"The Great Steakhouse Challenge" - Dinner at Jar

Third up in this series was Jar in Los Angeles, CA. After my heavenly experience at Dal Rae, Jar definitely had a lot to live up to in my books.

Unfortunately, my tale is part woe and part bliss. Before we get to the woe part, I want to mention that everything started off on a high note for me when I had my salad. That salad, which consisted of roasted beets, arugula, sweet roquefort and balsamic vinaigrette, was absolutely delicious. Considering that I work for a produce company that makes bagged salads, I'm extremely picky about my salads and I finished everything on my plate to the last beet.

Following the fantastic salad came the woe. :( I ordered the skirt steak and was extremely disappointed. First off, I expected the meat to be more marbelized, just a little bit fatty to allow for flavor in the meat. Also with that little bit of fat, the outside of the steak would have also been more caramelized, which again would have again contributed better to its flavor. The meat was also chewy-soft, if that makes sense. After the high of the Petite Filet Pepper Steak I had at Dal Rae, this skirt steak was a real downer.

In retrospect, the waiter did say that the dishes that Jar is known for are the items listed under the Braises and Sautes section of the menu and lo and behold, some in the group ordered the lamb shank with star anise, coriander and garlic as well as the Jar's signature pot roast and were quite happy with their meal, so on a return visit, I probably would make different choices.

However, it should be noted that two people in our group split the Prime Porterhouse and raved about the tenderness of the meat, the flavor and the juiciness of the meat, which is another reason to avoid the skirt steak altogether next time.

But along with the woe was bliss and that bliss for me in the form of the french fries with garlic and parsley that I ordered as a side. Crunchy and with a flavor zing...those fries made me a happy camper. Also, the dessert special that I shared with a friend was awesome, a rich butterscotch pudding that almost made me weep with joy. I also had a taste of Jar's signature chocolate pudding and oh my gosh, it was creamy dark chocolate perfection!

Overall, I would make my way to Jar again, but at least this time, I know what not to order in way of a steak and if the butterscotch pudding isn't available, the chocolate pudding will do just as well.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594345082313/

By the way, my camera settings weren't as they should be, so the pics are a bit blurry in the photoset above.

Jar
8225 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90048
323-655-6566

"The Great Steakhouse Challenge" - Dinner at Dal Rae

Second up for the "Great Steakhouse Challenge" dinner series was Dal Rae in Pico Rivera.

Did you know that the 1950s never left Dal Rae in Pico Rivera? In fact, as I was driving up Washington Blvd, I already knew I was going somewhere special. From a few streets away, I could already see the tall beautiful neon sign with the restaurant name in blazing red lights. No cheesy backlit plastic for Dal Rae. It was class all the way.

Upon entering the lobby, I was greeted by live music in the bar and two hostesses, who with their almost bouffant hair-dos helped set the stage for my 50s time warp. Inside the bustling restaurant, my eyes took in the wood paneled walls and the black leather banquettes and I felt right at home.

Once seated, iced relish trays were swept onto to the table while drink orders were taken. While perusing the menu, we were able to crunch our way through cold crisp veggies. It's amazing to start your meal with fresh produce edibles. For someone who's eaten at a lot of restaurants, this was a welcome first for me.

Speaking of the menu, Dal Rae's vintage menu contained old standbys like lobster thermidor, oysters Rockefeller and tableside Caesar. Desserts even included relics like bananas flambé and cherries jubilee.

With all the choices, it was hard to decide but eventually everyone made their selections. After placing our orders, French bread, breadsticks and thick cracker wafers came out, soon followed by garlic bread. For our presently carb-conscious world, a lot of people would be running out the door screaming, but hey, in my 50s daze, I took helpings of both.

Appetizers were ordered, but the one that held the most fascination was the escargot cooked in garlic butter. The aroma was so strong that I think people from the bar could have smelled it; yet, it was also so tantalizing that I may have been willing to forget that escargot was French for snails and sampled the dish anyway.

After the appetizers were enjoyed and consumed, our steak fest began. After all, steak was the main reason we came to Dal Rae in the first place. Orders included Steak Diane, prepared tableside, as well as prime rib, steak and other various cuts of meat. For the meat entrees, it truly is all about the meat. The sides are kept simple. You get veggies and potatoes cooked in some fashion whether it's baked or French-fried.

I ordered the Petite Filet Pepper Steak and it was cooked to perfection. Both tender and moist, it was literally packed with flavor. Just looking at it, I could see the black and white pepper embedded into the meat's surface. I was so enthralled with my steak that I barely touched the vegetables or my baked potato. My steak was just that good. The empty plates around the table conveyed how much we all loved Dal Rae's steak offerings.

