Southern California Steakhouses

[jrichman]

I would add Carvers Steakhouse in Rancho Bernardo to the list - it is a great place in a really nice area.

I love steakhouses. That is probably the one area that I have done extensive “research” on and had more friends willing to help me with, especially when I'm “funding the research project.” 

I like to focus the discussion on Southern California steakhouses here. That includes the areas of San Luis Obispo, down to San Diego, and out to Palm Springs. I'm more familiar with steakhouses in those areas than with other parts of the country. In fact, I've never eaten in New York, ... yet.

Here's the extent of my research, in no particular order: Ruth's Chris (Beverly Hills, Irvine), Fleming's (La Jolla, Newport, Rancho Mirage), Palm (downtown LA), Nick & Stef's (downtown LA), Pacific Dining Car (downtown LA), Taylor's (La Canada), Damon's (Glendale), Jocko's (Nipomo), A.J. Spur's (Pismo Beach), Hitching Post (Buellton), Arroyo Chop House (Pasadena), De Lacey's (Pasadena), Smoke House (Burbank). 

I haven't tried Arnie Morton's of Chicago yet (NB That's how the Morton steakhouse chain is known in LA. There is a separate restaurant in West Hollywood named “Morton's,” that's known for its annual, invite-only, Vanity Fair-hosted, post-Academy Awards party.). So you can see that my research is not completely thorough.

So, with the approval & blessing of the Forum Host, Calfornia (Thank you, melkor!!), the question is asked: What are the SoCal steakhouses I haven't tried yet?

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[rjwong]

Last month, I went to North Woods Inn down near La Mirada along the 5 (that's Interstate 5, for you non-Southern Californians), just north of the Orange County line.

For one price, I had the New York steak, which came with two salads, baked potato, & a basket of sliced bread topped with cheese. The steak wasn't bad. The cheese bread was great.

The decor is really retro. I mean, let's go back to the cabins in the mountains. From the outside, there's snow on the restaurant rooftop. Inside, lots of wood. Long wooden tables, walls made of logs, and heads of deer, moose and other game mounted along the walls. The dining area is huge. The bar is also huge with wide open spaces, just like the Old West. A life-size grizzly bear is standing over to one corner near the fireplace ...

You would probably go there more for the atmosphere than for the steaks.

[rjwong]

Since Father's Day is coming up and probably every steakhouse will be busy on that day, I'm catching up on research reporting on steakhouses.

About three weeks ago, I took a day trip over to Santa Barbara. Before I took the Amtrak train back to Los Angeles, I had an early dinner at Holdren's. Apparently, it's one of the better steakhouses in SB.

For about $30, I ordered a Prime NY Strip steak, which included a soup/salad and a twiced-baked potato.

My server brought out some bread with butter and a cup comprised of drawn butter/EVOO & rosemary. Nice touch.

The clam chowder soup was not thick. Mind you, it was under-seasoned. The steak came out as ordered, medium rare, and was served warm to cool. The steak was under-seasoned as well. However, the twice-baked potato was seasoned just right.

For dessert, I had the crème brulée. It tasted fine. Yet, it was served on a hot plate. I mean temperature hot. If anything, the plate should have been chilled.

Overall, Holdren's has potential as a really good steakhouse. These little glitches unfortunately take away from being an excellent restaurant. Mind you, for the price, it was a good value.

[rjwong]

I've been doing some more “research” on Southern California steakhouses during the summer, going into the fall season. Here are the results on four steakhouses:

LA Prime Steakhouse at The Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA has a nice view from the 32th floor. The service was friendly, informative & casual, perhaps too casual for some. The steak, however, was okay & ordinary. It didn't match up with the wonderful decor & view.

Taylor's Steakhouse on Eighth St. near downtown LA is more of a neighborhood-type locale, IMO. The steak was a bit tough to cut, a step lower than your prime places. The atmosphere was clubby, with the leather booths, especially with those sports fans from that so-called university in downtown Los Angeles.

The Grill on the Alley in Beverly Hills was a nice surprise. The steak was nice & juicy. Mind you, I ordered the NY pepper steak, which needed way more pepper. In spite of that, it was definitely one of the better steaks I have tasted. Also, the service was professional.

