Santana Row
377 Santana Row
San Jose, Ca 95128
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| LB Steak outdoor seating at Santana Row |
A night out with one of our favorite Toronto foodies, Maggie! She bravely took a last minute flight out to the bay area for her birthday and I was lucky enough to get a night out with her. We went to LB Steak at Santana Row in San Jose then to V Bar for a few drinks for the countdown to her birthday. This was the first time I have ever been to LB steak. We ordered everything to share. It was a good spot to spend a birthday for bites and laughs on a Monday night but overall I would have to say their dishes were decent and desserts fell a little short.
The mussels and clams were simple nice and juicy, made just right in a light lemon verbena broth with bok choy and fresno chilies. Their fresh oysters which are not shown on this post were good. They were from Glacier Bay, a little briny with a mild sweet flavor.
The maple glazed pork belly (more like a thick cut bacon rather than the usual cuts you normally get at other restaurants) on top of a bread pudding topped with herbs and a farm fresh egg... Who says you can't have breakfast for dinner? This was a nice touch to dinner although I wish they would've gave us thicker cuts of the pork belly or at least more pork. The bread pudding was overkill vs the scarce amount of pork belly on the plate.
Truffle mac n cheese... These days everywhere has got a truffle mac n cheese. For me, a good mac n cheese comes down to the texture of the mac and how the cheese makes you feel like you are 5 again. The cheese has got to be gooey or stringy and packs a cheesy punch to the bite. Some crunch would be nice and adding truffle oil to it is just a treat! Having said that I would have to give this mac n cheese a technical rating of 4 out of 5... only because 5 would probably have to be a mac n cheese made by me since I know what I want out of it. So I thought it was very good considering most places that offer a mac n cheese is more of a let down than anything. You can't go wrong ordering one here. Don't judge me if I'm wrong but I think it was gruyere cheese they used... it doesn't say on the menu.
For protein we ordered their smaller portion 12 oz. ribeye steak. Nothing particularly special here but once again technically perfect med rare. I felt their plating could have been more inviting here. Seasoned with salt, pepper, a couple of other spices, and grilled served with roasted cloves of garlic. They have their own bottled LB steak sauce that tastes like a barbecue that's more on the sweeter side.
For desserts we had their caramel pumpkin spiced creme brûlée, pumpkin ice cream bread pudding, and a chocolate cake of some sort. They don't make some of their desserts in-house. Their creme brûlée was way off mark... the sugar wasn't torched long enough to get it to crisp. Instead it had no bite, no crisp, and was rather chewy/sticky sticking to my teeth. The creamy custard was too runny which made it seem like we were drinking a thick creamy soup. Their ice cream bread pudding was pretty good... bread was dense yet fluffy and was caramelized on top. The cold ice cream vs the warm bread beneath gave it a delightful contrast of temperature in each bite.
We walked on over to V Bar after dinner for drinks and it was bubbles for the countdown! It was quiet on a Monday night but it made for the perfect setting for a great 30 year celebration... It's too bad you couldn't stay a little longer Maggie! We'll come visit you in Toronto!
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