Stephanie's on Newbury offers down-home cooking for upscale prices. Located on the fashionable Newbury Street, it's hard to miss the green awning and the al fresco seating that awaits you on the outside of the restaurant. Inside, you immediately enter into a dark, warm, leather couch-filled room, lit by a warm fire, which feels like Grandpa's scotch and cigar room.
Be sure to come on an empty stomach, because Stephanie has some heavy Southern offerings. The menu varies among lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, but my all-time favorite is the over-sized -- and should be illegal -- Stephi Burger. It's a huge sirloin hamburger topped with caramelized onions, juicy mushrooms, greasy bacon, and all the other toppings you could want. Forget the fries -- you'll have trouble finishing the burger alone! For 15 dollars, it's one of the cheaper options. My dinner favorite is the shrimp and scallop carbonara ($29.95) which, I'd have to say, you’ll need good luck finishing! After a large jumbo shrimp and a forkful of the thick carbonara noodles, you'll be stuffed! The scallops on the dish are huge and pan-seared, so if you don't like the burnt look, ask the waiter to tell the chef to not over-sear. Another favorite is the 16 oz. steak that comes with the best baked potato around -- its filled with cream and spinach and is baked perfectly!
Be sure to come on a Saturday or Sunday for their famous brunch. Call ahead to assure beating the long lines of shoppers, tourists, and locals who want to sit under the green awning along Newbury Street. My favorite dish is the Crab Cake benedict ($15) which comes with two crab cakes over english muffins which are topped with a jalapeno hollandaise sause and a mixed green salad on the side. Also good is the ahi tuna tartar (17) which comes ever so lightly cooked on the outside, but beautifully pink on the inside. Its wrapped with cucumber, avocado, sesame chili oil, spicy mayo and wasabi, and topped with crispy wontons and peanuts.
This is certainly not a place you'd want to go to everyday. The prices will leave you with a huge dent in your pocketbook, and the food will leave you with a huge bulge in your belly! Check out the website for more information. They show you all their menus (without the prices to scare you away) and their wine and dessert lists.