Council Oak is a new contender for Atlantic City’s Best Steakhouse
As a food critic for the past 30+ years, I always get asked, “Which is the best steakhouse in Atlantic City?”
That puts me in a bad spot, as there are so many good ones, and it really is a matter of preference.
My consistent answers have always been The Palm at Tropicana — especially when it was owned by the original family — Vic & Anthony’s at Golden Nugget, because of its quail wings and being one of the only places to always have a bone-in filet; Gordon Ramsay Steak at Harrah’s for their creative menu and best Wagyu in town; and Old Homestead at Borgata, a Meat Packing District institution since 1868 that has been doing consistently great things since the Sherry Brothers opened their first location outside of New York City in 2003.
But, after eating at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood, located right on the Boardwalk at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, there’s another recommendation on my list … and it might be at the top.
Why? Well, for starters Council Oak is now the only Atlantic City steakhouse that dry ages their steaks — don’t fret; they also use wet-aged steaks — in house. Utilizing the former Robert’s Steakhouse dry-aging room and butcher area — Robert’s used to be my favorite steakhouse until its unfortunate demise five years ago — Council Oak takes that extra, very costly step to butcher their own meat on premise, and that means every steak delivered to every table was meticulously cared for from the beginning of the process to when it ends on your plate, and that matters! Using prime steak — even for the filets — no other steakhouse is combining quality and craftsmanship more than Council Oak.
Second: No good steakhouse — or any restaurant for that matter — will excel if there’s not a passionate chef at the helm. In Council Oak’s case, they have two: Jeff Braun, an incredibly talented industry veteran who oversees all culinary operations at Hard Rock Atlantic City; and Markus Holm, a native of Germany who was trained with traditional European values before he came to the United States to work at Wolfgang Puck American Grill and Bobby Flay Steak at Borgata before eventually finding himself across the city on the boardwalk at Hard Rock.
Finally, while Council Oak is certainly gorgeous — damn those dunes for blocking the view of the ocean! — there are other steakhouses in town that may offer a more stunning ambiance, depending on what you are looking for. That said, I am not sure anyone is offering a more complete experience from top to bottom, including:
- an impressive wine list that is showcased in beautiful glass cases as you enter the restaurant
- passionate service from a team of industry veterans who can’t do enough for you
- use of seafood — hey, we’re at the shore! — to make the menu one of the most well-rounded steakhouses in town when it comes to approachability
- dessert, overseen by Executive Pastry Chef Thaddeus DuBois, the best pastry chef in town who formerly served as Executive Pastry Chef at Borgata, as well as the White House under President George W. Bush.
It starts at the top
Like any good business, a great steakhouse starts at the top, and with the passionate, driven Braun and Holm overseeing Council Oak, this steakhouse is in good hands, and that trickles down to everyone who works for them.
Holm’s origin story begins in Germany, where chefs are trained completely different — in a more classical, traditional approach — than here in the United States.
“There, you grow in this industry,” Holm said. “You grow in the kitchen … to be the little guy on the fry station or maybe dishwasher, but you learn cooking. I believe in the grind. I started when I was 16.”
Starting as a cook and working his way up in the industry, Holm worked in the German Navy.
“I am a German Navy veteran,” Holm said. “So, the discipline in this (restaurant) industry always matched me.”
As much as he loved working in Germany after the Navy, including a stint with the American company Aramark, “I always had the American dream.”
Holm married his wife Samantha, and they would sometimes vacation in Atlantic City, where Samantha’s sister married a firefighter.
“So, I came to this country in 2008,” Holm said. “I won the green card in the lottery with my lovely wife. Back then, when the government gives us an application for the green card, it was like a lottery. We played this lottery for like five years. And then we got an email … I never won anything in my life. I thought it was a scam. So, we checked it, and it gave me and my wife the opportunity to apply for this process to get a green card. We picked up the phone and called everybody. It was amazing. And it began. You’re mentally preparing. You’re giving up everything. Yeah, let’s do this adventure!”
So, at 38 years old, Holm and his family moved to Atlantic City in 2008, which wasn’t the best time for the United States economy. And, because Holm’s training was in kitchens and not in schools, he had to basically start over here and prove he could cook with the best of them, starting as a lone attendant at the Sultan’s Feast buffet at the former Trump Taj Mahal, which is now Hard Rock.
“I have come full circle being back here at Council Oak,” Holm said. “It’s closing a circle because my wife worked here, the family worked here. I worked here, and now I am back in this building.”
Before that circle closed, Holm’s biggest opportunity came at Borgata, where he worked alongside of — in my opinion — the best chef in Atlantic City: Aram Mardigian at Wolfgang Puck American Grill at Borgata. While there, Mardigian would use Holm’s talents to the fullest, allowing Holm to show off his German heritage with his sausages and other German dishes during Oktoberfest.
“Aram will always be my mentor,” Holm said. “I came up with my German dishes, the sauerkraut and red cabbage and the sausage and the pretzel. It was really one moment I will never, never forget. I have some funny stories with Wolfgang because he’s from Austria. He found out I’m German, so we spoke German. We had fun.”
