5A5 Steak & Lounge
244 Jackson St (@ Battery)
San Francisco , CA 94111-1826
(415) 989-2539
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VdV Rating: 3.5
Food: Steakhouse
Ambiance: Date
PRO: Excellent cow, cool vibe
CON: Food service was a little slow
Yup, we’re on a beef kick, bitches! Morton’s the other day, a 10-day feast in Argentina and Rio b4 that, and last night, the (relatively) new 5A5 Steak & Lounge by Jackson Square. Moo! We rolled in here with our meat-loving friends Bob & Jane, and remembered one of the last times we dined with them was here, when it was Frisson.
So not that much has changed actually. Well, apart from it turning into a high-end Steak House. Or Beef Arbiter, if you will. Wait. When someone says anything with ‘if you will…’ at the end, don’t you take it to imply ‘…if you will take your head out of your ass’?. No? Hmmm. We do. So if you ever hear us saying that to anyone…
Back to the storyline. I mean, the space and design were barely touched, which is a good thing. Frisson prolly spent a ton of their doh-ray-mi on the Jetson’s like design, it’s cool, so I like that they didn’t think they had to do some type of tear-out and replace on its ass. They toned down the orange-ness is about all you’ll really notice, if you remember anything at all from that drunken rage you participated in when you last visited Frisson.The result? Yes, a hangover idiot, but we’re not concerned in the least about you. We’re discussing 5A5, and it’s a nice twist on a traditional steakhouse, with cool design, a happenin’ lounge area and way less stuffiness than most steak houses.
So does 5A5 fill the big shoes left by Frisson? Pretty much. This place is a solid steak house with a cool vibe to boot. Shit! Just let the cat (or is it, Calf) outta the bag, how will I get you to read on now?!
Well, for those that choose to, you’re in for an awesome review! First, the menu. This is a rangy bastard. In a good way, meaning there’s lots here and all pretty well thought out.
The menu is broken up into several sections: Shooters: (inexpensive little suckers) including Hamachi, Oysters, Caviar, A5 Wagyu, mostly $4-10. Then, Bites: things like Shisito Peppers, Cocktail Shrimp, Truffle Fries, Chicken Yakatori, mostly all in the $5-12 range. Next up! Starters: Stuff like Lobster Tempura, Lamb Chops, Day Boat Scallops, ranging from $10-20. Movin’ on up! Mains: now we’re in the meat of it. Filet Mignon, Buffalo Filet, Dry Aged T-Bone, Aussie ‘Kobe’, all in the $20-40 price.
Then they get all crack head crazy on your ass and do things like the A5 Wagyu at $18-20 per…OUNCE. Yes, kittens. Actually when you speak ounces you should be talking about feeding kittens or buying certain home-grown agricultural products IMO. Legalize it, people! And, no, they won’t let you order 1 ounce. Minimum is about 4 ounces. Sheeatt! And they have a World Wide Wagyu Sampler that gets ya 3 servings each of different Wagyu beef, for about…$175. So, if you have an abacus handy, that’s more than $175 per pound. And I am sure, worth every Yen. Yeah. But not after the 3 shots of tequila I already had! Oh yeah, there’s Sides too. Nope, not gonna yammer about them right now. All good. ‘Nuff said
So back to the name! Told you that you should read on! So A5 is the designation for what many think is the bestest of the best steak in the world, the A5 Wagyu, imported from Japan. Dunno what the ’5′ in from of the ‘A5′ means. Maybe we’ll figure that out next time.
OK, I’m exhausted. Let’s get into it, here’s what we had: Surprise! The Filet Mignon (6 oz, $21), dug it they had a petite size as well as a 10 oz. Yeah pigs, I hear you. 10 oz is ‘petite’ for most of my friends. Just remove all the mirrors from your house, you’ll be just fine. Anyhoo, the meat here is tight. Meaning damn good. The Filet was cooked perfectly, very tender, and they rightly so laid off the spices. No salt or pepper on this, and none needed. It was melt in your pie hole good. Next, the New York Strip (8 oz, $25) they also have a 4 oz for $16. I am really getting into good NY Strip Clubs. Shit! I mean, New York Strip STEAKS. Damn. It hasn’t replaced the Filet, but the flavor of this cut is fan-f’ing-tastic and has more character than the Filet in some ways. This is an excellent cut of cow, and very high quality. Rare, dumbass!
Wait, we forgot the sides! We had the Macaroni & Cheese ($8), with Gruyere, Mozzarella and Cheddar. That Mozzy kicks it up a notch! Very creamy and cheesy, nice elbow macaroni. Not as good as Morton’s only because I like the baked top that Morton’s and others do. That said, the addition of Mozzarella is awesome. We also had the Mushrooms ($12) I think they keep it generic so they can rotate fresh types in and out. We had Wood mushrooms, Creminis, Shittakes and a few I couldn’t quite pick out. But all good, lightly sauteéd, and very fresh. This is a nice, light appy. We also snarfed the Marble Potatoes ($9), these nice little spuds that are dense, yet well cooked all at the same time. So not ‘mushy’ but with a nice semi-crunch on the skin, firm yet tender on the innards. Plus, the Kobe Sliders ($7), two nice sized sliders, with your choice of cheese and just simple great beef on a (semi too big) bun.But a good bun, not that Ciabotta crap.
Wait, we also MUST discuss the vino. So in addition to being on a cow kick (OK, we’re also into a good cow tip) we’re also on an unplanned but fab Gundlach Bundschu kick! As in kick your taste buds up a notch you winos! We had not one, but two bottles of the Gun Bun 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon ($65). Seriously. Good. Wine. Bob and Jane can run circles around us with wine snobbery and we all loved this vino. So there. This is a very well made and structured wine, period. Not too OTT, with excellent aromas of blackberry and subtle vegetable on the shnoz-ola, with flavors of blackberry, plum jam (no kidding!) and Hershey kisses. Nice tannins and all in all a rocking good vino from Gun Bun that I had never had. Went really well with the bovine.
OK, no, we are not finished. We actually had dessert in dessert form! Doughnuts. Holy crap! Wow. I just shorted out my Mac by drooling into the keyboard. Awesome! These are just pure and simple kick ass. Sugar and Cinnamon nuggets that are so perfectly done it’s sick. Crisp, sweet and crunchy on the outside and perfectly doughy and tender inside. Yum. I’ll stop before it gets porno.
So the take away? We likee. We recommend. Go for the meat, gorge on the doughnuts and stay for the
lounge. Go!
Sorry there’s no pix, we spaced our camera!
VdV Rating: 3.5
Hours:
Dining:
Mon-Thu 5:30p-10p
Fri-Sun 5:30p-9p
Lounge:
Sun-Thu 5p-11p
Fri 3p-2a
Sat 5p-2a
5A5 Steak & Lounge
244 Jackson St (@ Battery)
San Francisco, CA 94111-1826
(415) 989-2539
