El Gaucho

This is not your average high-class steakhouse…this is THE steakhouse to benchmark all others against. The dark, wooden trimmed, heavy décor provides the perfect setting for a long evening of drinking, eating and talking the night away. I requested a booth, and it was comfortable and ideally situated by the open kitchen, so we were able to enjoy our meal while watching the kitchen action.

We arrived at a busy time (9:15) and while we were waiting for our waiter, the Manager stopped by to warmly greet us and discuss the wine menu. We asked for a suggestion on a Cabernet, and he immediately named the Frank Family Cab out of Napa Valley. This was, no exaggeration, the best bottle of wine I have ever had (and I am almost solely a Pinot girl). It was so good in fact, we ordered two bottles! The menu has your standard offerings, and as with most upscale steak houses, everything is served ala carte.

Our evening consisted of the following:

Starters:
We had to start with the Tableside Caesar Salad. You never see restaurants offer services like this anymore, so I appreciated this. It was quite a process…they roll out a silver cart covered with all of the ingredients, individually placed in containers. The waiter worked furiously making the dressing, then perfectly tossing it, and separating it into three equal portions. This was so fresh and perfectly blended, one of the best Caesar’s I have tasted.

Entrees:
Chef’s Rib Eye for Armando – Served with bordelaise sauce, sautéed seasonal mushrooms and roasted garlic. A very popular menu item, there was only three of these left when we ordered (our waiter put one on reserve as soon as we sat down). The sauce was thick and almost creamy, this is one heavy meal.

16oz. New York Steak for Uncle Jim – Served topped with a large Portobello mushroom, and he ordered a side of the bordelaise sauce.

8oz. Filet Mignon for Me – Served topped with a large Portobello mushroom, no sauce necessary for me. This was a HUGE portion of meat, and was still considered the “small” size. I ordered it Medium, and it was cooked to perfection, with just enough pink remaining.

For the side dishes we ordered the baked potato (which is customized at the table by your waiter with a huge assortment of toppings – anything you can think of!), asparagus (perfectly tender and covered with a hollandaise sauce), and the chipotle corn by suggestion of our waiter (which was a combination of sweet and spicy – amazing flavor).

Service was friendly and attentive throughout the meal, with my water/wine glass was never empty!

Desert:
We were surprised to receive an entire basket of assorted fruit/cheese/crackers in appreciation for our patronage after we were finished with our dinners. It was a very classy touch, and the dates they served on the platter were particularly delicious (I also took the pear home with me – it was HUGE and too beautiful to give back, LOL).

Mississippi Mud Cake - Warm chocolate cake, espresso and Kentucky bourbon, served with vanilla bean ice cream. This was essentially a chocolate lava cake, without the ooeey and gooeey center. It was an explosion of flavor, and I enjoyed Every. Single. Bite.

I think this is the most expensive place I have dined, all things considered. Even at these prices though (our bill was $430 for three people) El Gaucho was packed all night with loyal patrons, both at tables and at the bar. Economy, schmaconomy I suppose? If you can swing it, this is the ideal place to celebrate that next truly special event. It is old-school charm at its finest.

*Jayne