Holm eventually left Puck to move across the hall to another celebrity chef restaurant — the former Bobby Flay Steak — where he served as sous chef for six years
“That was another learning experience, and a great place to get the steakhouse experience I use every day here at Council Oak,” Holm said. “It’s really about the steak and the perfect temperature. And you really can’t rush a steak. The most important thing really is to make sure your steak is not ice cold when you put it in the pan or on the grill. Let it get to room temp, and it needs to rest. And don’t let it cook too much. Don’t flip it every 30 seconds. You just need to flip it twice. Let it rest 8 to 10 minutes. People think it’s going to get cold. That’s why you have all the juices on your plate at home. It’s just not rested enough.”
Holm at the helm
After 11 years at Borgata, Holm knew it was time to run his own restaurant, and — after working some other experiences — he received that opportunity when Braun and the Hard Rock asked him to run Council Oak last summer.
“I love it,” Holm said. “This room is a beast, it’s unbelievable, this place is just amazing. We have an open kitchen, so it’s beautiful but it can also get noisy. It’s getting loud, you hear me calling tickets, you hear me yelling to the cooks, and people actually enjoying those tables in front of the kitchen. It’s just like Hell’s Kitchen. They see me right in there, and I always tell those guests that they have the best seats in the house.”
Those front-row seats show Holm and his fantastic team delivering some of the best steaks and seafood and other delights in the city.
A big part of the flavor of Council Oak comes from two Josper ovens, a hybrid of a grill and an oven that use charcoal and applewood — no gas — to obtain 800-degree temperatures to grill roast and smoke food, including Council Oak’s prime steaks and fresh fish.
“They’re really hot,” Holm said. “We always have a Josper-grilled fish special, we have salmon, lobster, and it gives you all this smoky flavor and nice caramelization in minutes. This was the first time I used these ovens, so it took me a bit to figure it out because everything can get burned quickly. It’s all natural. You can feel the heat.”
Other than the steaks — and we will get back to those in a second — items from the Josper include wood-fired octopus with salt-crusted potatoes, roasted peppers, Romesco sauce and Marcona almonds; charcoal-roasted branzino with chimichurri and grilled lemon, and the 2-pound Maine lobster with drawn butter.
The main attraction
Ask Holm why people should come to Council Oak over other steakhouses in town, and the answer is easy: “The steak. 100 percent,” Holm said. “We have wet-aged steaks, but the real attraction for me is our dry-aging process. We have a specialized walk-in for that. Hard Rock has eight Council Oak locations worldwide, and dry-aging is one of our core items we’re doing.”
Council Oak, which only uses prime meat, dry ages meats from 7 to 45 days. In my case, I asked them to kindly dry age the steak longer. I ended up with a 64-day dry-aged prime New York strip. To put things in perspective, an 18-pound loin turned into about two 20-ounce steaks after the process because of the dehydration and water loss. The result was a funky, earthy taste that rivaled any dry-aged steak I ever had, including Peter Luger’s and the former Robert’s. It was heaven.
“It’s just an amazing process,” Holm said. “It’s learning. It’s really studying this theme of dry-aging, and we have fantastic cuts. We have bone-in ribeye — my favorite cut —bone-in New York strips. At 45 days, you just get a little hint, a light smell and different flavor. But a lot of customers don’t like that, so we have Midwest grain fed wet-aged filet mignon, prime Delmonico and prime porterhouse. We have a vendor out of Chicago, and he delivers. We keep a balance of both wet and dry-aged cuts in Council Oak. Everything is prime, even the filet.”
While Council Oak also offers A5 Japanese Wagyu, perhaps the star of the show is a 52-ounce, dry-aged long-bone ribeye for two for $195.
“That’s a special steak,” Holm said. “With the long bone, you still probably have about 35 ounces of steak left. Eat it medium so the fat is melted in.”
I also like a good steak sauce, and Council Oak’s tomato-based signature sauce ranks up there with some of the best I have had.
“I like it simple, and it’s actually based on Bobby Flay’s,” Holm said. “Smoked salt, tomato paste, molasses, honey, Dijon mustard, grain mustard, horseradish. So, it’s kind of like a cold barbecue sauce, very refreshing, and gives you a little kick, a little heat at the end.”
Other meat standouts include the bacon appetizer with maple and thyme glaze, Wagyu meatballs with creamy ricotta, heirloom chicken with butternut squash puree and rosemary jus, and an 18-ounce veal chop — ask Holm to make it like his famous schnitzel.
More than meat
So, we talked about the meat side of things, but Council Oak offers so much more
On the night we dined there, Holm had a killer fish special that shows his delicate touch: swordfish with aqua passa, clams, mussels, calamari and jumbo crab meat.
Seafood plays a huge role here. Check out the jumbo lump crab cake with grain mustard aioli, frisee and orange; ahi tuna tartare with pickled mango and spicy cucumber, avocado cream, sweet goy glaze and toro chips for a vessel; a raw bar with gigantic shrimp and colossal crab cocktail, local and West Coast oysters and clams, and — here’s the real treat — humongous Florida stone crab claws that are as expensive (about $40 each) as they delicious.
