Rating: 3.5 cows
During our ongoing steak adventure, every once awhile we get to visit a venerable old steakhouse borne from the halcyon days of the mid-20th century. Our visit to Dal Rae was another such experience.
Dal Rae opened in Pico Rivera in 1958—the same year that baseball arrived in Los Angeles. And like baseball, a good steak is about as American as you can get. The bar area is completely separated from the restaurant and includes booths, short tables with low-back chairs, and the usual seats right at the barkeep. The dining room evokes the feeling of being at an elegant banquet; the lighting is ample but comfortable and not too bright.
The signature steak at the Dal Rae is their pepper steak. You might say that there's a tasty steak underneath all those onions, peppers, and bacon bits, and you'd be right for the most part. We felt the pepper was a bit overpowering to the steak. It tasted good, but it wasn't really that necessary and actually took away from the steak because, to quote Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction "they fuckin' drown 'em in that shit". Two of us had the bone-in rib eye, which was cooked as ordered and tasty.
The side dishes weren't anything particular to write home about—the breadsticks were tasty and the vegetable platter was a nice addition. The french fries were mediocre, and the surprise order of cheese bread was surprisingly good, in the style of the famous menu item over at North Woods Inn if you get it while it's still warm. The baked potato and green beans were satisfactory.
We had a party of 7 which was by no means small, but it seemed that the service was slower than was warranted for the situation. The place was well-packed for a weeknight though, which certainly added to their workload although the wait staff were very friendly and made us feel quite welcome.
The experience was definitely enjoyable, and if you're near the area it's certainly worth a visit even if you just hang out at the bar. They have their own parking lot but there's a mandatory valet. For our tastes the verdict was unanimous: 3.5 cows across the board. Perhaps they perfected the "jack of all trades" moniker, but the ambiance and history of this place make it just a little bit more special than that.