Dakota at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a scene, definitely a SABS (See And Be Seen). The Goodell's latest venture is the new popular place to be. The decor is excellent, dark tones, sophisticated.The hotel lounge area just outside the restaurant adds to that sophistication. The tables and chairs are huge. The place was hopping & buzzing on a Tues. night when our party of six dined there. The NY steak was juicy, flavorful, and acceptably portioned. The sides were small for the price, IMO. It took two orders of onion rings & one order of fries (total $21) to adequately fill six people.

The LA Times food critic mentioned “attitude.” I didn't encounter any attitude. Mind you, the service was professional, no-nonsense, but a little casual. Overall, I can understand the one-and-a-half stars rating from the LA Times. While the decor and the current popularity is right up there, I would have expected more from the food, particularly from the Goodell's.

That's it for now. I hear that more steakhouses are opening up. You would think that the Atkins diet is still going full-force.

[laubowski]

Taylor's is well overrated. The atmosphere is not appealing with uncomfortable booths. The food was not that great at all.

Best steak house in town must by Mastro's. Bone in rib eye cut is incredible!!! Mastro's is a true LA institution.

Boa has great steaks as well (only been to the one at the Grafton) and it has a young vibe.

Recommendations: Mastro's and Boa

[Ore]

Come on...give Agoura HIlls a chance and show up at Chapter 8. Eat a real steak!

PS - bring the credit card!!!

[rjwong]

Come on...give Agoura HIlls a chance and show up at Chapter 8.  Eat a real steak!

PS - bring the credit card!!!

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Agoura Hills? I might have to bring my passport. It's so far away.

[Toliver]

Stay clear of the Charcoal House in La Mesa (near San Diego).

We celebrated my brothers' birthdays there Saturday night. When trying to think of a steak restaurant for the dinner, we all had the same reaction to the suggestion of the Charcoal House: "Ooh, I remember that place. I ate there many moons ago and it was great."

Well, a lot must have changed during the passing of all those moons.

The food was all-around pretty poor. My mom liked her cut of prime rib but the baked potato she got with it must have been "cajun" because it was black on one side.

My slice of prime rib was rather thin (not like my mom's cut) and I ordered it "blackened" (it costs a $1 extra). The spice blend for the "blackening" was good but overall, it couldn't rescue the cut I was given. My baked potato had also spent far too much time in the oven.

Two people in our party had filet mignon which was as thin as my poor cut of prime rib. Thin filet mignon? Whatz up wit' dat? One of them had the filet with a cognac mushroom sauce which was far too boozy and totally over-powered the flavor of the filet.

Another member of our party had some sort of bacon-wrapped shrimp dish in a white sauce (Mornay?). The bacon was surprisingly gristly/chewy and its smokiness definitely over-powered any taste of the shrimp.

The restaurant was packed and after our bad dinner we couldn't figure out why. It was like that other current discussion going on in eGullet where it seems you're the only diner who knows the food is bad.

Fortunately, we got up to leave just as the rather loud karaoke in the bar began.

Live and learn.

[rjwong]

Come on...give Agoura HIlls a chance and show up at Chapter 8.  Eat a real steak!

PS - bring the credit card!!!

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Agoura Hills? I might have to bring my passport. It's so far away.

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The drive from Glendale (north of downtown LA) to Agoura Hills (next to the Ventura County line) wasn't too bad. And I didn't need to bring along my passport ...

Chapter 8 is a steakhouse & dance lounge in the Agoura Hills/Thousand Oaks area, along the 101 freeway. On a Monday night, it was dead quiet, which is a good thing to me because ... "I just came for the food" ...

Ore, FoodZealot, a couple of their friends & yours truly decided to try out this place where Ore works. Mind you, we had dinner on Ore's night off, so he didn't cook for us.

We all had a wonderful time, but let me focus on the food, namely my dinner. I'll let the others describe their dinners, if they wish.

I had the roast beet salad layered with crescenza cheese, accompanied by a grilled peach, displayed in an artful presentation with a fruit sauce, sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. The salad wasn't bad. I might have enjoyed a stronger cheese, like a blue cheese, for contrast. Mind you, the grilled peach added a little contrast, though.

