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| - Instead of Back to the Future, more like Forward to the Past. And a good trip it is.
Alexander's is a bit retro -- a well maintained woodsy interior reminiscent of a forest lodge, brass railings, salad bar, wrap around bar surrounded by people, glowing charcoal pit, caring wait staff, happily chatting customers, and a background sound system you can hear over. The intent is to have a cozy surrounding for folks to gather round the fire, cook their meat of choice, and have a nice dinner together. Kind of like a backyard cookout but with more food, no bugs, no wind.
They offer an early bird special menu before 6 PM with meals priced mostly in the teens, including salad bar, a choice of potatoes, and Texas toast. The beef is aged and of good quality. There are also chicken and seafood meals. The main dinner menu offers more choices and meals run in the $30s and up.
I chose the Santa Maria Top Sirloin, a 10 oz steak hand rubbed with a proprietary spice mix. It took me a few minutes to remember how to cook on charcoal, but I got the hang of it and the result was a tasty steak cooked exactly the way I wanted it. While I cooked my steak I enjoyed the salad bar. It was fairly small in terms of length, but they packed a lot of goodies onto it, including real bacon crumbles and many other special toppings. Fries were thin in one direction and broad in another. They were clearly cut from whole potatoes and were fried perfectly for crunchy skins, crispy fries, and moist interiors.
The bar tender, Hali, was patient with me, explaining how the place works, attentive to my needs (bringing the french fries at the right moment, making sure my drink was in good condition, and that I had everything I was supposed to have), and pleasant.
Its sad there aren't many places like this anymore. Its great that there is Alexander's.
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