Happy Hour @ BLT Steak: Classy, Affordable and Satisfying

My favorite type of happy hour is upscale happy hour. Even though I'm always on the lookout for good dining and drinking deals, I'd rather pay a couple bucks more for a nicer glass of wine (thanks, but I'll pass on that Sutter Home) and good bar bites that do not include nachos and potato skins. I'd also prefer to hang out at a bar area that isn't crowded with college kids and that doesn't smell of puke. Lastly, valet preferable, please. BLT Steak hits the mark on all points. Plus its on my way home from work.

BLT (Bistro Laurent Tourondel) is the restaurant group with numerous restaurants around the country. Although Chef Tourondel is no longer with the organization, the menu still remains the same. BLT Steak focuses on upscale American steakhouse fare with French influences. It's Los Angeles outpost is located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.

The restaurant has a surprisingly decent sized bar area with seats at the bar and a couch area.

The dining area was empty when I arrived at 6pm but filled up by 8pm. That's pretty good for a Tuesday night.

Happy hour runs daily from 5-7pm with 5 drink choices at $5 each.

Their food menu also includes 5 options at $5 each. With three of us in our party, we ordered one of each item.

Banfi Maschio Prosseco and Santa Rita 120 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Popcorn with cajun seasoning and butter.

We asked for their signature popovers. I was blown away with the size of the inflated popovers, somehow I imagined them to be tiny, like gougeres. They were served with a tiny card with the recipe listed.

The popovers were warm and airy, with a light essence of gruyere cheese.

The popover should be eaten with a pad of their soft European butter and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Just be careful with the salt shaker. I caused a salt disaster which our awesome bartender Andrew had to clean up after.

Sweet Potato Frites, Rosemary, Sea Salt
This was a large serving of fries. I liked that the fries were thinly cut and not starchy. They could have been crisped up a bit more, because they were a little limp. The fries were served with a blue cheese sauce. Wish they had mentioned that because it looked like ranch dressing.

Cast Iron Black Mussels, Chorizo, Roast Tomato, Garlic Bruschetta
This was a pretty large serving of mussels for $5. The mussels were cooked well and plump. I also liked the smokiness from the chorizo and the sweetness of the tomatoes. The broth perhaps needed a bit more seasoning or butter, because it wasn't flavorful to the point that I wanted to dip the bread into it or drink up every last drop.

Gruyere Mac & Cheese, Bacon, Truffle

Surprisingly for someone that doesn't like cheese, this was my favorite dish of the night. The cheese was rather mild and was almost milky rather than cheesy. The mac and cheese was infused with truffle and salty bits of bacon. The best part of the dish was the toasted breadcrumb topping.

BLT Sliders, Aged Cheddar, Red Wine Onions
I thought my beef patty was cooked well, but my friend's was a bit charred. The aged cheddar added nuttiness and the caramelized onions really brought a sweetness and texture to the slider.

Short Rib Grilled Cheese, Pickled Ramps, Smoked Tomato Aioli
Even though I don't like cheese, I can tolerate aged cheddar. So I took a bite of the grilled cheese with much apprehension. I was quite happy with the dish. I really liked the sharp aged cheddar together with the tender shredded meat. My only criticism was that the bread was too crusty so you might get jabbed in the roof of your mouth.

Chocolate mocha brownies (complimentary from our bartender) was a nice sweet bite to end the night.

The happy hour at BLT Steak is really an awesome deal. Wine, and delicious and filling bar bites for $5 each is really a steal. It's so refreshing to find a happy hour spot that offers good wine and a selection of food that can sum up to a satisfying meal. Service at the bar was also friendly and helpful, not something you would expect from most upscale restaurants. So next time when you're looking for an after work bar, drive away from Cabo Cantina and head over to BLT Steak. I promise, if you end up with a hangover, it's because you can afford more glasses of wine with your paycheck. It won't be because of the crappy sweet margaritas offered at your nearby watering hole.

Hits: HH prices, mac and cheese, popover, service
Misses: fries
Rating: ***

BLT Steak
8720 West Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 360-1950
www.bltsteak.com

American comfort food @ Jar

I heart BlackboardEats. I heart the geniuses behind the website that offers dining discounts to subscribers at no cost. I heart the restaurants participating in the program (all good and reputable, many of which are high-end restaurants). We used the discount last at Valentino and saved $100 off the bill. Once again, BlackboardEats was offering another 30% discount, this time at Jar Restaurant. Jar is an upscale chophouse that focuses on all-American comfort food primarily steaks. They apparently also have a great brunch menu. I've been there once before but my girls hadn't, so we decided to take the opportunity to use the discount while checking the restaurant off their list. I had previously ordered the pot roast which was delicious and is one of their specialties. Jar is owned by Chef Suzanne Tracht who has worked at Campanile, and was recently a contestant on Top Chef Masters. Tracht has been working on an Asian concept outfit called Suzpree and has been testing out menu items at the bar at Jar on Tuesdays - Thursdays.

