IK started off with an appetizer off of the specials menu... a crab and avocado terrine. It was good, but not spectacular, and here is why. Summer time crab is so delicious and sweet and suculent on it's own that it would be the perfect compliment to mild and creamy avocado without assistance from any 'enhancers'. The chef apparently did not think this was the case and tossed the crab with some seasoned mayonaise... completely unnecessary. It made the whole thing a bit too wet, and way too creamy. It was tasty, of course (how can crab, mayo, and avocado not be?) but too heavy. Good but not our favorite.
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DY went with oysters. Nothing much to report. They were seasonal, fresh and delicious. Came with a jalapeno and citrus dipping sauce that was delicious but not needed.... nothing (to me at least!) beats the briney bite of an in season oyster... no horseradish, no cocktail sauce, no nada. Just me, oyster, and face. Done.
Matt has gotten adventurous, people. He ordered (hand to God) the softshell crab. This was done as almost a tempura, over top of a thai inspired coconut milk and pepper mixture. This was AMAZING. So much flavor. I love thai food for it's always happy combination of spicy, sweet, salty and bitter and this had each compenent in the perfect way. Sweet coconut milk, hot chilis, slightly salty softshell crab.. it was a treat. The crab was cooked to perfection, crunchy on the outside but giving way to sweet delicious meat on the inside. I love the snap of a properly cooked softshell crab. This was a serious treat. Sadly it was a special.... soooo.... yeah.
I went with the confit duck leg salad. Holy crap. This was amazing. Seriously succulent duck, cooked in it's own fat atop a bed of leafy greens in a dressing comprised of bacon, ducky drippings and vinegar? Yeah... don't mind if I do. Salty, crunchy, earthy, delicious. The duck leg was huge, too! I could have easily had this and a cup of soup and called it an evening.
Both DY and Matt went with steaks.... DY with the monster of the menu, the 18oz cowboy steak, Matt with the tamer but still giant 16oz sirloin steak. Both were cooked to absolute perfection with a delicious crust and a tender inside. Matt had been dreaming of steak at Knife and Fork Inn since our first visit, years ago, and knew what he was going to get months in advance. According to him it's one of the best steaks he has ever had, and they didn't dissapoint on this visit, either. DY seemed happy too, as his plate was completely cleaned and meat free by the end of the meal.
IK went with one of the dinner specials, a fluke fillet perched upon a bevy of sliced zuchinni and topped with roasted cherry tomatoes. It was light, summery, and completely season appropriate. The fish was really fresh and IK really enjoyed it. Personally I thought it was a bit bland, but I just never considered fluke a 'go to' fish for full flavor. Who knows, maybe its just me. Long story short, the person eating it was happy, it was cooked well and looked nice. The end.
My dinner was an absolute treat. Better than I ever remembered from any of my previous visits. I went with the crab cake, and this is the one that I have always used and will continue to use as my golden standard. Huge, giant hunks of jumpo lump crab meat packed into a towering cake, with litte, if any, filling sitting pretty surrounded by spicy Asian slaw and red pepper sauce. It's perfect. You get all crab and no BS bready smoosh nonsense. The slaw gives crunch, should you want it, but I was so focused on the delicious crustacean that it took me a while to remember to dip into the veg. So good. So very very good.
Too full for dessert (although they have an amazing confection refered to as a banana chocolate burrito... if you like your taste buds order it) we rolled out and hit the boardwalk. Knife and Fork Inn is a little piece of history in downtown Atlantic City. It's absolutely stunning, has a pretty lively bar scene, and the service is impecable (friendly and knowledgeable without being overbearing or creepy... good combo!)
Knife and Fork Inn
http://www.knifeandforkinn.com/
Atlantic and Pacific Avenue-08401
609 344 1133
Bim was crazy hungry so he also ordered the onion soup. When you order onion soup you expect a mini crock (usually those brown ones? you know what I mean). Soooo not the case here. What was placed in front of him was nothing short of absurd. I mean, look at it. It's fair to say it was a practical volcano of soup. What was really impresive, though, was that the soup was real, honest to goodness onion soup... not that light brown watery nonsense. This had a crazy deep dark color which means that the onions must have been cooked wayyyy down, the fond scraped, the cheese bruleed. Presentation of this dish was also fun. Yay.
