“After the doing… there is the undoing.” We’ve had a long tradition of celebrating our longer backpacking trips by finding a good celebratory dinner spot, often a steakhouse when this is viable. So after we got back to Tacoma after a week backpacking in Mount Rainier National Park, we decided to find a spot suitable for a good celebration. A quick check of various reviews led us to a Brazilian steakhouse located near downtown Tacoma, El Gaucho.
El Gaucho has one of those restaurant interiors that sets you back as you enter; the main door us up at street level, while the restaurant is one level down, so you emerge basically onto a balcony overlooking the main dining room. While dark, it’s an impressive old-school dining room: elaborate bar, white tableclothes, dapper waitstaff in suits, and live piano music. If you are looking for dining ambiance, this is definitely your spot. (We do apologize that a few of our diners didn’t have apparel more typical for a Friday night dinner at a higher-end steakhouse, but the staff was polite, and, honestly, once we were seated, barely noticeable)
As our lead waiter explained the menu, he encouraged us to try one of their house specialty drinks, either an Old Fashioned, or their seasonal special, a Spicy Blood Orange Margarita. While I almost got the Old Fashioned (it is one of several items that is prepared table-side from a rolling cart), I decided I was in the mood for the margarita. This was a pleasant orange-forward variant of the Margarita, with a spicy habanero rim. A nice, refreshing start to the meal.
Speaking of table-side preparation, that’s definitely a big draw to El Gaucho, since several of their items are all done as table-side preparation, including the caesar salad, the beef tartare, and several of the entrées like chateaubriand and the muscovy duck. Our table opted for the tableside caesar, and we got to see one of the senior waiters go through the entire preparation. Making up a fresh emulsion from oil, eggs, and lemon. Layering lettuce in the bowl, and tossing it with fresh croutons. And doing all of this with a flourish (indeed, one of the other waiters was even making the emulsion by spinning the bowl). Yeah, it’s definitely “performance art”, but it’s enjoyable, and it makes for a particularly good, well-dressed, and fresh salad.
While it doesn’t photograph all that well, the result was a great salad, with a particularly good, bold dressing and a nice crunch to the croutons. I’d definitely get this again.
Another star of the evening was the tartare, which was also prepared tableside (no photos, since the tartare was getting built the exact same time as the Caesars). Watching them start with some particularly nicely butchered and tender beef, they mixed it with quail yolk, mustard, shallots, olive oil, and capers, with a dash of Worcestershire. Well-seasoned, flavorful, and served up with some nicely done toast. This was also notable for being a very hearty portion for $22.
For the main course, El Gaucho is primarily one of those old school steakhouses where the steaks themselves are generally served as just that: a steak, charcoal grilled to specification, and served up minimally seasoned with salt and pepper, and maybe a titch of butter. My 14 Oz New York steak was just that: a perfectly-seared slab of lightly seasoned steak, with perfect done-ness, a nice tender texture, and good marbling throughout. Definitely what I was looking for with a steak.
Carol, meanwhile, went for one of the house specialties, the Steak El Gaucho. This is the combination of an 8 oz custom-aged filet mignon, Maine with a lobster medallion, served weith asparagus, and Béarnaise sauce. Like my New York Steak, this was quite nicely done on both the lobster and steak sides, the Béarnaise pleasantly tangy without covering up any of the subtle meat and lobster flavors, and the asparagus nicely done.
A few of the party opted for other dishes, and one of the popular ones was the Alaskan Halibut, served grilled. I didn’t get to try this one, but those ordering it reported it was particularly nicely done.
Meanwhile, several of us that ordered up simple steaks opted to get a few sides, the asparagus being one of the more enjoyable ones: simple steamed asparagus, but perfectly cleaned, prepped, and cooked to the exact right al dente texture.
Finally, it was time for dessert. While I was definitely temped by either of the tableside flambé presentations (Bananas Foster or Cherries Jubilee), I opted for something a bit simpler since we’d already had a fairly excessive dinner (although if they had Crêpes Suzette, that might have swung me). That was the Affogato a la Rum: Santa Teresa 1796 solera rum, Caffè Borghetti espresso liqueur, and house-made vanilla bean ice cream. Very flavorful ice cream, and the combined espresso liquor and rum made for a nice affogato.
Overall, we truly enjoyed El Gaucho. The food was quite good, particularly those items prepared table-side, the ambiance quite enjoyable, and the service was top-notch. If you are looking for a seriously good, fine-dining, old-school steakhouse experience, El Gaucho is a great choice, and I’d love to come back at some point.
