Pacific Standard Prime sets a high standard
Steaks, salads, etc., are done very well at this Redondo Beach dining spot
I’ve long had a peculiar relationship with steakhouses. This is not to say I’m a vegetarian, trying to write about something I don’t actually eat, for there’s practically nothing I refuse to eat. (And that includes guinea pig in Cuzco, Peru, which tasted impressively like … hamster.)
The peculiarity is my long-held belief that any fool can drop a slab of dead cow on a grill — though certainly
some skill is needed to keep the beef from being turned into a burnt offering, or served ice cold for that matter. Which is why I’m far more interested in
how steakhouses handle the appetizers, vegetables, side dishes and so forth — food that isn’t just tossed onto a blazed pyre.
That’s how I found myself at the long-awaited, COVID-19 delayed, heavily impressive Pacific Standard Prime, eating several of the best salads I’ve ever had in this City of Many Mixed Greens. Now, let me note that along with the salads, I had several of the remarkable PSP (as it refers to itself on the menu and website) steaks — blessedly gimmick-free in an age when the highly theatrical Salt Bae is offering a thousand dollar gold foil wrapped Tomahawk steak at his newly opened Nusr-Et in Beverly Hills.
Rather, for a meager $38, you can get nine ounces of prosciutto-wrapped prime filet mignon medallion, along with a couple of wa
gyu (one for $72, the other $96), and a fine bone-in ribeye for $70. And yes, there’s a 40-ounce Tomahawk here, not wrapped in anything but juices and crust. It goes for a modest $145. For a steak big enough for at least two persons. The menu thoughtfully explains the points of difference, from “rare” (“cold, purple center”) to “well done” (“hot, brown center”).
And then things get creative, with a choice of five sauces served with the steaks, from the house steak sauce (a green peppercorn brandy cream), through chimichurri and blue cheese compound butter, which is as fantastic as it sounds. I’d be happy to spread it on a cracker. The wagyu is turned into a PSP Burger as well, with white cheddar and fries included for $19. (At Nusr-Et, you’ve got to pay $15 extra for french fries with your $1,000 steak.)
I ate the steaks with vigor, with pleasure, with carnivorous joy. But for me, the beef was almost a side dish compared to the openers, which were so many and so good. I was properly dazzled by the PSP Salad — an eclectic mix of farmers market greens, dried cherries, pecans, pears, BrillatSavarin
cheese in a Dijon vin dressing. And perhaps even more by the Unclassic Wedge, a reminder of the great salads of yesteryear, made with baby iceberg lettuce, bacon, blistered tomatoes, and red onion in a dazzling Pt. Reyes blue cheese dressing. (Someone in the kitchen really knows their cheeses!)
And there are more, both a PSP Salad of baby kale, prosciutto, tomato, burrata, pine nut pesto and pancetta, served with pita bread. And a spring bittergreen salad of escarole,
candied bacon, Marcona almonds, fontina cheese and gala apples, this time in a port wine syrup dressing. Add on an order of Karl’s Crumpets, made with cheddar and bacon, and jalapeños, with honey butter, and you’ve got a meal. These are very substantial salads.
Or perhaps you feel the need to make the center of your meal an order of the wagyu beef chili. Or the wagyu and pork filled crispy lumpia egg rolls. Or the chicken “oysters” Rockefeller, which are exactly
what they sound like. Except the oysters are replaced with chicken — very clever touch.
There’s more on the menu, of course, from wild Scottish salmon to portobello mushroom pappardelle, from Mary’s “smashed” half chicken to, yes, another salad, this one made with filet mignon, in a Green Goddess dressing.
And for goodness sake, don’t miss the three cheese mac and cheese (spend the extra $3 to add bacon!). The sautéed wild mushrooms with crispy shallots. The pea tendrils with hoisin sauce. And the charred heirloom carrots — which make me want to char all of my veggies from now on.
And adding to the pleasure, there’s easy self-parking in the building lot next door. And the staff is as cheerful and affable as could be. I’m guessing they’re as happy to be there, as I am.
And I haven’t even dug into the encyclopedic drinks menu, which in and of itself could occupy a serious drinker for months. The single malt scotch alone could keep me well motivated. Though not as much as the salads. For me, they put the “prime” in Prime.