So, last weekend, QB and I planned on going to a nice steakhouse. We hadn't been to one in a while, and it was a good time to do it, as I had just come back from a profitable Vegas trip. We decided on a relatively new establishment (it opened its doors in 2005) in Cupertino called Alexander's Steakhouse. We were thinking that it'd be pretty nice to try some Kobe beef; today, we're still thinking it'd be nice, but I'll get to that later.
Well, we get there on time for our reservation, and before we're really able to check out the different slabs of meat they had on display (including some of the revered Kobe beef), we're taken to our seats. The place has a Japanese feel to it. The restaurant decor is clearly derived from the Japanese. The place is packed, and from what I could see on the different tables, the food was looking great.
After we're handed the menus, the first things out of our mouths were the words: I guess we're not going to get to try any Kobe beef. The reason as you might have guessed was the price. For a new steak experience, I would probably give it a go at $100-125 for a 12-16oz steak. But, at double that, I couldn't quite do it. The Kobe Filet Mignon was priced at a solid $250 for a 12oz cut, and the lesser cuts were going for nearly $200. The restaurant gets the real good stuff apparently. Here's a really interesting paper written about Kobe beef by the head chef of the restaurant. Oh, and the chef has a webpage, which you might want to check out. Anyway I didn't think that a 300-400% premium was warranted, so no Kobe for us.
Okay, onto the meal. We started off with a sea bass plate topped with an uni (sea urchin) based butter sauce. This dish was magnificent. It was so flavorful and just awesome, really. If you ever make your way here, order it. You'll love it.
We also ordered the hamachi shots, which came as six shot glasses with the raw fish mixed with a variety of ingredients. If you've ever had neo-style sushi, then you pretty much know how it tasted. Each shot was refreshing, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It wasn't anything totally amazing, but I'd probably order it again. Below is my picture of it, but click here for a close up to see the true beauty of each shot.
Now, for the main courses... QB had the surf-and-turf. It was a petite filet mignon and kushiyaki (skewered) lobster. The filet was excellent, but the lobster was a bit on the salty side. All in all, QB liked her food, so all was well.
I had the dry-aged T-Bone. Alexander's does their own dry-aging in house, and the meat tasted great. The steak came topped with candied bacon bits and some garlic cloves. This was a pretty good sized piece of meat. Along with our side of asparagus, I was pretty stuffed after our meal. But, not so stuffed that we couldn't share some cream puffs for dessert.
I guess in conclusion, I'd say that the experience was a very good one, and I'd strongly recommend Alexander's to anyone looking for a nice steak dinner. I would have hoped that the food could have come out a bit sooner, but the servers were pretty good about everything from keeping our drinks full to checking up on us and giving us the heads-up regarding the slow kitchen. Additionally, our personal server knew a lot about the food on the menu, as should be expected from any fine dining establishment, but that's not always the case.
3 comments:
That's actually a really nice photo of that close-up of the shot. You should copyright it and sell it to the restaurant! :) But seriously it looks really professional - your skills are improving after seeing some of your initial shots of food dishes.
You mean the close-up shot that was provided by the chef of the restaurant that I linked to in the post? I'm confused. That close-up shot was not taken by me. Maybe you misread or perhaps, misled. You work too much. Ha ha.
Oh haha, yeah, I thought you took that close-up shot. Oops...I was gonna say - you should quit your job and take photos if you had that type of quality! Yes, I need some sleep.
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