BOOK IT CHAPTER 8 TURNS NEW PAGE IN AGOURA HILLS DINING.Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic WHERE'S THE casino? That may well be the first thought of newcomers entering the Vegas-like, ultra-glitzy new Agoura Hills restaurant dubbed Chapter 8. The onetime Hamburger Hamlet building's interior is outrageous red on red, sparkling and shiny and unlike any restaurant in its locale other than Westlake Village's P6, of the same ownership but assuredly a few notches lower on the glitz scale. Chapter 8, which turns into a full-action lounge and bar-scene spot Thursday through Saturday nights, offers two bars, one inside, one out. The one inside has a dramatic 14-bottle Hennessy Paradis cognac backdrop, each bottle standing in its own hexagonal aperture. The restaurant's wait staff (80 percent of which, according to our waiter one evening, came from Geoffrey's in Malibu) is professional and knowledgeable, as well it should be at these prices. Yes, the tabs can run up fast here. Our lowest-priced entree from two visits was the $25 petit filet mignon, a tender and surprisingly flavorful 6-ounce piece of prime meat, promised as aged 28 days and the finest corn-fed Midwestern beef. But everything is a la carte here, which means that the slab of steak on your plate arrives as alone as Greta Garbo with merely a clump of watercress to keep it from looking entirely forlorn. Add on $7 each for side orders of potatoes (eight options) and vegetables (10 options) plus starters, desserts, drinks and/or wine, and the tab will usually run $60 or more per person, minimum, without the tip. A small consolation comes via the 14 complimentary sauces, most arriving in small metal crucibles. Apparently there's no limit to how many you can try. We enjoyed the traditional bearnaise and bordelaise Noun 1. bordelaise - brown sauce with beef marrow and red wine sauce - flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food . We also liked the zingy zing·y adj. zing·i·er, zing·i·est Informal 1. Pleasantly stimulating: "The times are good. The living is easy. The vibes are zingy" Saturday Review. jolt of the Argentine favorite, chimichurri chim·i·chur·ri n. A sauce made of chopped fresh parsley seasoned with garlic, pepper, and herbs and bound with oil and vinegar. [American Spanish.] . Our most expensive pick, the 1-pound New York strip Noun 1. New York strip - steak from upper part of the short loin strip steak beefsteak - a beef steak usually cooked by broiling loin loin (loin) the part of the back between the thorax and pelvis. loin n. The part of the body on either side of the spinal column between the ribs and the pelvis. at $35, though quite formidable in size and, like all the steaks here, Midwestern corn-fed USDA USDA, n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. prime and aged 28 days, could have been juicier. But certainly moist enough was the house ribeye cut of Dakota bison ($31), rather lean but of surprising flavor. Yet the 12-ounce beef ribeye steak alternative ($31) turned out to be the least favored, being rather dry and gristly gris·tly adj. gris·tli·er, gris·tli·est 1. Composed of or containing gristle. 2. Resembling gristle. gris . Looking toward the ocean, the Chapter 8 kitchen does a commendable job with its tuna steak ($27), one that had been ordered very rare and thoughtfully coupled with the optional yuzu-scented ponzu sauce. A generously filled saucer of port-soaked plum and fig chutney, also from the list of complimentary sauces, fit perfectly one evening with perhaps the most satisfying entree here, the Kurobuta double-thick pork chop ($27), mighty handsome in looks - a lovely, juicy meat choice. As for those side opportunities, the cakelike horseradish-flavored hash-brown-style potato dish provides welcome accompaniment to any of the meat dishes. Also, sides of both creamed spinach and an upgraded version of macaroni and cheese are heartily recommended. While salads of an iceberg lettuce wedge with Maytag blue cheese Maytag is a blue cheese produced on the Maytag Dairy Farms outside of Newton, Iowa (the home of the Maytag Corporation). In 1941, Iowa State University developed a new process for making blue cheese from pasteurized milk (instead of traditional sheep's milk). dressing and a stacked, different-color roasted beet arrangement ($8 each) impress to no end, it's a different story for appetizer plates of diver scallop scallop or pecten, marine bivalve mollusk. Like its close relative the oyster, the scallop has no siphons, the mantle being completely open, but it differs from other mollusks in that both mantle edges have a row of steely blue "eyes" and ceviche ce·vi·che or se·vi·che n. Raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as an appetizer. [American Spanish, from Spanish cebiche, fish stew, from and foie gras au torchon ($13 each), which generally disappointed. On the misnamed mis·name tr.v. mis·named, mis·nam·ing, mis·names To call by a wrong name. misnamed Adjective having an inappropriate or misleading name: ceviche, a few hard-to-find thin scallop slices were uncovered, buried in Maui onion salad. On the foie gras dish, a tiny portion of duck liver tried to make itself noticed on a small round of flavored toast. A markedly superior beginning could come from Chapter 8's soup du jour offerings, one night materializing as an extremely gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. bowl of potato-leek soup ($6). As for endings, little house-produced doughnut balls with three sauce dips or a narrow wedge of key lime pie Key lime pie is a dessert made of key lime juice, egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk in a pie crust. The pie is topped with meringue, then baked until the meringue is a golden brown.[1] Some key lime pies use other types of whipped toppings or none at all. ($7 each) just aren't the best choices. Someone said we should have opted for the mile-high carrot cake with ginger ice cream and carrot honey sauce ($9). Which proves one thing. Even if there's no casino at Chapter 8, picking dessert can still be a gamble. Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com CHAPTER 8 Food: Four stars - Service: Three stars - Wine: Two and one half stars Where: 29020 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills. Phone: (818) 889-2088. Meals/hours: Dinner only from 5 to 11:30 p.m. nightly. Food type: Steaks and chops. Cost: Starters from $6 to $14, entrees from $18 to $48, desserts $7. Credit cards: All major. Patio dining: Yes, very romantic. Parking/valet: Free self-parking in front lot. Full bar: Yes. Wine/corkage: Fairly well-rounded beginning list and expensive special captain's list (21 labels from $115 to $2,500) for deep pockets. Corkage: $15. Music/entertainment:Yes. DJ Thursday through Saturday for dancing. Takeout/delivery: Neither. Reservations: Suggested. Needed on weekend. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Entrees at Chapter 8, where everything comes a la carte, include a Kurobuta pork chop, above, and beet salad, left. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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