Archive for Steak

Did I Say Unlimited?

February 22, 2009 admin No comments

We’d like to give a shout out to Lesley Balla, former writer/editor of Eater LA, who is launching a new food blog calledChow Balla. At Eater LA, Lesley pretty much kicked ass — constantly breaking food stories, seemingly everywhere at once. She made Eater LA a must read for food news and gossip addicts. Everyone will miss her there, but Balla junkies need not despair. In addition to her new food blog, she’s now editor ofTastingTable LA, a new e-mail newsletter. So sign up for the latest food dish.

And while we’re on the topic of food sites, I must offer a ridiculously, embarrassingly — I hate adverbs, but in this case, they’re warranted — belated thanks to FoodDigger.com, a cool new site that hosted us at a dinner back in October at the all-you-can eat Brazilian churrascaria steakhouse Fogo de Chao. There we were lucky enough to meet fellow food bloggers Wandering Chopsticks, The Foodie Traveler, Teenage Glutster, kevinEats and Famished L.A.

Vic and I first visited Fogo together in Chicago six years ago after a group of fellow journalism instructors had a contest to pick the restaurant for a night on the town. Victor, who had visited the Fogo outside Dallas, won the contest with his campaign of “unlimited salad, unlimited meat. Did I say unlimited?” Its proximity to the Blue Frog karaoke bar was also a plus. Since then, we have make a habit of visiting the Chicago Fogo nearly every summer, and I’m happy to report that the Beverly Hills outlet offers just as gluttonous an experience.

We keep thinking that any day now, they might not let us come back…that Victor’s picture will be hanging behind the hostess stand like a Wanted poster. Anyone who has seen him in action knows that he could easily put Fogo out of business with his appetite for bacon-wrapped filet mignon, rump roast, garlic beef, lamb chops and chicken legs. I love the concept of little green and red coasters that tell the gaucho servers when to swoop in with their swords of meat. The start of the meal is always like a meat swarm, truly a vegan’s worst nightmare. Eventually, things calm down, but about an hour after everyone else has finished, Victor usually has his coaster still on green. He calmly chews his meat and asks for more. He has earned such a reputation among our friends that they have urged us to name our first child Fogo.

The man truly has a bottomless stomach, but he does have a strategy. Eat a hearty breakfast, and then nibble the rest of the day and work out hard at the gym mid-afternoon to keep the metabolism revved and to build up an appetite. The classic rookie mistake is overloading on the salad bar, which is tempting because it’s so extensive and tasty. Take it easy there, and save room for the big-ticket (i.e. meat) items. You can always go back to the salad bar. And while the cheese puffsare delicious, they can fill you up fast. You want to get your money’s worth, and Fogo ain’t cheap. Take just one bite for flavor, and don’t forget to save room for the tres leches cake and the papaya cream. There’s no shame in having to waddle out. — Jenny.

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STK: Go for the sizzle

June 4, 2008 admin No comments

The DCK was better than the STK.

There is nothing wrong with that in and of itself. We’re huge duck fans, and Jenny’s order of duck breast with caramelized fennel, shallots and ginger confit was outstanding. But when the restaurant builds its name around the word, it needs to deliver a killer cut of steak. STK fell short in this regard. Our 20-ounce bone-in rib wasn’t terrible. It just wasn’t special. Again not to put too fine of a point on this, but if the name of your establishment is STK, you simply cannot allow other entrees to overshadow the quality of the red meat.

Perhaps the tipoff should have been the various steak sauces on the menu at $2 each. Hey, if you’re going to charge high-end steakhouse prices — the bone-in New York is $75 — the beef had better be perfectly seasoned when you put it on the plate in front of me. Extra for sauce? The nerve. It’s not the two bucks that bothers us. It is the idea behind it: We can slack on proper seasoning because we know these suckers will actually cover our lack of detail by coughing up extra for sauce. It’s like a car dealer charging extra for the keys.

In addition to the duck, the other highlight was an appetizer called Shrimp Rice Krispies, a tasty concoction of tiger prawns drenched in shrimp bisque with cilantro. This was a winner. But the dessert was a letdown. The server touted the bread pudding. We rarely turn down a chance to inhale every morsel of bread pudding, but this time we left half of it on our plate. Too much whipped cream. Most of all, though, the bread was hardly soaked with the stuff you need to soak it with. We would have panned this pudding anyway, but the intensity of our reaction was perhaps colored by an absolutely scrumptious version we enjoyed recently at Murano from just-departed Chef Kristi Richey. (Let’s hope they keep the same recipe on the menu there.)