I ordered the NY strip. This steak had a nice flavor, quite juicy. It wasn't hot enough, temperature hot, that is. Obviously, Ore wasn't cooking that night, right Ore??

Along with the steak were the two sides I ordered: macaroni & cheese, and summer squashes. The mac & cheese had sharp cheddar cheese, which I really liked, topped with chopped pancetta, which definitely gave it some flavor. The squashes were a nice change from the "usual suspects" of vegetable medleys. Whole, baby-sized squashes served in a generous portion to share with others.

I enjoyed the food at Chapter 8. Going to this steakhouse on a Monday night would be ideal to avoid the crowd and the scene, which apparently rises to insane levels during the weekend.

[FoodZealot]

I have more to say, but I'll save it for when I can post my pictures as well. Mine turned out ... arty, shall we say. Come on, Russ - where are your pix?!?

They put out some very nice food at Chapter 8, and in a gorgeous room. I'll look forward to that drive again if I that's the destination.

~Tad

[rjwong]

Listen here, Mr. Tourist/Photographer!!

I took four pictures from that evening, while you took umpteen million photos (well, at least more than four ...). Mind you, just to humor you, I'll put up my four pictures here. I'll expect better from you ...

rjwong's photos from Chapter 8 in Agoura Hills:

I like the food better at Chapter 8 than at Dakota in Hollywood. Mind you, I prefer the decor & scene over at Dakota, with its dark tones & more sophisticated style, as well as the overall vibe inside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

[rjwong]

As I do the Los Angeles Times Food Section Digest each week, there is in the food section ... "The Review." For the past couple of months, I kept reading reviews on this steakhouse and that steakhouse and another ... steakhouse.

So, in this week's edition of the LAT Food Digest, the food critic S. Irene Virbila reviews ... a steakhouse, yes. She admits in her review that it is rather difficult for her to get excited about going to another steak place. I can understand where she's coming from.

As I have been doing my "research" for the past several months, the only one I've really enjoyed so far was the Pacific Dining Car. Then last week, I decided to go back to Ruth's Chris Steak House in Beverly Hills. I hope my cardiologist doesn't find out ...

I arrived on a Sat. night just after six, just by myself. There was a few seats at the bar with a full menu. I took a seat with a good view of the TV which was showing a college football game.

I ordered the New York strip medium rare. Along with all that red meat, I also ordered a dinner salad, broiled tomatoes, and a glass of Simi from Alexander Valley.

The steak came out sizzling on their usual extremely HOT plate with all that melting butter on top. The NY strip tasted as great as I remembered it all those previous times. I wonder if that 1800-degree oven really does make all the difference.

That was a very satisfying steak and a very satisfying meal. And UCLA came back from 21 points down with 8 minutes left to win the game in overtime to remain undefeated. And THAT was a very satisfying evening ...

[rjwong]

After a six-month hiatus from researching steakhouses in LA, I have a couple to report about:

Mastro's in Beverly Hills is located on Canon, just about 5 doors away from ... Spago's, dahlink. The decor was definitely clubby, with Frank singing in the background. The tables were a bit crowded together, IMO. My table was wobbly. They fixed it as best they can. It was okay. I putted up with it. The onion rings looked good, then I tasted one: it was so underseasoned, a real disappointment. I managed to eat at least half because I was hungry, but I couldn't finish them. The New York steak was presented a la Ruth's Chris (a sizzling steak on a very hot plate), but then again, underseasoned. The asparagus were fine. The one amenity I was impressed with was the men's washroom attendant. The water was turned on for me as I washed my hands. A shoe-shining booth, assortment of colognes, mints, lollipops ... Now, if they can focus on their food ...

