Who? Michellios+Wendy, Andrew
Where? Westwood Village, Glendon and Kinross
A beautiful restaurant in the middle of Westwood Village - great ambiance and decor, modern and upscale. A fantastic place to try as part of DineLA restaurant week. Foccacia bread is served with eggplant - unique and quite delicious. Best versions of dishes I've ever tasted: Sea Scallops on Hummus and Orange Blood Pudding. How good was it? Michelle said she'd never liked scallops at all, but the appetizer made her change her mind. Excellent: Rack of Lamb (very tender and juicy) served with the freshest peas-in-pod I ever tasted. The swordfish is also very good, I particularly like the braised vegetables that came with it - light and refreshing. Wine flights look cool. Pinot Noir 2005 Jekel is decent - bouquet>flavour. Parking next door $7.00. Server Jason was very good - order came out wrong but he fixed it promptly and without incident. Kitchen was slow in preparing entrees (long wait). Overall thumbs high up.
Showing posts with label Steakhouse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steakhouse. Show all posts
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Taylor's Steakhouse + + / * * * $ $
Who? Michellios, Andrew, Sean and Amy
Where? 8th and Ardmore, K-town
Andrew's take: In a perfect world, this place would be a cheaper alternative to Ruth Chris or Lawry's. First impressions are great - a very classy dining atmosphere with great big booths and dim romantic lighting. The bread is passable. Lobster bisque arrived hot and creamy and in my opinion was the best tasting part of the meal. I got the bone in rib-eye, which IMHO was cut too thick. Maybe I'm not a connoisseur of meat cutting but the thickness of the meat certainly made it difficult to cook medium-rare. The outside arrived well done whilst the center was almost medium-rare. Mashed potatoes were plain and non-too-eyebrow-raising. Recommended Cab was too dry, bland and had no body. Thumbs sideways.
Themos's take: I was a little disappointed by this place. The steaks are good but not great, the service is ok, and there isn't much attention to detail (like the frozen butter than you can't spread in the bread until it gets warmer). My porterhouse lacked the filet part of the steak, and both our steaks where somewhat undercooked (lots of dark red regions although I asked for medium). The place is a good deal for the price, as in "proper" steakhouses you get to pay $50-$70 per person (hence the rating), however there is nothing exceptional here.
Where? 8th and Ardmore, K-town
Andrew's take: In a perfect world, this place would be a cheaper alternative to Ruth Chris or Lawry's. First impressions are great - a very classy dining atmosphere with great big booths and dim romantic lighting. The bread is passable. Lobster bisque arrived hot and creamy and in my opinion was the best tasting part of the meal. I got the bone in rib-eye, which IMHO was cut too thick. Maybe I'm not a connoisseur of meat cutting but the thickness of the meat certainly made it difficult to cook medium-rare. The outside arrived well done whilst the center was almost medium-rare. Mashed potatoes were plain and non-too-eyebrow-raising. Recommended Cab was too dry, bland and had no body. Thumbs sideways.
Themos's take: I was a little disappointed by this place. The steaks are good but not great, the service is ok, and there isn't much attention to detail (like the frozen butter than you can't spread in the bread until it gets warmer). My porterhouse lacked the filet part of the steak, and both our steaks where somewhat undercooked (lots of dark red regions although I asked for medium). The place is a good deal for the price, as in "proper" steakhouses you get to pay $50-$70 per person (hence the rating), however there is nothing exceptional here.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Arnie Morton's Steakhouse * * * * * $$$$$
Who? Themos, Dora
Where? Downtown
How much? $88
Zagat: 26, $59
This is the real deal. Instead of going to an opera, theater or another show, you can choose Morton's for an full experience and not just a place to fill your appetite. The food is superb and the freshness of every single item is unparalleled. The steaks and the side portions are huge and enough to fill any stomach. The introductory bread is huge and fresh-baked. We got a perfect tomato salad with a blue cheese toping straight from paradise. The meat was cooked just right while maintaining all the juices: tasty surface, meaty core. They offer only on fridays and saturdays prime rib of top-notch quality. They also have a signature rib-eye steak chicago style, aka with a bone that gives it an extra boost in taste. They have a range of souffles that are baked fresh and it takes about 30 minutes to do so, so you have to order them in advance along with the entrees if you want to have them after the main meal. The chocolate one was perfection with a mousse, foamy-like filling along with fresh whip cream. Maybe the best dessert I had in LA.
