Brithday Dinner - CUT

Ah, 5 blog posts in and already we have a visit to a 1 star Michelin guide restaurant. For my brother and my birthday (July 14th and July 23rd), we went to the highly reviewed CUT, an upscale steakhouse in Beverly Hills, 1 block away from the famed Rodeo Drive. This is my second time at the restaurant, but only the first time for many of our party members.

Cut is a ultra modern medium sized restaurant in the sleek Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire (even the bathrooms were stunning). As anywhere in downtown Los Angeles or Beverly Hills, parking is difficult to find, however, valet parking is 12 dollars after validation but across the street is a parking lot that cost 7 dollars.

Upon first entering the area for valet parking, it is immediately evident the class and elegance of the Beverly Wilshire; there a Lexus, here a Lotus, there a Mercedes, further along a Hummer limousine, and at the end of the driveway sat a Lamborghini. Dress code ranged from sexy short dresses to elegant long dresses, sports coats to t-shirts and jeans.

On our seating and as the menus were passed around, guess who joined us for dinner?Angelina Jolie

and Susan with Terrance Howard? (Bet the paparazzi missed that one!)

The ambiance of the restaurant was slightly comical and strange in that the backs of the menus were several pictures of celebrities and high above us on the wall were large almost life-size framed photographs of my all-time favorite duo (big time sarcasm); Heidi and Spencer Montag looking down over us, practically drooling over our food.

Now, what you have waited for, the food! With the 8 of us there we were able to try 3 appetizers, 8 steaks (some repeats), 5 side orders and 3 desserts. Not to mention my father and I tried 2 mixed cocktails. The cocktails at 14 dollars each were not worth their taste in my opinion. Briefly, one tasted a little sour with a vanilla aftertaste, my drink was Tequila mixed with blackberries in a martini glass and tasted like pure alcohol with a hint of blackberry.

The appetizers were:
1. Garlic Corn Salad - my dad's favorite appetizer, I had very little of it and can not give you a great description other than very fresh, very crisp.
2. Tempura style soft shelled crab - absolutely excellent appetizer, teasing you with crispy tempura crab in a spicy and tangy sauce reminding me of the spicy mayo spread Puerto Ricans use on their bread,

3. and the one we actually remembered to get a picture of:Maple Glazed Pork Belly, Asian Spices, Sesame–Orange Dressing, Bartlett Pear Compote

This was my favorite of the appetizers, but not as tasty as previous. The maple glaze made for a sweet treat, the pork belly oily and tender with a crisp skin.

The main course: I have a picture of my plate:

Japanese Wagyu Ribeye with sauteed spinach on the bottom and squash barely seen on top

The wife's plate:USDA prime, Illinois corn fed, aged 21 days bone-in Ribeye with fingerling potatoes, spinach and squash as side dishes

Overall, the steaks that were passed around the table also included, the American "Kobe" beef, the Nebraska corn fed ribeyes, the Nebraska corn-fed Sirloin. The steaks were grilled in a 1200 degree oven, and all of them were too charred for my tastes. It was impossible to scrape the charred areas off the steak to enjoy the rightful juiciness a steak should be. Going down the list: the Illinois corn fed USDA prime was very meaty and thick, cooked to the ordered medium, and pretty tough. It was also dry and overall tasted like something we could cook ourselves on our grills in the backyard or even worse. The Nebraska corn-fed ribeyes were less tough and slightly juicier/more tasty. The American Kobe was my favorite from the previous time I ate here, is a good solid tasting steak, again too charred, but the taste rivals some of the best steaks out there otherwise. The Japanese wagyu is pure buttery, melt in your mouth piece of meat. If you like your steaks fatty and the fat marbalizing over the muscular meat, then this is the cut for you. It was by far my favorite of this visit, but in my opinion, was ruined by the charred taste.

The side dishes included fingerling potatoes (good tasting potato dish with herbs and spices), tempura onion rings (thin onion rings deep fried in light tempura batter), squash which was salty and peppery, garlic sauteed spinach which tasted good, but no where near the taste of Indonesian kankun., and lastly the creamed corn, which is no where near as good as Lawry's creamed corn.

But of course, the desserts were probably the best tasting of our whole dining experience on this visit.Almond gazette with vanilla ice cream

I didn't get a chance to eat this one, so it must have been good!Creme Bruleed Banana Cream Pie

Good tasting dessert, tasting strongly of banana with hints of creme brulee on a baklava like crust.

And saving the best for last:Baked Alaska

Absolutely excellent. I wish I had eaten this elsewhere so I could compare the taste, but it was definitely tasty and not overly sweet here. At least we ended up the dinner on a good note.

Overall the check came out to 110 dollars per person. Really this visit is not worth the money we paid. The steaks were underwhelming; especially with the charred salty crusts on every single steak. The sides were average. The appetizers were good but not stand-out like the desserts. Would I eat here again? That would be a difficult question, but I would probably have to say probably not. Overall would give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

The good: Desserts and atmosphere
The bad: charred steaks, average sides, cost