There’s also dayboat scallops with beet puree, Paris Café butter ad crispy shaved Brussels sprouts; bluefin tuna steak with seared Furikuke, crispy shiitake mushrooms and sesame ponzu sauce; surf and turf with filet and grilled lobster; seafood Fra Diavolo with lobster, shrimp, mussels and linguini in a spicy tomato sauce; and a lobster pot, the only surviving pot in a restaurant that used to focus on them with shrimp, clams, mussels, Andouille sausage, corn, seafood broth and fingerling potatoes.
“We have tarragon, lime, lemon juice at the end so when you open the pot and the steam comes out, it gives you this amazing aroma,” Helm said. “You start eating by smelling it.”
The lobster bisque and New England clam chowder as good as they get; the shrimp scampi is simple but effective; the salads are highlighted by a baby spinach salad with soft boiled egg, pickled red onion, war, bacon dressing and herbed crouton; and the sides are worth the visit alone, including lobster mac and cheese made with three cheeses, balsamic-roasted onions and mushrooms, house-cut fries and Holm’s special sweet-braised red cabbage and apple, straight from Germany.
Like any good restaurant, Council Oak’s menu recently changed for the fall and changes every season.
“There are core recipes like the octopus that you can’ t take off, but we enjoy the change of the seasons and using the freshest ingredients that go with those seasons,” Holm said. “For example, we had our seasonal fish with a pea puree and summer vegetables like asparagus, so now we are switching to more winter, fall flavors and root vegetables. Our best summer side dish was the creamed corn, and now you have to wait until next summer to get that.”
The sweet spot
No meal is complete without an amazing dessert, and the aforementioned DuBois delivers aces.
DuBois and Braun teamed up to create a stunning artisanal cheese plate with some of the best cheeses in the world accompanied by season compote, truffle honey, grapes, crusty bread and crackers. It’s world-class.
Then there’s Chef Markus’ warm apple strudel, which Holm says he eats every day. It’s accompanied by a perfect vanilla custard sauce.
There’s also the signature Council Oak cheesecake with sour cream glaze and strawberry coulis; key lime pie with graham cracker crust, marinade berries and vanilla Chantilly; a chocolate layer cake with butter cream, milk chocolate ganache and vanilla Chantilly; vanilla crème brulee; and mixed berries with vanilla Chantilly.
The showstopper, however, is the Tira Mi Shoe, which was delivered by Braun himself to us. The flashy, over-the-top presentation features a fantastic tiramisu wheeled to the table in dramatic fashion in a custom, illuminated case that uses dry ice for dramatic effect. It’s served in two shoe styles — stiletto or Oxford — that are made out of homemade milk and dark chocolate.
Inside the show is one of the best tiramisus you will ever devour featuring Kahlua- and espresso-soaked lady fingers, mascarpone crème and cocoa. The amaretto caramel with the Grand Marnier-citrus compote are wonderful accompaniments, and the browned butter cinnamon biscotti is welcome excess. It’s not only a very good tiramisu, but it’s one of the most fun things I have seen a casino do in years and reminds me of days when casino restaurants didn’t take themselves so seriously and would have fun with their guests. Watching people smile around the dining room every time one of these are delivered is magical.
Council Oak Lounge and more
If you are looking to experience the greatness of Council Oak in a more casual and less expensive way, I strongly suggest you check out Council Oak Lounge, where Holm presents an awesome, more approachable experience in many regards.
Happy Hour is offered 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays to Wednesdays and features some great food at great prices. Plates priced at $12 include spaghetti and Wagyu meatball, the famous shaved ribeye sandwich — served Pizzaiola or French dip style — and clams casino. All draft beers are just 5 bucks, martinis and special cocktails like the Rum Rocker and Seminole Sour are 12 bucks, and wines start at $7. Grab a Caymus Cab glass for just $25. Even desserts, including Sinatra’s Chocolate Cigar with whiskey ganache and the lemon ricotta torte are just $8.
Wine Wednesday offers 50 percent off bottles of wine in both the lounge and the dining room.
Hard Rock has amazing Thanksgiving offerings throughout the property, including a Japanese-infuenced feast at Kuro and a more traditional approach at Council Oak, where $79 includes choice of butternut squash bisque or Autumn mixed green salad; roasted turkey with all of the sides, including chestnut and sausage stuffing, cranberry sauce and green bea casserole with crispy shallots, homestyle mashed potatoes and candied sweet potatoes; and choice of deep dish pumpkin, pecan and apple pie.
Council Oak Steak & Seafood is located at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. Current hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Hours change seasonally. Call 609-449-1000 or go to HardRockHotelAtlanticCity.com
Scott Cronick is an award-winning journalist who has written about entertainment, food, news and more in South Jersey for nearly three decades. He hosts a daily radio show – “Off The Press with Scott Cronick” – 4 to 6 p.m. weekdays on Newstalk WOND 1400-AM, 92.3-FM, and WONDRadio.com. He can be reached at scronick@comcast.net.
