Non-Steak Entrees at Arlington’s Premier Steakhouse

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The chicken dishes first

The most common reason a guest looks past the steak list is a table where one or two people do not eat beef, and chicken is what they are looking for. Mercury has two chicken entrées at dinner, and they are different enough that the choice is easy once you know them.

The Chicken Saltimbocca at $42 is the composed plate: chicken wrapped in prosciutto with sage, over whipped potatoes with baby carrots and a mushroom Marsala sauce. It is the dish to order when the rest of the table is having a steak dinner, because it arrives with the same weight and finish as the beef. The Grilled Chicken Pasta at $29 is lighter and simpler: pappardelle with fresh herbs, cremini mushrooms, spinach and a white wine cream sauce, with grilled chicken through it.

Every non-steak entrée, with prices

Nine plates, three of them chicken or pasta, three seafood, and three from the grill and braise. Most arrive as composed plates with their sides, which is one difference from the steaks, which come alone. A $25 split plate fee applies if two guests share one of these.

Pasta at a chophouse

Two pastas sit in the Chophouse Classics section, and both are made to be full dinners rather than sides. The Tortellini Bolognese at $32 is cheese tortellini under a pork Bolognese with shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil; it is the heartier of the two and the one for a cold night. The Grilled Chicken Pasta at $29 is the lighter cream sauce dish described above.

At lunch, the pasta list changes shape: Spaghetti and Meatballs is $19, and the Grilled Chicken Pasta is $18, both served Monday through Friday from 11 AM. The Savory Meatballs starter, $18 at dinner and $16 at lunch, with house-made marinara and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, is the plate for a guest who wants the Bolognese flavors without a full pasta.

From the water

Seafood is the other half of the non-steak menu, and it is where the kitchen puts its most composed plates. The Seared Sea Bass at $57 comes over corn risotto with grilled asparagus and beurre blanc, and can be made Imperial for $20 more with sautéed jumbo lump crab and grilled Gulf shrimp; the sea bass page covers it in detail. The Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon at $48 is teriyaki-glazed and served with whipped potatoes and broccolini. The Crab Cakes entrée at $44 brings the same cakes offered as a starter, plated with whipped potatoes, asparagus and beurre blanc; see the crab cakes page.

Seafood also runs through the starters: a Gulf Shrimp and Jumbo Lump Crab Ceviche at $23, an MCA Shrimp Cocktail at $19 and a Salmon Mousse at $18 with house-made crostini.

Lunch, and the vegetarian question

The weekday lunch menu carries its own non-steak list at lower prices: a Grilled Chicken Breast at $17, a grilled or fried Chicken Sandwich at $15, Blackened Fresh Catch Tacos at $17 with spicy slaw and corn tortillas, Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon at $24, and a Chicken Fried Steak at $24 with whipped potatoes and rye whiskey cream gravy. The lunch page lists all of it.

There is no dedicated vegetarian entrée on either menu. The kitchen can build a plate from the salads and the sides, several of which contain no meat, and it helps to mention it when you book. The vegetarian options page lists what qualifies and what to ask about. For guests who do eat chicken, fish or pork but not beef, the nine plates above are the answer, and the room, the piano by the window and the view over the district are the same whichever entrée is in front of you.