Steingarten LA

REVIEWED BY JOAN PINE

There is an exciting new restaurant in town on Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles, near Beverly Glen and 20^th Century Fox Studio, serving California cuisine and specializing in exotic sausages and unique beers. Aptly named STEINGARTEN L.A., the menu impresses with unique sausages, tapas, salads, burgers and sandwiches. With one giant flat screen TV over the bar and another on the side with a different game in progress, this place is a sports fan’s paradise.

And there is still much more! There’s a stylish restaurant with a long wooden community table in the center and four tops along the walls. There is a small party room in the front of the restaurant with a large picture window overlooking the street. The back of the restaurant has romance written all over it, with a cozy stone fire pit with benches, an aromatic jasmine wall and booths where couples can talk quietly.

Tonight I saw four young women having dinner and a beer after work, a family of five with three children (paying attention to the hockey game), and a party of about a dozen men and women from 20^th Century Fox, celebrating.

“The restaurant has been opened for about three months,” said Abbey Berookhim, a graduate of Cornell University Restaurant School in upper New York State. When planning this restaurant, Abbey knew that the beer, including 20 taps and over 70 rotating varieties of beer from all over the world would be the big attraction, but he is also very proud of the food. Besides exotic beers he also chooses exotic foods, including alligator and pork, wild boar and berry, rabbit, chicken with tequila, duck with bacon, venison blueberry, bison and elk.

He decides what will be on the menu each week and also creates some of the sausages himself. His favorite is the salmon sausage, which he personally makes. He said, “we are the only people who carry this item in the city.” He wanted us to try everything and told the girls what to bring us; Kristen, Marisha and Natalia happily obliged.

The first items were tapas (little plates of food). We started with the spicy shrimp served with blood oranges, mango and cilantro slaw. It was a stunning presentation with the bright colors all mixed together. The braised short ribs fell off the bone and were served with plantains. They were tasty and I loved that imaginative combination. Of course, there were sliders, beef, BBQ, pulled pork and turkey. All delicious, but the beef was my favorite.

STEINGARTEN also surprised us with Build Your Own Burgers, which were 8 ounces of all natural and grass fed ground sirloin steak. Additionally, they served the burgers with yummy sides and a variety of toppings.

They have a happy hour, from 5 to 7 pm, Monday night specials and popular promotions with different breweries hosting and telling about their beers.

This is the fun place to go…for a sports bar… for a beer tasting…for great sausages, salads or sandwiches. Bring the kids, have a boys night out, a girls get together or a romantic dinner for two. STEINGARTEN L.A. is located at 10543 West Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. For more information call 310 441 0441. They are open daily from 11 am to 2 am. Or, go on line to www.steingartenLA.com., for more information.