As I was reading this year's LA Times Restaurant Issue, the LA Times food critic mentioned a steakhouse called Jar. I ordered the bone-in Kansas City steak, medium rare. I started with their butter lettuce salad. Not bad, nice presentation of a whole lettuce head. Next was one of their appetizers of the evening, a tempura spring blossom squash, stuffed with lobster and mushrooms. They were nice, crispy & hot. The filling, however, tasted bland. By the way, the decor was definitely retro, it reminded me of the decor over at Patina's. The best way for me to describe the room was like a retro 1960's living room, but in a very nice, classy manner. As for the steak, it tasted okay, not really stellar. I did manage to negotiate around the bone with my fork & knife without acting like a caveman. Their French fries were excellent!! Thin, very crispy, not greasy. They are a keeper. I decided to have some homemade butterscotch pudding. I'm glad I did. Very creamy, with whipped cream on top, I ate the whole thing. I would have licked it clean, but that would have been a bit tacky, ehh?? Overall, a few hits & misses, but a nice experience.

At this point, I'm not interested in the steakhouse-as-scene places. The only other steakhouse I want to try is Wolfgang Puck's Cut.

[slo_ted]

I suggest the Far Western Tavern in Guadalupe which is just a few miles SW of Jocko's in Nipomo. Many people feel that these are the two best steak houses in the state.

[rjwong]

I just got back from Beverly Hills. I ate at a kosher steakhouse on Rodeo Drive. Yes, you read correctly ...

The Prime Grill is located inside that shopping area called Rodeo Collection, on the west side of the 400 block of Rodeo Drive.

I ordered the fried vegetable dumplings, a salad, a New York rib steak, and sauteed spinach. The dumplings didn't have much flavor. The salad was okay.

The New York rib steak was 22 oz., bone-in, and came with two onion rings and a roasted tomato. The steak was pretty good. It didn't wow me. The spinach was really good, not gritty at all.

Overall, the food was okay, but the service was ... well ... I was not impressed. At these prices, I expect some professional service, instead of some unmotivated youngster.

No, I haven't gone to Cut Restaurant yet. I'm still planning to, hopefully this year ...

[Swicks]

Nice work getting this thread going again russell!

I'd like to offer some thoughts as well....

I can and will always vouch for Flemings, I have been to the locations all throughout OC and San Diego and they always perform well, I have never had a mediocre experience there.

I too was very underwhelmed by Mastros (OC), especially for the price. Though Drinkwater's in Scottsdale (same owners) was very good.

Morton's in downtown San Diego was the best one when compared to a few other locations.

I have been to two different outposts of LG's Steakhouse (San Diego and Palm Springs) and both were ok and very underwhelming given all the good things I had heard about them.

Sam and Harry's, the venerable chain from Washington DC, has just opened a location here in Newport Beach in the newly renovated Marriott hotel, I have not been but heard some good things, I would imagine it is on par with its competitors.

A friend of mine swears by Pacific Dining Car, he agrees that it is the best steakhouse in LA.

[Swicks]

Had dinner at Sam and Harry's in the recently renovated Mariott in Newport Beach.

Despite being open a year(according to our server) I still don't think word is out about the place, it was pretty empty. Our server also mentioned some marketing disagreements between the hotel company and the restaurant, hopefully they work it out. Additionally I think it has been hard for them to steal business away from the well established Flemings down the street.

Onto the food....

I went with my father and brother who both had the price fixe menu for Newport beach restaurant week which featured red pepper soup with crab or a house salad, filet mignon with garlic mashed potatos and a desert. I tasted both, the filet was very tender and delicious and the mashed potatoes were very garlic-y but delicious. I also had the red pepper soup with crab which was good and flavorful, very simple. I also had their bone in NY Strip, my favorite steak. It was delicious. It wasnt the most tender NY I have ever had but the flavor and juicyness were superb. We also all shared some au gratin potatoes, classic and delicious with cheese, cream, and thyme. We also shared the chocolate dome desert which was mediocre at best. We shared a bottle of Flowers Pinot noir, one of my favorites, it did not disappoint.

Overall a good steakhouse experience, would I go there over Flemings? I don't think so but it is definately worth a shot.

[Ted Task]

just back from a fast biz trip to the left coast, and was taken to dinner by very OLD friends. Well, I'm old too.

They took us to DAL RAE 9023 E Washington Blvd ,Pico Rivera www.dalrae.com.

Talk about a trip into the past! But, I must admit a very pleasant trip.

This is a BIG joint, and on a Thursday night it was full. Only one of us had a steak ( it wan't me) but he was pleased.

