Nick & Stef’s
By Tara de Lis
For dineLA.com
When it comes to LA dining habits, the outside perception often skews our obsessions with the healthy, the faddish, the exotic, and the iconic. In other words, ‘rabbit food,’ foam, funky sushi rolls and Pink’s. It might surprise people to know three-picture deals are commonly signed over meat-and-potato power-dining or that one of the trendiest spots on the Sunset Strip is a steakhouse.
Back in the ‘80s, Wolfgang Puck changed the face of dining in LA with the opening of Spago. Two decades later, he redefined the notion of a steakhouse when CUT opened in 2006. Open, airy and inviting, this luxurious Richard Meier-designed eatery was a far cry from the dark grandfatherly dens of the Mad Men era. The food was topnotch, too—Prime cuts up to and including true Japanese Wagyu, available as New York strip, filet mignon and rib eye.
Kobe beef is also on the menu at BOA on the Strip, and served with a side of sex appeal at this super scene-y spot. The beauty of the menu here is that portions aren’t pre-set, so it’s possible to try just an incredibly small portion—perhaps just a few ounces—but still get the sensations of this unbelievable, buttery-rich delicacy.
Down the street, BLT serves a 32oz. rib eye, which is a feast for the eyes and the senses. It’s sourced from local butchers, with careful consideration to marbling. Cooked in a 1700-degree broiler, the effect is a thick char, which is nicely offset by decadent roasted bone marrow.
In Beverly Hills, Mastro’s has become a mecca for meat-loving industry players. Tom Cruise eats there. So do tons of aspiring starlets, and their admirers. The piano bar sizzles seven nights a week—and so do the signature 400-degree steak plates. Try the 18-ounce, bone-in Kansas City strip.
Wolfgang’s is a grand BH import by way of New York, care of former Peter Luger headwaiter Wolfgang Zwiener. Sharable porterhouses are the draw here, and come in portions big enough to divide among two, three and even four people!
Patina Restaurant Group eateries dot the LA culinary map, but in and among all the Cal-French outposts, there’s only one steakhouse, Nick & Stef’s. Its temperature-and humidity-controlled aging chamber is located adjacent to the dining room. Corporate Executive Chef Chef Gregg Wiele says, “[After dry-aging], we grill the steak over a blend of oak, mesquite and apple wood. The oak delivers a long-lasting fire, while the mesquite provides a ‘woodsy’ taste and aroma, and the apple wood a ‘delicate smokiness.’”
Across town at the Sofitel, Kerry Simon’s eponymous restaurant (SimonLA) gets its share of press for everything from its ‘rock and roll chef’ to the menu’s focus on healthy grains like quinoa and whimsical desserts such as cotton candy. However, the flavorful and tender cumin-spiced sliced skirt steak, which is nicely offset by oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh arugula, steals the show.
Wilshire Restaurant isn’t a steakhouse either, but red meat is still a draw at this casually elegant hot spot. As Chef Andrew Kirschner explains, "We use naturally raised or organic beef … What differentiates us is [that we] cook the steaks over a wood fire, which adds the flavor that the California Rancheros have made famous."
Brazilian churrascaria Fogo de Chao is the ultimate in all-you-can eat eating. Though there are sides and a salad bar, regulars know to save stomach space for the steaks, of which there’s a seemingly endless parade of more than a dozen different cuts, (including pork and poultry). Speaking about the experience, Executive Chef Vitor Melchior says, “Guests are often surprised once they discover that the ‘gauchos’ stopping by their table to serve them are also the chefs.” Standout dishes include the well-seasoned, tender bottom sirloin known as fraldinha.
Carlitos Gardel also celebrates the spirit of the gaucho—and the golden age of the Tango! Co-owner Gerard “Our beef is grass-fed, hormone- and antibiotic-free—one step from organic-certified. We have our own small Argentine-style butchery … One of our regulars compares it to sushi … you want to taste the quality of the fish, not some heavy sauce.” Unless, of course, that sauce is the tasty traditional chimichurri!
Another restaurant steeped in tradition—this one Italian—La Bistecca is set in the old lobby lounge of the historic Biltmore Hotel. The beef comes from Brandt Farms, and is free of hormones and antibiotics. Executive sous chef Orazio Parisi describes the prep process: “Our steaks are rubbed with a blend of sea salt from Sicily, black pepper, fresh rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano to achieve a slightly charred crust, and, most important, salting the meat before the cooking process will tenderize the steaks, relaxing the protein cells, plus, some of the salt gets back into the meat (via osmosis) giving more flavor.” The filet is particularly solid.
At the famed intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards, old-school Italian favorite La Dolce Vita has been a staple since 1966 and hosts a big time industry crowd—some celebs—but lots of power players like CBS CEO Les Moonves. The menu features classics like Prime Pepper Steak or Steak Sinatra.
And there are plenty of others that are the classics, too. The Dal Rae opened in 1958 and has been a Pico Rivera landmark ever since. And not much has changed at this time capsule over the years. Steak Diane and Chateaubriand continue to be big sellers.
Another L.A. institution, at Lawry’s The Prime Rib, the name says it all. Choices of this singularly popular menu item include the lightest California cut to the Beef Bowl cut, which is served as a tradition every year to teams playing in the Rose Bowl.
Taylor’s, in the unlikely locale of Koreatown, is red vinyl classic with roots in the ‘50s, back at a time when the still-popular-today tender culotte capped off many a great night.
And for those who require round-the-clock red meat fixes, Pacific Dining Car is open 24 hours. The baseball steak is an apt pick, given the proximity to Dodger Stadium—
it’s also the thickest cut of top sirloin available here.
BOA, 9200 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 310.278.2050, http://www.boasteak.com/
BLT, 8720 West Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 310.360.1950, http://www.bltsteak.com/
Carlitos Gardel, 7963 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, 323.655.0891, http://www.carlitosgardel.com/
CUT, 9500 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, 310.276.8500, http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3789
Dal Rae, 9023 Washington Blvd, Pico Rivera, 323.723.4427, http://www.dalrae.com/
Fogo de Chao, 133 N. La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills 310.659.8538, http://www.fogodechao.com/
La Bistecca, 506 S. Grand Ave, Los Angeles, 213.612.1562, http://www.millenniumhotels.com
La Dolce Vita, 9785 Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, 310.278.1845, http://www.ladolcevitabeverlyhills.com/
Lawry’s The Prime Rib, 100 N. La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, 310.652.2827, http://www.lawrysonline.com/
Mastro’s, 246 N. Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, 310.888.8782, http://www.mastrosrestaurants.com/
Nick & Stef’s, 330 S. Hope St, Los Angeles, 213.680.0330, http://www.patinagroup.com
Pacific Dining Car, 1310 W. 6th St, Los Angeles, 213.483.6000, http://www.pacificdiningcar.com/
Simon LA, 8555 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles 310.358.3979, http://www.simonlarestaurant.com/
Taylor’s, 3361 W. 8th St, Koreatown, 213.382.8449, http://www.taylorssteakhouse.com/
Wilshire Restaurant, 2454 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica 310.586.1707, http://www.wilshirerestaurant.com/
Wolfgang’s Steakhouse, 445 N. Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, 310.385.0640, http://wolfgangssteakhouse.com/
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