Last week was serious curtain-raising time for yet another ultra-glamorous Orange County restaurant, Mastro’s Steakhouse.
The Mastro Cos. has been busy in OC. In October, it opened Mastro’s Ocean Club in a new building at Crystal Cove Promenade on Pacific Coast Highway. Both restaurants have landed on OC’s top dining circuit.
All the while it was launching the Newport Coast location, raw board fences were in place to hide construction at a Costa Mesa building that used to be home to El Torito Grill and Copa de Oro for a couple of decades.
When the construction on Mastro’s Steakhouse was complete two weeks ago, there wasn’t a trace of the old architectural ghosts.
The owners literally gutted the building down to bare walls and put their lesson in glamour in place.
A long, sleek granite facade gives a hint that something modern is to be found inside. You enter through heavy glass doors textured to resemble flowing water. More of that wavy, flowing element makes up walls of the foyer.
Overhead is a huge commissioned chandelier in bright red glass. Some walls are made of stacked ledge stone, others are comprised of marching rows of rectangular pillars that combine dark wood and illuminated amber-colored glass panels. Black granite floors are speckled with gold.
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Mastro’s Steakhouse: premium chops, 18,000 bottles of wine |
The restaurant is large, seating up to 500 in five dining areas.
This is one of those places where I’d advise you to arrive in plenty of time to have a before-dinner cocktail in the chic bar and lounge area, even if you are eating in another room.
The lounge features slinky black leather banquettes, a baby grand piano,there’s live music every night,and a huge central horseshoe-shaped bar with about 18 bar stools.
You might find yourself wanting to just stay at that bar to have your meal too since it’s one snazzy set-up in an even more snazzy room.
Before you settle in at the bar or in a dining room, you’ll probably feel compelled to poke your way up the granite stairway that travels through the middle of the centrally located wine cellar. It houses 18,000 bottles.
There are fine-looking private banquet rooms on the second level of this impressive structure, so peek around and make a mental note for future parties.
Mastro’s Steakhouse doesn’t serve lunch,it’s only a dinner destination. Tables throughout the space, even those in the lounge, are dressed for evening in white linen double-draped cloths and set with good wine glasses.
Dining room seating is in fully upholstered chairs that invite leisurely enjoyment. Some walls are fully clothed in a deep red fabric and adorned with murals and custom paintings.
Now onto the food, which really is the highlight here.
The restaurant offers a true menu of steak house food.
One side of the leather menu presentation folder has the entire a la carte menu, while the other side holds an inclusive wine list that they’ve managed to pack with 138 choices from around the world. More on the wine later.
Portions are very generous. One could fill up on appetizers alone. Add to that a basket of hot breads and paper thin, crispy slices of garlic bread that are way too tasty and you’re already in trouble.
Cocktails of shrimp or lobster are joined by suggestions of oysters, mushroom caps stuffed with crab, sea scallops, crab claws and sauteed shrimp slightly reminiscent of Italian scampi.
Soup is French onion. The steak appetizer is listed as sashimi style, ravioli are the Chicago cheese filled and toasted kind and there are several salad choices.
The stamp of seriousness is profound in the prime meats. Steaks range from 12 ounces to a 48-ounce double-cut porterhouse.
There are bone-in and boneless strip steaks, filets and rib eyes. A pork chop is a hefty double-cut portion. There’s prime rib, rack of lamb and a veal chop, too.
I lucked out and had an incredible entree: lamb porterhouse. It came as three porterhouse chops, 22 ounces of meat, each almost 3 inches thick. They were as succulent as any lamb could be.
My husband, Patrick, had a tender Kansas City strip steak, also showing off its prime quality.
All meats are sprinkled with a house blend of spices before grilling, giving them a signature flavor.
Another appreciated aspect: Throughout the meal, we could not find an item that needed extra seasoning. In a culinary world that seems intent on under-seasoning food, it’s a joy to find a chef who does it right and is proud of it.
Big eye tuna, sea bass, swordfish and farm-raised salmon are choices for seafood eaters. Crustaceans include lobster and crab legs. We managed only to have some meaty crab claws from that category.
I ran into several friends who also wanted to try Mastro’s Steakhouse during its first week. That was lucky for me because I managed tastes of many menu items by swiping tastes from their tables.