They bring to the table an "old fashioned" relish plate of celery sticks, spring onion, carrot sticks, radish, cherry peppers all on ice...which I LOVE! The vegs were fresh and crisp. The bread basket had some interesting crisps, whch looked like quartered pita (with some nice spices added in the toasting).They pour a serious drink (told you we are old)and the wine list features Jed Steele (his Shooting Star, 2nd label) which is in the main pretty damm good juice.

Then I found an old friend, which I eat about once every two years......

Liver with onions or bacon. I told our waitress that I needed BOTH the onions and the bacon, no problem (and no extra charge).

Talk about a pig at the trough, I really pigged out with a very large serving ($18).

Wife had fresh fish, other wife had a pork chop that was huge and we all enjoyed this "Throw-back" , "Vintage" worthwhile (obviously very popular) place.

Did I mention the live singer at the piano bar....GO! and enjoy.

Ted Task

Rockville, Md.

[rjwong]

Finally, I got to eat at Cut Restaurant in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Yes, the decor is very nice, modern, so Ricahrd Meier ... And yes, the beautiful people were there, including the waitstaff ...

Now, onto dinner ...

I started with an order of tempura onion rings and a roasted beet salad. The onion rings were more like onion strings, not the traditional ones that are the size of bracelets. They weren't bad. Mind you, I'm quite picky about my onion rings.

The salad consisted of roasted beets, Humboldt Fog, pistachio, blood oranges, and winter cress. The beets didn't have much flavor. Perhaps they could have been marinated more.

As for the steaks, I ordered two: U.S.D.A. PRIME, Nebraska Corn Fed, Dry Aged 35 Days, Petit Cut New York 8 Oz ; and True Japanese 100% Wagyu Beef from Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, New York Steak 6 Oz. Before ordering, they did a little presentation of the wagyu steaks, both American and Japanese. The Japanese wagyu had so much marbling ...

I ate the USDA prime New York first. Very good. Then the Japanese wagyu New York steak arrived minutes after I finished the first one. Perfect timing. The Japanese wagyu just melted in my mouth. With so much marbling on the steak, it seemed like I was eating fat. The Japanese wagyu may be too much for me. I might need to try the American wagyu (Snake River). And yes, I finished both of the steaks. The sacrifices I make for all of you ... ... for research purposes, of course ...

For dessert, I had a banana cream pie with chocolate sorbet. Surprisingly, the pie had little flavor, and obviously, the sorbet didn't have the creamy quality of ice cream, kind of like chocolate water.

The service was fine. Where I was sitting was the servers' main thoroughfare and bottlenecks can occur. They need to work on their fluidity of movement. Mind you, I was treated very well.

The dessert and sides were not stellar. They should be better. The steaks were excellent. Personally, the Japanese wagyu had too much marbling for me and I don't really want to pay almost $150 to eat something that taste like fat ... all by myself. This would be good to order for a group, and each person can have a taste.

Cut is one of the better steakhouses. Mind you, for the price, I prefer going to a Ruth's Chris or the Grill on the Alley or Pacific Dining Car.

[syrah girl]

Glad you enjoyed Fleming's, Swicks. We have enjoyed 3 nice meals at the Fresno location over the past few months. We were given a very nice gift certificate for Christmas from a client. We still have one or two dinners there left. How are they with seafood? I'm considering the Scallops next viist to Fleming's.

[Swicks]

Syrah Girl,

Yes, in my opinion you really can't go wrong with Flemings. As far as seafood goes, I rarely order it at a steakhouse for obvious reasons, but I have tried a few bits of fish on several occasions and none disappointed. I would say the scallops are probably going to be delicious if you order them.

Though slightly off topic, I seem to have perfected the steakhouse experience at home. On two occasions in the last month I have purchased a very high quality steak from Bristol Farms, a prime aged NY strip and an aged NY strip and cooked them with a combo of searing in a pan, then a few minutes in the oven. I have to say they are two of the best steaks I have had in recent memory, easily better than the last few steaks I have had at steakhouses.

[knoxy]

I miss Northwoods here in Belmont Shore. Awesome place for a cocktail. There is still a Northwoods in Norwalk off Gateway and the 5 Freeway. I prefer "Steak and Stein" - another Clearman's restaurant - in Pico Rivera. I highly recommend it for the old school ambience alone.