Amazingly enough, there was still room for dessert or perhaps it was our childish glee in seeing fruit set on fire that prompted us to order both the bananas flambé and the cherries jubilee. The tableside preparation of both our desserts was a sight to see with flames igniting the fruit and alcohol in the pans. But even better was savoring the hot sweetness of the fruit mixtures poured over the cold sweetness of vanilla ice cream. A perfect end to a perfect meal.

So ended our time space continuum foray into 1950s steakhouse glory and wow, was it worth the trip. From start to finish, our time at Dal Rae was a sheer visual, atmospheric and culinary delight and if the only way I can come back is to sport a beehive, I'd do so without question.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594301475787/

Dal Rae
9023 Washington Blvd
Pico Rivera, CA 90660
(323) 723-4427
http://www.dalrae.com/

"The Great Steakhouse Challenge " - Taylor's Steakhouse

First up for the "Great Steakhouse Challenge" dinner series was Taylor's Steakhouse at the La Canada location. Things I've heard previously about Taylor's is that it has a 50's-style steakhouse feel. Once you step inside the restaurant, wood paneling and leather booths'll greet you. The steaks themselves aren't meant to be anything fancy, but just good quality meat and the added bonus is that prices at Taylor's are supposed to reasonable; thus, there's no need to mortgage your house for a nice steak dinner.

Upon entering the restaurant, you definitely get that retro 1950s throwback feel to the restaurant. Just as I heard, there's wood paneling and rich mahogany leather booths. The walls are lined with a variety of paintings framed in dark wood or gold metal frames. One of the doors leading into one of the dining areas has etched glass as part of the door itself along with a fancy monogrammed "T". The bar had a lively, noisy atmosphere and definitely had the look and feel of a neighborhood bar hangout.

When I arrived, almost everyone was already seated in the outside patio and it was definitely a pretty night to eat outside. Along with candles on our table, additional lighting was supplied by strings of lights that hung just below the awning that was on the outside perimeter of the patio. When we finally got our menu and took a look, you saw all the usual suspects to order when you're at a steakhouse, everything from seafood to chicken to sandwiches, but of course, we were there for steaks.

According to our waitress, one of the things that Taylor's is known for is "The Culotte", which according to the menu was "The most tender cut of the Top Sirloin - Only two cuts per cow." So for me, The Culotte was my choice for the evening. This order usually comes with a salad as a starter and than a vegetable and some type of potato with the meal itself. Instead of the mashed or baked potatoes, I opted for the housemade potato chips.

After a bit of time, my meal and everyone else's meal arrived. With my dinner, came some kind of spinach that looked like creamed spinach without the cream. All I know is that it was cooked to mushy imperfection. It's amazing what sad things can be done to greens in general. Also, there wasn't really anything special about the housemade potato chips. It was a little meatier than what you'd normally find in a Lay's bag, but it was so plain. I think I would have liked some kind of paprika or some other kind of "red" seasoning to give it a kick.

As for the Culotte, I didn't think this particular cut of meat was really that tender. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't tough, but when I see something that's referred to as "the most tender," I have pretty high expectations. In my head, I'm thinking melt in my mouth tender. Of course, the fact that I had asked for medium and got steak leaning more towards medium well didn't help matters either.

In fact, we definitely had a couple of other instances where the meat wasn't cooked according to expectation. In one case, someone's rib eye was medium well when it should have been medium. When this error was brought to our waitress' attention, she actually argued that the steak we considered to be medium well is actually Taylor's definition of being medium. It didn’t look like she was willing to take it away until a manager was asked for and only then did the manager have the steak taken away to be replaced by what the customer ultimately wanted, which was a medium cooked steak. However, to get the medium cooked steak, the request was to cook this new steak medium rare. Another example had someone's steak coming in medium rare when he wanted more medium well.

In general, how Taylor's defines "medium" vs. "medium rare" vs. "medium well", etc., was just sort of funky. It was almost as if everything was one to two degrees off of where it should be (e.g. medium = medium well). Anyway, back to my Culotte. It was just very disappointing. It didn't live up to its hype on the menu. The tenderness wasn't there nor was it very moist. I actually added steak sauce simply because I wanted to make it less dry. By the way, I used the Taylor's Steakhouse steak sauce and didn't care for it that much. Too citrusy. Too sweet. I think I'm more of a peppery steak sauce kind of gal.

I can only speak for my own cut of steak. Perhaps others at the table enjoyed theirs more and if so, please add your comments to this thread, but for me, I won't be making a return visit to Taylor's Steakhouse. Given all the choices out there, why settle for something that's not that great when there's probably something better around the corner.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594238652005/

Taylor's Steakhouse
901 Foothill Blvd
La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011-3339
(818) 790-7668