Nick might be cute...

John and Nick's Prime Ribs and Steak

The little boy is very cute, the staff is very nice, the decor is definitely upscale and abundant. The atmosphere was nice but it was a Friday night and very crowded. They take reservations for six or more but do allow you to call ahead saving standing in line.
Yes, I said standing in line. No seating available unless you choose to go to the lounge.
I worry about restaurants with that much decor and dark wood and stacks of wine bottles arranged in tasteful dark wood cabinets when those restaurants are placed in a small strip mall next to a muffler shop.
I was right to worry.
I chose the prime rib with bacon wrapped scallops. I was there with 5 others and the staff was very good at accommodating our party. We were comfortable and actually right by the salad bar but the line at the salad bar was not intrusive at all.
I have noticed that I keep hesitating to talk about the food. Everyone was so nice and very helpful that I don't really want to ruin this but here we go.
I ordered prime rib-their specialty dish-and I asked for it to be cooked medium. It came out rare-the old joke about it mooing when you cut into it was bandied about. It was a nice piece of prime rib-cut about one inch or so thick but it resisted my fork when I cut into it.
I waited to see what the other prime rib ordered by one of the party I was there with would look like. It was a little more done, on the rare side of medium she quipped. But it was only 1/2 inch thick and there was a huge disparity in the portions.
She ordered hers without the scallops. But they were both supposed to be 8 oz portions. The price difference between her dinner and mine reflected the cost of the scallops on the starter menu. So it should have been the same piece of meat. Not at all.
They invite you to come into the kitchen and say hello-written right on the menu. There is an episode of "The F Word" where chef Gordon Ramsey teaches some butcher students how to tell if meat is rare, medium or well by touching different parts of the face. It took willpower to not go into the kitchen with that lesson.
I would have sent it back but it was a prime example of all the food in the restaurant or at least what I experienced. The bacon wrapped scallops had no flavor, not even the bacon. And while the menu says they are golden fried scallops-they had grill marks and nothing golden about them.
The onion rings were done well as far as cooking but not much flavor-and I don't care for heat. I have a palate that prefers mildness but these were so mild that I started fantasizing about a hint of cayenne. The mozzarella cheese sticks were the same as you get in most nice restaurants-seems as if they all have the same supply company.
But the worst sin had nothing to do with lack of flavor or cooking know-how. It was portion size. Another member of our party ordered the grilled salmon. At $16, I would have expected a decent portion, I know how much good salmon is in the store, I have eaten it at other restaurants but the tiny slice that was on that plate was like a child's portion. The dill cucumber sauce that was served with it was very, very good. Even with the salmon a little overdone, the sauce lifted it to a better level, if there had only been more to make the check a little easier to swallow.
Between the "famous salad bar" mediocre at best-which had nothing homemade on there except the cut of the lettuce and the lack of skill in the kitchen, we won't probably be returning even though that kid is cute beyond words.