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Mastro\'s

I FINALLY went to Mastro's in Beverly Hills for steak. Now, being a Midwestern girl, I LOVE me a good steak. BUT, living in Los Angeles for the past several years, I've just sort of given up on finding good steak (especially after having had Peter Lugers in Brooklyn). I do love the steak at Nick and Stef's (and I think I'm just partial to the place because they have a great steak tartare), but other than that, I just haven't been that impressed, so really haven't even bothered. BUT, I had a perfect opportunity to try Mastro's out...a friend's birthday. Now, this is a fellow foodie friend of mine who has been raving about Mastro's forever. So I was happy to give it a try especially in the setting of a birthday celebration for a good friend. Although they have a wine list (I'm sure it's great, but I didn't even get a chance to look at it), three of us decided to bring bottles of good wine and just pay the corkage. It was well worth it. Come to think of it, maybe it was the wine that made me love Mastro's so much: a great bottle of Bordeaux, Pinot, and a Zin. All superb. How could dinner go wrong? We started by splitting a chopped salad. To be honest, I can't remember what was in it. It was decent, but a little limp and a bit over-vinegary (which is saying a lot coming from me), but definitely very very chopped. It was decent. The bread, however, was delish! Hot and crusty and very salty and tasty butter. The butter was so good that I kind of felt that the bread was merely a vehicle for the butter...albeit a very hot, crusty and yummy vehicle. In fact, when the bread came to the table, the birthday boy summoned me, but I didn't notice until he called my name a few times because I was too busy shoving bread and butter down my gullet. The birthday boy just wanted to comment that my normally loud and obnoxious self had quieted down once the bread got there...how nice...how me. So, Mastro's is known for their filet on a bone. So...of course, that's what I ordered. They have 2 sizes: the 12 oz. and the 18 oz. Now, I wasn't sure if I would appear to be too piggish if I ordered the larger one so was comtemplating ordering the smaller one. But, the 18 ouncer was only $5 more: the good Asian in me realized that it was a good bargain and also, since when I have cared if other people thought I was being too piggish? We ordered the sides family style, and then the food came. I was the only one who ordered my steak rare, which I found odd, but hey...to each his own, I guess. Once again, as soon as the steaks hit the table, a hush swept over the table. We immediately start digging into the meat. Half the table got the big-ass ribeye and the other half the filet. I guess I shouldn't have assumed that the waitress would send me the larger filet by default because I got the smaller one...was she gender profiling? So I sliced into the steak and the first thing you notice is that Mastro's actually does a proper rare. It was almost translucent in the middle and on the cooler side. YUM....and the beef was super tender. I was trying really hard to remember the delicious and succulent steaks I had in Argentina in an effort to compare. The Mastro's steak was definitely on par if not MAYBE (just maybe) a tad more tender? I do, however, believe that the steaks were slightly tastier in Argentina. But that's not to take anything away from Mastro's. The steak was delicious and I'm happy to say that the 12 ouncer was not skimpy, but I definitely would have been able to finish the 18 ouncer. For the sides, we ordered the the gorgonzola mac and cheese and we all know how I feel about stinky cheeses and mac and cheese: pretty much a match made in heaven for me. And since we were in the land of old, white men, we ordered what old, white men in steak houses order as sides (at my behest)...the creamed spinach...yum. And finally, somebody, and we still don't know who, ordered fresh sugar snap peas! What the hell were real vegetables doing on our table? (Remeber, we don't make friends with salad...5 bucks for anyone who can tell me where that's from...I'm just kidding, I love salad and veggies: I just wanted to use that quote.)I actually shouldn't joke. The peas (with the pods) were super fresh and crunchy and very very green. It was probably a good idea to have some sort of vegetable to cut through the hedonistic fat-fest we were all gorging ourselves on. All the sides were great and there were definitely a few more on the menu (including appetizers) that I definitely wanted to try. On to dessert. Now, Mastro's being a typical steak house doesn't get too adventurous with their dessert menu and nothing was really jumping out at me. But since some of us were getting ports/scotches to round out the night, we decided (on the recommendation of others who had been there before) to order the fresh berries with homemade whipcream. I figured, "Fine, I'll have a few berries...whatever." About half the entire dessert in my mouth later...I marveled at how good something so simple could be. The berries with the super fresh and rich cream was the perfect way to end such a gluttonous dinner. All in all, I really don't have anything bad to say. I thought it was great and am looking forward to the next good excuse to celebrate there. And YES, I will write about the Argentinian food soon (I've been busy and this will take some time and effort). I promise...I realize that the 4 of you who read this are waiting with bated breath... By the way, does anyone else think that Elia, whom I love, from "Top Chef" is the new millenial re-incarnation of Valerie Golino's (don't ask me why in the hell I remember her name) character from "Rainman?"