Tuesday, April 28, 2009

STK:Bringin' Sexy Back

It's Vegas Baby!

Not your Daddy's steakhouse!

wagyu Lil' Big Macs


tomato four ways



The cowboy ribeye, worthy of a fine STKhouse.


You know, my wife doesn't do stands, dives, or trucks. She is from Sao Paulo, Brazil likes Brazilian and Italian food, but it must be glamorous and flashy. Sao Paulo is loaded with restaurants of style and substance, not always mutually exclusive here in LA. When I talk about all my finds the wife usually responds with," what were you saying?" But, when I brought up STK, her eyes darted in my direction."It's very..........chic, elegant...........celebrities!" "Ok, I want to go." "Sure!" It takes a little more than setting for me, but after my multi-course tasting and cocktail degustation at STK, our household now has something we can agree on. Owned by the One Group, STK is well aware of their modish appeal, but at the same time they have brought in a Four Seasoned chef Todd miller and creative mixologist Paul Moix to rise above the surface as a place for serious food with some LA sexy thrown in.

This special bloggers dinner was a blast. Abby, friend and Pleasure Palate founder put us all together, along with Emily Olsen of the One Group. Also invited were: Alli 411 (who made an true effort to mingle and talk with all), Choisauce, Gastronomy, Gourmet Pigs (shared a nice conversation about Brazil travel) , Kung Foo Panda, The Liquid Muse , Mattbites ,Mattatouille , Seeking Food, Sinosoul(to your health) , Teenage Gluster (at last we meet hermanito), Wandering Chopsticks,When Tara Met Blog, and Food, She Thought ( it takes a trouble maker to know one).

Upon arriving from the metro ready to booze during the cocktail meet and greet I grabbed an Uva Caiprinha(Leblon cachaca, red grapes, lime, clover honey).Paul, you make great cocktails, man, but lose the Leblon. Woops, I had ordered a drink not realizing that they would be flowing throughout the course of the night, and I brought a bottle of Artiste wine, too. Love the metro!The green intensity was complex and cool(aviation gin, lime juice serrano chili slices, basil leaves). I really am a straight liqour kind of guy, and these types of cocktails often lose me, but Paul knows what he is doing and captures the essence of the STK style in each of his creations.

Todd Miller came out, and it was clear that the restaurant intends to be a place of cuisine, which is refreshing in a place that probably doesn't have to.He came out swinging with the first plate, an off menu tomato four ways, which riffed on 4 tastes of various tomatoes magnificently. I thought this was a hit with many of us.

The standout plates of the evening were the Lil' Big Macs, mini wagyu beef burgers with special sauce on a sesame seed bun. These were hedonistic. The truffle fries had me comin' back for more. The roasted beets were well balanced with all of chef Miller's ingredients, all flavors blending so well. The sweet corn pudding, delicious, a fan of polenta and the like, not bad at all. Looks like I found some guy food amongst the fancy plates! The cowboy ribeye, after all, this is a steak house, pleasurable, tender and nicely seasoned.
"Dirty babe...You see these shackles? Baby i'm your slave
I'll let you whip if I misbehave!It's just that no one makes me feel this way"

STK, is not your daddy's steakhouse. But, even folks like us who care about food won't be embarrassed to be seen in such a posh restaurant. And, I can get even my Paulista wife to doll up for the red carpet.

STK
Not Your Daddy's Steakhouse
755 N La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 659-3535

3 comments:

Food, she thought. said...

Great assessment. The wagyu sliders were definitely the food stand-out for me as well, although the steaks were also great. And the drinks were delicious, surprisingly, despite the fact that I am a martini/champagne/r&w wine/vodka & soda/cognac girl. I actually have recreated the "green intensity" at home a couple times, most recently for a Laker blow out. I do love trouble! ;-)

streetgourmetla said...

Thanks Food, she thought! I loved your write up.You had such great notes I had to use your post as a reference. Think I was lit by the second or third course!

Joanna said...

I'm going here! The mini big macs had a quick cameo on Bravo's Real Housewives of NY and looked amazing... and I was sad that they were all the way in Manhattan! Good tip! =)