I was in Hong Kong once, having a conversation with a French bookstore owner (in English, which was a wonderful international moment), and we were talking about the difference between Michelin star type restaurants and their 15 tiny courses, vs a meal with only two or three dishes that makes you feel full. My conversation partner was extremely disparaging of needlessly fancy food when a good steak is so much superior to all the frivolities and wasted artistry on a never-ending tasting menu. I would love to introduce my friend from Hong Kong to the Butcher’s House, where I think he would leave feeling very satisfied. Eater online magazine had Butcher’s house listed on a recent top 14 list, and I had traveled to Orange County though I would check it out. The menu and website indicated it was a French inspired steakhouse, and the name of the restaurant “butcher’s House’ kinda gives it away too. I am always nervous going to a steakhouse I haven’t been to before, because they tend to be expensive, and once you’ve ordered and eaten there’s nothing you can do about it if it’s terrible or mediocre. I have had steaks with no flavor whatsoever. It was just a hunk of meat they put on the grill and then placed in front of you and said, “eat it sucker…and give me $60” Being California, and an Orange County steakhouse, I took my first bites with one eye open, half expecting a bad experience. But I’m happy to say Butcher’s house delivered a home run steak experience for me, made even more satisfying by the supporting dishes, and friendly service.
The Space
The space is very welcoming and intimate, and the old world style Chicago brick, retro old world light fixtures, and French style bistro chairs let you know they were going for something classy and traditional. And since it isn’t a large space, like you’d find at one of those insufferable warehouse food joints where you can’t even hear yourself yell your order to the waiter, this space is not for the masses. It isn’t a ride at a theme park, it is a skillfully crafted dining experience for those fortunate enough to eat there. It is not grand and over the top, but I think the space hits just the right notes – not too little, and not too much. But on to the food.
The Sausage
I had done my homework, and looked over the menu before I arrived, so I had an idea of what I wanted to try. The menu seems rather deep to me, in a good way, and since I couldn’t choose everything I had to be very judicious. I went for the house special blue cheese Toulouse sausage with peppercorn sauce. I’ve never been to Toulouse, so I don’t know what kind of authenticity there was in the sausage, but the waiter with a French accent told me a wonderful story about the chef. He said that he had known the chef for about 20 years, and they both grew up in Toulouse. The chef worked at Moulin, another Southern California establishment for French owned, inspired, and as authentic as it can get French food in the US. He then decided to open the Butcher’s House, and he offered his friend a job there. So based on what I was told, this should have the authenticity, and it should have the flavor.
The appearance was inviting, and the sausage was begging me to pour the peppercorn sauce, and as soon as the first bursts of flavor hit my taste receptors I knew whether authentic or not, this was delicious. The pork had a mild flavor, and the hits of blue cheese came up at just the right times and reminded you that those was a hearty dish, there was a little more to it than just the contact of the pork. That was just the sausage, which could stand on it’s own without any sauce and I wouldn’t have complained at all. But the pepper corn sauce enveloped the pork, took the blue cheese by the hand, and layered on some notes like the upright bass in a jazz trio. (I might be overselling here, but damn it was good!)
The Butcher’s Fries
I knew I was ordering too much food, but it’s hard for me to resist french fries with melted cheese and bacon. These of course were not just any cheese fries (which if they were, I probably could have resisted) these had pork belly and raclette cheese. You might think that cheese fries is an invention of the USA, but the concept of melted cheese on potatoes goes back almost 1,000 years, and raclette cheese is typically sold and marketed for this purpose. What is simple cheese fries for some, is a 1,000 year old food tradition for others. Pork with potatoes is also nothing new, but the combination was rich and decadent, and felt as though this was the most elevated form of bacon cheese fries. To call it that just doesn’t do justice to what this side delivered, which was a few other parts to our jazz ensemble that would keep playing through the night.
The Steak
The waiter told me that the best seller was the 32 oz 30 day dry aged bone-in ribeye, but I was by myself, so I went for the filet instead. The filet is the core of a celebration meal because it is one of the choicest cuts you can get, and they are reserved for the finest occasions. It makes you feel like this is the main act at a banquet celebrating an incredible and meaningful victory, and so expectations are high that the steak must deliver.
As I mentioned before, sometimes a steak isn’t particularly flavorful on its own, and you feel like a caveman that has just dragged the animal back to the dwelling by its legs. No flavor, no pizazz, no music, no nothing. Except lots of calories and fat. This was not that experience. I’m guessing because of the aging that was done, the flavor of the meat itself was thoroughly enjoyable, and like the sausage it could stand on its own without the sauce. But oh my, once you add the sauce it gives the taste buds those silky hearty bottom notes that help to build a bigger, more flavorful bite. Some steakhouses use the sauce to try to cover a bland steak, but it doesn’t work because it just highlights the fact that the steak is bland. You can pour a great steak sauce on a piece of cardboard, and its not going to be anything other than a piece of cardboard. I didn’t have to worry about any of that. I was blissfully able to let myself enjoy a superior steak.
The Dessert
I expect that a lot of restaurants work on developing the sides and the dinner items first, and will design desserts later, if they get around to it. I’ve been to some restaurants which had just opened, and the waiter told me they were still working on a more evolved dessert menu. When you go to the Michelin star restaurants, a full time pastry chef is employed to make sure that your dessert experience lacks nothing, and has the same thorough creativity that the rest of the meal had. I do have a sweet tooth and I always look forward to a creative mix of chocolates, fruits, ice creams, and cleverly placed herbs and spices in a dessert, and I have had some desserts leaving me speechless because they accomplished so much. The mixed berries in an almond crumble certainly did not accomplish any of that, but it was still quite good, and I enjoyed it nonetheless. It wasn’t simply a bunch of berries and ice cream thrown together, there was a glaze that really brought out the flavor and sweetness of the berries, and integrated well with the crunchy stuff and the ice cream. The other options on the dessert menu, creme brulee and chocolate mousse, seem so overused in upscale restaurants that every time I see creme brulee on the menu I roll my eyes and wonder can’t they be more creative than that? At least they didn’t have chocolate lava cake.
I know there is better way of looking at simple dessert at the end of a meal. Instead of being disappointed that the dessert didn’t have any spicy fireworks, one can be content that the dessert was a simple, sweet goodbye, that helps to bring a rich and hearty steak experience to a gentle conclusion. And I can be not only content, but satisfied with that. Without reservation, I’ll join in the singing of praises of my experience at the Butcher’s House, and I’ll look forward to a return visit where I can explore more of this thoughtful, and well-executed menu and concept.