Celebrating Dal Rae’s golden anniversary

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

It’s nearly nine o’clock and brothers Lorin and Kevin Smith are still roaming Dal Rae’s dining room. The two take turns weaving through the restaurant’s tables and tapping on chairs as they walk by and leaning into the steakhouse’s scalloped booths to kid with customers. “Make sure you eat those vegetables or you won’t get any dessert,” Lorin jokes.

In May 1958, Ben and Bill Smith opened Dal Rae’s doors with that same amiable attitude. But back then the restaurant’s concept was a bit more unfamiliar, taking its cues from the Continental cuisine sweeping through America’s mid-century menus. Dishes like lobster Thermidor, pepper steak, oysters Rockefeller and steak Diane were staples, augmented by French-inspired foods repatriated to fit the modern American palate.

Fifty years later, Dal Rae feels the same as it ever did. That’s because Lorin and Kevin haven’t changed father Ben’s and uncle Bill’s vision, amending it only for a renovation in 1999 that added nothing more that extra seating and additional patio space. Everything that’s there on Washington Boulevard is exactly as it was decades ago, a purely American place focused on what was once the uppermost crust of suburban living.

At a restaurant as classically American as Dal Rae, some more modern eaters might expect to be put off by seemingly out-dated plates. But the restaurant truly succeeds in its tradition. Rather than change and adapt to ever-shifting tastes (a little chipotle glaze here, some chili lime sauce there), Dal Rae has simply perfected its past, synthesizing a 50-year history into more than just a sentimental selection of steaks and sautés.

There’s probably no single entrée at Dal Rae more emblematic of those mid-century tastes than the pepper steak. The restaurant cuts the steak from either a New York strip or a filet mignon, but either piece of meat is a good one. What makes the dish, however, is the pepper sauce, which completely caps the steak in scallions and bacon. The menu quotes the claim that the steak is “often copied—never equaled” and that’s completely true—it’s an essential dish for anyone with a red-blooded appetite.

Another classic of the past is the duck a l’orange. Like some of the restaurant’s other elaborate plates, the duck a l’orange is finished off in the dining room, then flamed tableside with a drizzling of Jacques Bonet brandy and DeKuyper triple sec. After the fire fades, the duck is plated and served hot from all the theatricality. The duck doesn’t get quite as crisp as it might at other restaurants, but it’s still a great meal.

Each entrée also comes paired with the classic relish tray (pickled vegetables on ice), a mix of steamed vegetables (green and white beans cooked to a crisp, squash and cauliflower to a tender medium) and your choice of mashed potatoes, a baked potato, rice pilaf, french fries or sliced tomatoes. The mashed potatoes are understandably salty, but they’re balanced by the baked potato, which is the best starch here for a meat-and-potatoes meal. The sides certainly don’t hold much weight up against Dal Rae’s entrées, but as the restaurant proves, it’s the simple things that are often the most pleasing.

Dal Rae’s desserts don’t always follow that philosophy, though, as an elaborate mix of banana flambé and cherries Jubilee dominate the dining room. But the true Continental heir is the Grand Marnier soufflé, a melon-sized pastry that takes at least 30 minutes to cook. As expected, the dessert is well worth the wait, with the excellent crème anglaise bringing out the subtle citrus for some light and liquored continuity with the duck a l’orange.

To some, Dal Rae probably eats like a living museum, an edible homage to 50 years of meals past. But to think of the restaurant strictly as kitsch is to write off its excellent service and well-tested and well-executed food. After all, there’s a reason why the place has survived this long already. And judging by the way Lorin and Kevin Smith work the dining room, it’ll probably be around for another 50, too.

DAL RAE RESTAURANT 9023 E WASHINGTON BLVD | PICO RIVERA 90660 | 562.949.2444 | DALRAE.COM | OPEN MON-THURS 11AM-3PM & 5-10PM | FRI-SAT 5-11PM | SUN 5-10PM | FOOD FOR TWO $50-100 | FULL BAR | VALET PARKING

Tags: american, continental, dal rae, Food, pico rivera, steak house