's added secrets") and chicken cordon bleu sandwich (marinated grilled chicken breast topped with smoked ham and provolone cheese).
Other lunch offerings include chicken Caesar salad wrap, chicken and crab melt, grilled ham and Swiss cheese, and tuna salad sandwich. And if you're in the mood for a salad, you can try T-Bonz's steak salad (fresh greens served with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, egg and topped with marinated angus beef tips and finished with crumbled bleu cheese), Tuscan chicken salad (fresh greens with hearty vegetables, mandarin oranges, red onions, chopped walnuts, roasted pulled chicken and finished with crumbled feta cheese) and Grammy's old-fashioned shrimp salad platter.
There's also "build your own" burgers; among the suggested toppings are sauteed mushrooms, roasted red peppers and onions, crab meat, sliced jalapenos or barbecue sauce, although perhaps you might not want to top a burger with all of these at once.
Kids are welcome at T-Bonz, too. For $4.75, children can choose from grilled cheese, fried shrimp, grilled hot dog, spaghetti and tomato sauce, cheeseburger or chicken strips, served with fries and applesauce.
Namakshenassan asks customers for feedback about the restaurant. "We're always interested in what our customers are saying," he said. "We're working with the menu since we're so new, and may be making changes based on what our customers tell us."
T-Bonz
Where: 4910 Waterloo Road, Ellicott City; 410-461-4748.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Prices: $5.95 to $24.50
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club