Clearly STK is more sizzle than steak. We saw David Spade greeted by paparazzi on his way in. We caught a glimpse of Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer inside with his wife. We heard Lauren Conrad was there as well with Chace Crawford. Perhaps they were attending one of the three birthday parties featuring gaggles of women dressed like they were auditioning for “Sex and the City, the Next Generation.” The parking attendant confirmed there were other celebrities in the house. He was unsure about names but repeatedly said, “Lots of blondes, lots of blondes.” We saw plenty of them in the bar. If you’re a single guy, this should be prime pickings. The steak here was not a 10, but some of the implant work was. — Victor.

STK, 755 N. LaCienega, Los Angeles, 90069. 310-659-3535.

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SIV Digs BLT

May 28, 2008 admin No comments

Los Angeles Times critic S. Irene Virbila gives BLT Steak two stars in this week’s Food section. I had my birthday dinner at BLT Steak’s Washington. D.C. location last year, with James Carville, surrounded by a bevy of blondes, sitting a few tables away. The meal was fantastic. Those cheese popovers are unbelievably addictive. We haven’t had the pleasure of eating a full meal at LA’s BLT Steak, located in the former Le Dome spot, but I did attend a cocktail party there recently, and the appetizers and charcuterie were delicious. I asked our waiter the secret to the gooey popovers, and his response was “eggs.” There’s practically an entire carton in each one. Irene warns readers to “go easy there or you’ll be leaving with a well-filled take-home bag.” Frankly, I don’t see the problem. Here’s her take on the steaks:

And here the beef comes in all its carnivorous glory. The BLT cut is a 32-ounce bone-in double sirloin, presumably for two. (That’s what the menu says.) And though it is very good, I think the Porterhouse outshines it. The latter, again for two, weighs in at 40 ounces, and at $79, i.e., under $40 a person, is priced lower than some others around town.

The cooking from chef de cuisine Noah Rosen, a veteran of Wilshire and Mélisse, is spot-on. Order your steak charred, medium rare, and it comes out exactly that. The thick 16-ounce New York strip is excellent too. But the real bargain is the hanger steak, 10 ounces of flavorful beef for a modest $24.

She reserves her highest praise for the desserts:

But this latest BLT Steak takes an original tack with the desserts. Here’s one steakhouse where the sweets truly deserve a place at the table. The sundae one night is so beautifully crafted we have to ask who the pastry chef is. It turns out she’s Danielle Keane, late of Wilshire in Santa Monica, where she initiated an ice cream social evening. Here, her desserts seem more polished and inventive.

I’m sure the desserts are wonderful, but whatever you do, don’t skip the popover to save room. Trust us on this one. –Jenny

Los Angeles, Steak , , , , , ,

Boa Beef

March 26, 2008 admin No comments

Boa BeefI tasted steaks at both extremes of the tenderness scale at Boa Steakhouse in Santa Monica tonight. I started with the 2-oz. premium Japanese Wagyu appetizer. It’s a cashmere sweater of a steak — soft, smooth, expensive and wonderful. For the main course, I ordered the certified organic, grass-fed New York strip, the yogi of steaks, if most yogis were not, uh, vegetarians. (I’m a carnivorous yogi myself. The guilty but happy kind.) Decidedly leaner and firmer, the steak was still full of juicy flavor, seasoned perfectly, and you get to feel good knowing it’s better for your health and the earth.

Rounding out the meal were asparagus and fresh yellow and red beets bought this morning at the Santa Monica’s Farmer’s Market. This was my fourth trip to Boa, and I can never skip my favorite dish on the menu, the goat cheese baklava with pistachios, black truffles and frisee. It’s just so rich and divine.

I enjoyed my grub with a nice glass of Spanish Tempranillo, a 2005 Dominio De Eguren Protocolo. On Sundays, all bottles and half bottles are half price. While super-chic Boa is one of LA’s hipper steakhouses, it’s situated right across the street from the beach, and you might just find a few grains of sand on your leather seat.

Boa Steakhouse, 101 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica; 310-899-4466.

Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Steak, Uncategorized