Unfortunately, the interior of Jar has that dated elk lodge look. It's brown themed with wood panelled walls, and looks like they are stuck in the Brady Bunch era. Thankfully this did not deter the diners. The 30% BlackboardEats discount seemed to draw a large crowd on a Monday night, mostly younger diners.

My friend Heather and I decided to meet up earlier to grab a drink at the bar to catch up.

Bug juice (hangar one ‘fraser river’ raspberry vodka, lychee juice, pomegranate juice and fresh lime). I didn't care for this drink as it tasted like cough drop. Looks like it too.

For our next round of drinks, we ordered a Rose and a Clean & Serene cocktail (Vodka, fresh lime, simple syrup, fresh mint). Much better than the last.

It was also Mozzarella Monday at Jar where a special menu was served at the bar.

Our bartender brought over an amuse bouche which I thought was a nice gesture. Burrata, braised artichoke hearts, currants, and olive oil.

Since we still had 30 minutes to kill before the rest of our party arrived, we broke down and decided to order something from the Mozzarella menu.

Stracciatella with celery herb salad and celery leaf pesto

I was a bit confused initially as Stracciatella is also a chocolate chip gelato flavor. Sorry, no chocolate here. Just lots of fresh, soft, buttery mozzarella. That's the same creaminess you would find inside a burrata. This was a delicious starter and a good way to get in our greens and calcium.

Shortly after, our party arrived and we were seated in the dining room.

A loaf of bread was served. It wasn't warm but it was crusty outside and soft inside.

Crab Deviled eggs
It had mustard, pickle and horseradish (all 3 things I abhor so I didn't taste it). The girls said it needed more of a punch; either more horseradish, or additional spice or sourness. Also they couldn't taste the crab. Reviewers online seemed to like it but our table was unimpressed.

We ordered an entree each and two sides, which took a long time to get to us so we kept ourselves busy by observing the table beside us that included a pretty animated blonde, a shy awkward brunette and a guy. The girls seemed to be vying for the attention of the guy, with the blonde mainly monopolizing his time. The conversations seemed to play out from scenes of The Truth About Cats & Dogs. At least this kept us entertained until our entrees finally arrived.

Kabocha squash with leeks, sage and medjool dates
Delicious! And healthy too, I hope. The squash had a pureed texture and the dates added a rich sweetness to the salty dish.

Duck fried rice

I had ordered this the last time I was here and loved it. It was still good, flavorful but you couldn't really taste the duck, and in the dim lighting, could barely see it as well. Additionally, the portion was rather small. For $9. For rice.

Coq au vin with applewood smoked bacon, pearl onions, crimini mushrooms in a wine sauce
There were quite a generous portion of chicken, and they were all tender pieces and fell off the bone. The mushrooms were sparse though. The dish had the right amount of seasoning with a bit of sweetness from the wine. I just wish they served this in a smaller bowl or in a pot, instead of a shallow dish as the sauce was spread all over the plate instead of covering the chicken.

One of the specials of the day, grilled black bass. The seabass was cooked well but the plate looked boring and uninspired.

Prime Filet of beef with lobster bernaise sauce
There was a lot of beef (10 oz). The steak was perfectly cooked medium rare and buttery. I was quite impressed with the execution of the dish as the filet wasn't dry. I also liked the rich lobster bernaise that made this dish more decadent.

Jar's signature pot roast with carrots and caramelized onions
Also a well executed dish. The meat was tender and flavorful. I can see why this is a popular dish at Jar because you can easily mess up pot roast if the meat is tough but this beef must have been cooked slowly and for a long time in order to break down the connective tissues in the meat. When I first saw the plate, I thought the portion was tiny, but this dish was heavy and most definitely sufficient.

The bill came out to $220 (we saved about $90) which included 5 cocktails, a bottle of wine and the mozzarella starter that we had at the bar. I thought it was a great deal considering prices at Jar aren't cheap, at $38 for the steak and $39 for the bass. You can see why this is an upscale American comfort food joint. The meats were prepared really well and seemed to be cooked with soul. The menu items were simple. You won't find pork belly, foie gras or sweetbreads here. It's not exciting. It's not sexy. It's just simple home cooking.

Hits: 30% discount, squash, filet, pot roast
Misses: deviled eggs, need more duck in the fried rice
Rating: ***

Jar Restaurant

8225 Beverly Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-6566
http://www.thejar.com/