I started my meal with one of the items off of the 'small plates' menu. It was listed as Manchego cheese with fig puree, and I figured since it was indeed a 'small plate' there would just be a tiny taste, enough for me to enjoy, but still have plenty of room left for my meal. I was instead presented with 6 crostini with 6 large wedges of cheese and a baseball sized dome of fig puree. I'd hate to see what their big plates look like....Long story short I'd probably order differently the next time as A) this was a lot of cheese for a small plate and B) the crostini were not done particularly well.
Bim ordered the full rack of Saint Louis style ribs for dinner. These were delicious! The meat literally fell off of the bone, and the sauce was awesome... dare I say it was saucesome. Bahaha. Hysterical. But seriously, it was the exact kind of sauce that I adore and associate with barbeque. Thick and sweet, with a heavy hit of smoke and dare I say a bit of spiciness. I loved these (stole two from him over the course of the night) and so did he... Matt's a fan of sauceless ribs, but what does he know? Even with Matt and I helping him out, Bim was still able to take home an entire half rack. Portions = HUGE
Matt ordered the bone- in New York strip. It was cooked exactly right (as you would hope from a steakhouse, afterall). The sear on the meat left it with a nice, seasoned crust and the inside was pink but not dripping blood, a perfect medium. The cool thing about On The Bone is that every single piece of steak that comes out of their kitchen is aged for at least 21 days. Also fun to note, every piece of steak that comes out is bone- in, including the filet mignon. Fun, right? Anyway, Matt's steak was served with a trio of sauces... a bleu cheese sauce, a bernaise, and a glace de viande. These were all eh. They didn't add a lot of flavor, they were totally unnecessary to the meat eating experience, and they weren't particularly good. Luckily they were on the side and easy to ignore. The onion rings were exceptional.... crunchy, salty, not greasy just freaking perfect.
I ordered a burger, which is odd for me, but hey, it's what I was craving. Another bonus about On The Bone? You can pile your burger high with bonus toppings (mushrrom, bacon, sauteed onions, fancy cheeses) for not extra cost. Bonus! I decided to top my angus beef bad boy with smoked gouda cheese, mushrooms and onions. The burger was good... really beefy and flavorful, but not too fatty and greasy. The gouda (which I have never before used on a burger) was a treat... the smoke brought serious flavor. It was great. It was also huge. I ate about 1/3 of it and packed the rest in to come home. Who can eat this much!? Sad note about the fries, though. They were too greasy, big bummer. 
I had come in planning on a big ol' piece of meat, but when I saw the description for the filet mignon sandwich my mouth immediately started watering and I knew it just had to be mine. 6 ounces of filet mignon piled on top of a ciabatta roll, covered in caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, with melted brie cheese and drizzled with a shallot and tomato sauce. Go back and read that again. Drooling? I was too. It came with their version of fries (which are really more like giant potato chips) and these were lovely. Thin and crunchy and salty. I really liked them. The real treat was the sandwich, though. So many flavor combinations (my favorite part of any dish, of course). The meat was supple and moist, the cheese creamy and soft, the mushrooms earthy and thick, the bread crusty, with a bit of bite. There were sweet onions and the tangy sauce, and it was just... well, it was damned good.. I miss it now. I'm sad it's not here with me, while I write to all of you.
To end our meal we ordered what has since become known only as 'THE dessert'. It's described as a warm dark chocolate brownie served with dulce de leche ice cream and home made whipped cream. That description doesn't come close to describing this brownie. This was SO good in fact, that I wrote down what we said while eating it, which can do a better job of explaining it's tastiness than I ever could again. "This must be what the angels eat in heaven." "Shh. No talking while we're in it's presence." "We don't deserve to eat anything this delicious.... no one does." "If God had dessert he'd be jealous of this." I don't care what you eat if you ever visit KC Prime.... if you leave without ordering 'THE dessert' you have done yourself....nay, your country, a great disservice.