But the service is also to die for. When you order, the server brings a rolling table with two floors, where all the items they serve lie uncooked. So you can see the size and shape of the different meat cuts and decide for yourself which one looks better. Of course, the presentation also includes some of the seafood dishes, and that includes a (live!) lobster with its clamps tied together for security. The lobster is alive and it moves around while the server explains the details!
Where? Downtown
How much? $88
Zagat: 26, $59
This is the real deal. Instead of going to an opera, theater or another show, you can choose Morton's for an full experience and not just a place to fill your appetite. The food is superb and the freshness of every single item is unparalleled. The steaks and the side portions are huge and enough to fill any stomach. The introductory bread is huge and fresh-baked. We got a perfect tomato salad with a blue cheese toping straight from paradise. The meat was cooked just right while maintaining all the juices: tasty surface, meaty core. They offer only on fridays and saturdays prime rib of top-notch quality. They also have a signature rib-eye steak chicago style, aka with a bone that gives it an extra boost in taste. They have a range of souffles that are baked fresh and it takes about 30 minutes to do so, so you have to order them in advance along with the entrees if you want to have them after the main meal. The chocolate one was perfection with a mousse, foamy-like filling along with fresh whip cream. Maybe the best dessert I had in LA.
But the service is also to die for. When you order, the server brings a rolling table with two floors, where all the items they serve lie uncooked. So you can see the size and shape of the different meat cuts and decide for yourself which one looks better. Of course, the presentation also includes some of the seafood dishes, and that includes a (live!) lobster with its clamps tied together for security. The lobster is alive and it moves around while the server explains the details!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Outback Steakhouse * * * $$
Who? Themos, Dora, Melania
Where? Arcadia
How much? $29
Zagat: 17, $26
It it by no means a premium steakhouse, but it offers woodranch-level steaks and similar stuff. I tried 3 steaks at once: the porterhouse, the ribeye and the sirloin. I decided that porterhouse was the best, with ribeye in #2 (but also too much fat!) and the sirloin in #3. I realized that sirloin is kind of an "empty" meat in terms of taste, so unless it comes from brazilians I will not choose it again. Salads were great. plus a very rewarding atmosphere (we stayed almost until midnight!). Thumbs up.
Where? Arcadia
How much? $29
Zagat: 17, $26
It it by no means a premium steakhouse, but it offers woodranch-level steaks and similar stuff. I tried 3 steaks at once: the porterhouse, the ribeye and the sirloin. I decided that porterhouse was the best, with ribeye in #2 (but also too much fat!) and the sirloin in #3. I realized that sirloin is kind of an "empty" meat in terms of taste, so unless it comes from brazilians I will not choose it again. Salads were great. plus a very rewarding atmosphere (we stayed almost until midnight!). Thumbs up.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Robin's Woodfire BBQ & Grill * * * * $$
Who? Themos, Dora, Stayros, Dimitri
Where? Sierra Madre
How much? $28
Zagat: 19, $19
Ribs ribs ribs... A half rack of beef ribs should be anyone's goal as you enter this very nicely decorated restaurant. They have meats even for appetizers! And it is great quality,too.
Where? Sierra Madre
How much? $28
Zagat: 19, $19
Ribs ribs ribs... A half rack of beef ribs should be anyone's goal as you enter this very nicely decorated restaurant. They have meats even for appetizers! And it is great quality,too.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
The Woodranch BBQ & Grill * * * */ + + + +
Who? Themo, Dora, Andrew
Where? The Grove
How much? $35
Zagat: * * * *, $24
Themos' Take: Niam niam... Tasty meats and great ribs ans steaks at the $20-$30 range. The only one in LA is located at the Grove, and it's worth it. Thumbs way up.
Andrew's Take: Best take-out BBQ menu. Bring it home!
Where? The Grove
How much? $35
Zagat: * * * *, $24
Themos' Take: Niam niam... Tasty meats and great ribs ans steaks at the $20-$30 range. The only one in LA is located at the Grove, and it's worth it. Thumbs way up.
Andrew's Take: Best take-out BBQ menu. Bring it home!
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