Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The end of fine dining train (Wolfgang's Steak House, Beverly Hills)

Sadly, this was the end of our fining dining train. It was steam rolling pretty good for 2 months. It all started at Comme Ca, then to Chaya Downtown, Craft Los Angeles, Spago Beverly Hills, and finally Wolfgang's Steakhouse. No....not that Wolfgang. This place is Wolfgang Zweiner's Steakhouse. I don't think we'll be hopping on a train like this again :( Unless, I win the Lottery. The first time we did something like this, was our food trip to New York. That trip started the birth of Mr. Gohan :) We were eating at all these 'fancy' restaurants that constructed beautifully put together dishes, but I was in the mood for a straight forward steakhouse. And that's what I got, good meat. All though this was the end, I guess all good things must come to an end.

I've been wanting to come here for a couple of years. Ever since I read someone's post on Chowhound. After reading more about this place I was very intrigued. Wolfgang Zweiner used to be the head waiter at the famed Peter Luger in Brooklyn. Having been to Peter Luger in New York, I was interested to see if Wolfgang's Steakhouse shared any resemblance. And I have to say, conceptually it seemed to be very similar except for the decor. Wolfgang's Steakhouse was much more modern and "Beverly Hillsish" :)

On this particular evening, me and the Mrs were dining with some friends who also share a passion for eating. We came during Dine LA and ate a 3 course meal for $44. When else can you eat Prime Grade steaks for so cheap. We were seated in the 'wine room', which I enjoyed very much. It seemed like we had our own private room. Although I walked away from this dinner enjoying the company of some friends and having my stomach full with very good steak, the night didn't get off to a good start. For one I forgot my camera again! I had to use my phone. Secondly, we all agreed that our waiter was terrible. His attention to detail and our needs were absent at best. Having been to many restaurants, one thing that brings down the impression of restaurants are the patron's impression of the wait staff. Having said that, I still enjoyed our night out. The food and company outweighed that terrible waiter.



2005 Sequoia Grove
When I eat a good steak I also enjoy some vino and preferably some gohan (rice). LOL. I'm no connoisseur of fine wine, that would be my brother, but I know when I enjoy a wine. And this particular Cab was very good and very reasonably priced considering.


Tuna Tartare
For those who know me, know that I'm not much of seafood person. Although, as I am getting older I am beginning to like it more and more. So my experience with tuna tartare is very limited and I don't have much to go against. In my opinion, Wolfgang's version was decent. Nothing earth shattering about it.


Manhattan Clam Chowder
I have never had or remembered of hearing of Manhattan Clam Chowder. Whenever I think or hear of clam chowder, I think of New England Clam Chowder. I guess I need to get out more often :) So when it came out I was a bit shocked to see that it was red! My impressions were that it tasted very similar to a vegetable soup. Again, nothing earth shattering about it.....it was just good.


Sizzling Bacon
This was a familiar sight. The sizzling bacon reminded me of Peter Luger's. How can you go wrong with bacon? It was very tasty and juicy. The only downside besides it making me more fat is the cost :) LOL.


New York Steak
I know, I know...the picture sucks! Blame it on the camera not the photographer. Similar to Peter Luger's, the steak comes out piping hot and is sliced at the table. Unfortunately, we didn't try their Porterhouse Steak to make a true comparison to Peter Luger's. One thing they do have in common for sure is that the steak was very good! My only knock on my steak, was that it was a bit under seasoned. Other than that it was great! The flavor of the meat was outstanding.


My Plate
Here's a picture of my plate. Pictured is some New York Steak, Creamed Spinach, Mashed Potatoes, and German Potatoes. Everything was very good! Both the Creamed Spinach and Mashed Potatoes were very creamy and delicious. My favorite side was the German Potatoes. They were very delicious and also reminded me of Peter Luger. Everything we had that night was all in all good, with the exception of the steak. Which I felt was outstanding!


Apple Strudel
Although I only took a small bite, my impressions and my memory of this dessert was that it was pretty straight forward and good. Before coming here, I looked at the menu and saw that all the desserts came with a fresh schlag. I was thinking to myself, 'what the hell is a schlag'? It turned out to be their fresh whipped cream. What ever you call it, it was good :)


Chocolate Mousse Cake
This is another example of my recent 'falling out' with chocolate desserts. Usually my favorite desserts always tend to be chocolate but this was not my favorite of the night. hmm....something is going on. Anyways, this was very rich and went nicely with my cup of joe :) All in all, I enjoyed it a lot. It just was not my favorite.


Cheesecake
I felt that the cheese cake was the best dessert of the night. It was very creamy and wasn't overly sweet. Again this was a straight forward interpretation of a dessert. Nothing fancy about it. But then again that's what I enjoyed about that night. Everything was pretty straight forward and good.



Wolfgang's Steakhouse
445 North Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA. 90210
310-385-0640