Potential Gold

Mastro's Steakhouse - Beverly Hills

I finally made it to another steakhouse.  This opportunity was a gift from a family friend for our recent engagement.  Fun...

Our friend ordered wine and an appetizer and we chose our protein of choice.  Limor ordered the petite filet and I had the bone-in rib eye.

Our appetizer was a shrimp cocktail which was incredible.  These shrimp were so large that it was more like biting on lobster tail.  I highly recommend this as an appetizer as it's not everyday you stumble across these huge creatures.

The presentation of the shrimp rocked - as the plate approached our table, some water was poured into the bowl holding dry ice, which oozed CO2 across our table - cool!

Our meat was next up, along with our second bottle of Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our side dishes were sauteed spinach and sauteed mushrooms.  Both were nothing special - just run-of-the-house side dishes as expected of any steakhouse these days.

Some Notes:

Tunisian Tomato "Salsa"

The smell of this dish brings me straight back to my childhood.  At first sniff, I recall fun summers in the small neighborhood of Malcha, in the city of Jerusalem.  I remember my mom and her sisters making a feast of fried fish and 'chips'.

This tomato sauce was always there.  With the 'black' bread to soak up all the flavors, my favorite part was eating the crispy fish skin.  Dredged in flour and fried, the white flesh of the fish was always tasty and sweet.

For the sauce:

• Vegetable Oil for the pan
• Onion - 1 Cup
• Garlic - 1 Tablespoon, minced
• Tomato Paste - 1 Can
• Crushed Tomato - 2 Large Cans (not #10 large, just large)

Method:

In your pan, start by heating oil and sauteing the onion (don't be cheap on the oil...this is a rustic sauce!).  Once off to a good start and almost cooked through, add the garlic.  At this point, pay special attention to the garlic.  At first sign of color, add the can of tomato paste.