One outrageously good side order that was presented as a special of the evening was mashed potatoes with lobster bits.
A long list of side orders takes you about anywhere you’d want to be with starches and vegetables. Go for the Lyonnaise or au gratin potatoes unless you must have a definitive baked potato.
The restaurant describes the onion rings quite correctly as colossal. And they are a nice combo of tender inside and ultra crunchy on the outside.
The mac-and-cheese made with gorgonzola turns casual fare into a Cadillac preparation. Several kinds of green vegetables are offered in big sharing portions.
The list of desserts flashes 14 choices of pies, cakes, fresh berries, br & #369;l & #233;es, ice creams and even bread pudding.
And here comes a leather folder, this one somewhat smaller than the wine list. Tucked inside is a long list of port wines, various international dessert wines and cordials.
Dinner wines can be ordered from the regular menu or from a separate black folder that showcases high-end choices from the wine tower. I glanced at it, but was quite happy with the bottles priced $27 to $115 and glasses at $8 to $26 on the regular list.
I never understand how we Americans manage to miss the marvelous rieslings of France and Germany when ordering wine.
Go overseas and they think we’re a bit lopsided in not appreciating that there’s a time for riesling, a time for chablis and sauvignon blanc and a time for white burgundy (chardonnay). We seem glued to the notion that chardonnay is the end-all, the only white wine.
If you want to try a lighter, lovelier white with your seafood,appetizer or entree,have the Kuhl 2004 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Riesling from Germany.
The softness and floral character with the bare essence of sweetness is a happy match with white-fleshed fish or any shellfish. This one goes for only $11 a glass,they do generous 9-ounce pours,or $33 a bottle. It’s one of those wines that leaves pretentiousness for someone else.
On the red side, we ordered a glass of Robert Craig’s 2002 Affinity, a blend of 77% cabernet and 20% merlot, with a miniscule amount of cabernet franc and petit verdot. It has a deep aubergine color, rich berry aromas and just a hint of spice and cinnamon sneaking into the taste.
The Robert Craig is $25 a glass, $75 a bottle.
Mastro’s Steakhouse combines the glamour of the past with gracious modernism in both food and architecture. It’s not exactly a throwback to an old time steak pavilion.
Instead, the restaurant has a new look at what a steak and chop and fresh seafood restaurant can be.
In a nice touch, executive chef Matt Briggs came to the tables to say hello to customers. He was a bundle of enthusiasm about this restaurant, his job and what he hoped Mastro’s steakhouse would bring to OC diners.
Carnaval Revelry
The streets of Rio de Janeiro come alive with drinking, eating and colorfully costumed samba dancers during Carnaval, the week of Brazil’s Mardi Gras festivities.
This year, Agora Churrascaria,Irvine’s Brazilian steakhouse,will join in the revelry.
Visit Agora from Thursday to Saturday for an evening of traditional Brazilian dining, live entertainment, festive decorations and beaded Mardi Gras fun, all for a good cause.
New Orleans, of course, is the longtime epicenter of Mardi Gras activity in the U.S. But Hurricane Katrina decimated the city and hit hard the city’s musicians. Their instruments and livelihood have been destroyed, which has stripped away some of the musical heart of New Orleans.
The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund is an organization dedicated to providing financial support to New Orleans’ musicians and it is seeking to bring the music back into the slowly recovering city.
In the spirit of Carnaval, Agora Churrascaria will donate a percentage of all restaurant proceeds during its Mardi Gras celebration to the New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund.
So here’s your chance to have an international dining experience that, in turn, will lend a helping hand at a time of extreme need for so many.
Agora Churrascaria: 1830 Main St. (at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Main Street) in Irvine, (949) 222-9910.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.
AT A GLANCE: MASTRO’S STEAKHOUSE
Address: 633 Anton Blvd.,
Costa Mesa
Phone: (714) 546-7405
Cost: Dinner only is served from an a la carte menu. Appetizers $5.50 to $23.95; entrees $25.95 for chicken, $32.50 to $44.95 for steaks and chops, $27.95 to $39.95 for seafood, $62.95 for lobster; side dishes $7.50 to $9.50; desserts $7.95 to $11.50
Parking: valet shared with Chat Noir or parking structure across the street
