The Playground and Wagu Steak

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Had reservations for the 6:00 seating at the Playground in Santa Ana, www.playgrounddtsa.com
This was the Ultimate Steak Dinner in the 2.0 Room.  5 different cuts of grade 5 Wagu beef .  $125 included tax, tip and the wine pairings

Started out with a house made biscuit, 1" x 1" x 3" high with a medallion of honey, thyme,  butter. I could have eaten a dozen of these. Crispy outside and very flaky inside.  Several glasses of a Los Pilares, sparkling Cabernet Sauvigon from San Diego was served.

Next a salad with Little Gem Lettuce, Fuji Apples, garlic and a buttermilk dressing. Excellent flavor.

First steak of the evening was a grilled tri tip. Again excellent flavor, tender cooked medium rare which it should be.

Next glass of wine was the 10th release of Cain Cuvee, non-vintage. Benchland Vineyard, blend of Merlot, Cab France and Petit Verdot.

A Wagu beef tartare was set before us. Spicy on the back palate was very good.  Had some chiles in it along with their house made puffed rice which added a nice crunch to the tartare. 

A plate of grilled asparagus on a bed of mashed English peas with Quiona, brown butter, garlic, thyme and pixie tangerines was served.. Again excellent flavors

Second steak was a Hangar Steak. Sliced thin. Wine was a 2009 Altrovin, Merlot, Cab  Franc from Tuscany.

Next plate was sauteed mushrooms with pea tendrils, caramelized shallots and red wine vinegar. Again excellent flavors. It just keeps getting better.

Third steak was a cut called Picahna. Similar to Hangar steak but I like this cut better. Never heard of it before. Apparently there is one per  beef.

Interesting plate of Sunchokes  with brown butter on a bed of pureed celery root with parsley and toasted almonds.  Cannot get enough of these great flavors

Next wine was a 2012 La Colima Vineyard, Cabernet Franc. I cannot read my own hand writing but I think my  notes say the winery was Oro en Paz.

Fourth steak of the evening is a Outside Skirt Steak.  Very tender almost a butter like flavor.

A glass of 2012 Brown Family, Columbia Valley, Merlot was served. 

Then the boneless Rib Eye. Justin the chef sent the uncooked steak around for everyone to get a look or take a picture of it.  Most beautiful piece of meat I have seen in a long time. Perfect marbling 

A glass of Mansville Chocolate Malt Stout was served with our dessert. Housemade Profiterole's with house made peanut butter ice cream and sauteed bananas, chocolate sauce, carrot cake crumble, pecan crunch and French Chantilly cream. Words cannot describe.  It was the ultimate.

This sound like a tremendous amount of food. But the plates are made up each  for 3 people  and set in front of you. Everyone takes what they want Fortunately there was a younger man sitting 2 places down from me that had a bottomless pit for a stomach. After the 3 of is served what we wanted from the plate he was happy to have us offer the rest to him. The steaks are all cut into slices and set on a plate for 3. Works out great for me because this way I can adjust my food consumption for me personally.  I was fully satisfied at the end of the evening. In fact too full. But totally happy.

All the food was excellent. The steaks were some of the best I have ever had. There is no menu so you do not know what the chefs are cooking besides steak. I like this kind of dining. It's an adventure. The 2.0 Room sits 17 people at a long bar. Stools are high bar style. All cooking and plating are done in front of you. The cooks interact with you throughout the evening. A really unique experience.

When I left a little after 8:00 the line was starting for the 8:30 seating and at the main restaurant there were a least 10 people waiting to get in.  Obviously they did not make reservations and it was too cold and windy to sit outside on the patio area. And this was on a Tuesday night.

Looking forward to dinner at the Playground  2.0 Room next week.  Breakfast for dinner.