I recommend ONE HUNDRED PERCENT a steakhouse in Seal Beach on PCH called "Patty's Place." Not many people have heard of Patty's - it is EXCELLENT. The baked pork chop is unlike anything I've ever had. Incredible. Patty is almost always there - it's a great spot.

LBC also still has 555 - good place for a nice steak still. I would pass on Madison Downtown - BAD deal there.

There is a Brazilian joint called "Greenfield's" also in the LBC on PCH. Ambience is icky - but steak is pretty darn good.

On the higher end, I enjoy Mastro's - there is one on Beverly Hills and Costa Mesa - the Newport location is called Mastro's Ocean Club. I also really enjoyed Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis in Dana Point. Pretty good meal there.

Edited to add - I am happy you enjoyed Cut over all - I didn't even think of that. I have it on my list to try...

Finally, I love Nic's on Canon in Beverly Hills - one of the best grilled riddichio salads I've ever had - good steaks too.

Edited March 31, 2007 by knoxy (log)

[rjwong]

My chiropractor friend treated me to a steakhouse for lunch. It’s called Lasher’s and it’s located in Burbank. Yes, beautiful ... downtown ... Burbank ... right across the street from City Hall on Olive. The original one is located in Long Beach.

We walk inside and the decor is contemporary but traditional, Frank singing in the background.

My friend and I decided on ordering crabcakes and fried green tomatoes and splitting both of them. They tasted pretty good.

We both ordered steaks: filet for my friend and Kansas City strip for me. Peppercorn sauce on the side. Both came with accompanying vegetables.

My steak was cooked correctly: medium rare. It was, however, a bit underseasoned to me. The peppercorn sauce made it better. Mind you, I’d rather taste the pure flavor of the steak. Overall, it was decent.

My friend really likes Lasher’s. He thinks that this is a great steakhouse ... for Burbank. Now Burbank is one of the suburban communities in the Southern California area, where you would want to raise a family. Burbank is not Hollywood or Beverly Hills or downtown LA. I hope this gives you a little cultural context in which to put Lasher’s.

As I said before, it’s pretty decent, not the best I’ve ever had. If I didn’t want to drive all the way to Beverly Hills for a steak, Lasher’s in Burbank would be a good option.

[SiseFromm]

My steak was cooked correctly: medium rare. It was, however, a bit under seasoned to me.

Call me crazy, but I like my steak aggressively seasoned. For me, you really can't over-season beef. Salt does such wonders. The Morton's near us has the very bad habit of under seasoning their cuts, which to me is a major crime considering all of the time and money they're investing in the quality of the meat. When I'm cooking steaks at home I make a pool of kosher salt (Diamond Crystal) and coarse ground pepper at a nearly even ratio and I literally press both sides of the steak into the mixture. Along with an intense flavor punch, the salt helps the meat to get nearly crispy on the exterior.

I think I need to eat steaks tonight.

[SiseFromm]

By the way, Orange County is severely lacking in the steakhouse department and I really think a proper, old-school yet modern, hardcore steakery would do amazing here. Shhh . . . don't tell anybody, but we've got our own little "speak easy" happening right in Costa Mesa where select diners get a full, private restaurant experience at our house. Pairings are included and one time we presented our diners with: "Brown - A Costa Mesa Steakery". The menu consisted of:

START:

Iced Shrimp with House-Made Cocktail Sauce

Lemon Parsley Salad

(1996 Louis Latour Batard-Montrachet)

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SALAD:

Iceberg with Tomato & Shallot

Pt. Reyes Blue Cheese Dressing

(2004 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannsköhle Riesling Auslese)

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MAIN:

Pan Roasted Prime Dry-Aged New York Strip Steak, Clarified Butter & Parsley

(1985 Shafer Hillside Select)

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SIDES:

Creamed Spinach with Gruyere

"Chocolate Chip" Potatoes with Minced Black Truffle

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FINISH:

"Vanilla Pudding for Grown-Ups"

(2005 Pride Mountain Mistelle de Viognier)

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FINALE:

Dow’s 1994 Vintage Porto & Fine Davidoff Cigars