Let’s address one thing first. Yes, the Union Cattle Company does have a mechanical bull in the middle of the dining room. No, that’s not what this article is about.
All right, now that that’s over with, I can describe the food, beverage, ambiance, and service. All these things are worthy of discussion, but the thing that everybody talks about is the mechanical bull. Granted, it’s the South Bay’s only example of robotic livestock, but it still exerts some sort of spell that has made the following conversation take place several times:
Me: So you were at the Union Cattle Company last night? How was the food?
Local Diner: It was really cool! They have this mechanical bull, and… (Three minutes of funny stories about people trying to ride the mechanical bull.)
Me: So about the food?
Local Diner: I’m going to have to try that bull myself the next time I’m there.
Something about the bull so unhinges some minds that they are unable to focus on the important things in life, like for instance – food. Determined to get to the bottom of this, I called the restaurant and asked when they start the bull rides. The person on the other end of the phone wasn’t precise, but said that it is more in use later in the evening. I decided to dine early, packed my family in the car, and headed to Hermosa.
The room isn’t changed much from the era when the place was Ein Stein’s, the high ceiling and comfortable booths left intact and the acoustics still tending toward the loud and echoing. The patio is still the place of choice for pleasant evening dining and since it was a nice night we headed outside. (The upstairs area is probably quieter still and is said to have a view, but I have yet to dine up there.) Our waitress brought menus and was cheerfully opinionated about helping us select our entrees. I like servers who show enthusiasm tempered with judgment when asked for suggestions, and her critiques were quite helpful when we came to making our decisions.
We started with appetizers – crab stuffed mushrooms, a small rack of pork ribs with seasoned French fries, and a caesar salad. The mushrooms were done exactly the way I like them, broiled lightly enough that they were hot through but still firm. I have almost stopped ordering stuffed mushrooms because they are so often overdone, but these went a long way towards restoring my faith in the dish. The stuffing had plenty of crab flavor but could have used a dash of Old Bay seasoning to pep it up just a bit.
The ribs were falling-off-the-bone tender and could be eaten with a knife and fork by anyone who was seriously squeamish about getting barbecue sauce on their hands. The baby backs were coated in a mild sauce that was nothing special, but those who like spicy food might like this appetizer even so. This is because the crisp French fries had a liberal coating of peppery seasoning, creating that holy trilogy of fried food, salt, and chili pepper hotness. In a moment that reversed the usual order of the universe, my wife used the ribs to cool down from the fries. She still kept eating them, because they were addictive. I liked the ribs but loved the fries, reveled in them, chowed down with wild abandon.
The caesar salad had a good balance of cheese and garlic, but there was little or no anchovy flavor. Caesars with a two-part balance rather than three can still work, and this one does. The flavor here was still big and robust without any one element overwhelming the others, which made it a good caesar by my standards.
The steakhouse decor and style notwithstanding, the Union Cattle Company serves much more than just steaks. I did have a rib eye, but the others in my party selected sautéed shrimp, pork chops in apple-brandy sauce, and a burger. My rib eye was one of the best steaks I’ve had all year, and at twenty one dollars including side items it was fairly priced. The waitress had offered a variety of sauces as options, and as I generally do in such circumstances I asked for a small portion of each. As a result I had a chance to contrast the tender meat against the barbecue sauce, mushroom sauce, and the dipping sauce served with their skewered items. I liked the latter best for its tangy, slightly Asian character, which suited my rare steak very well. One of the other options offered at no extra charge is to have your steak topped with melted blue cheese. I selected this option by accident – I had misunderstood the waitress’s question because I was distracted by the first person of the day to ride the…Wait a minute, I said I wasn’t going to mention the mechanical bull again, and I’m sticking to my resolve. Anyway, steak topped with blue cheese is always a feast for those who have tossed the very idea of counting calories to the winds, and I really liked this one. We each had a choice of two side dishes, and I had selected the twice-baked potato and sautéed squash. I paired my dinner with a glass of Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel, a wine that is a perfect pairing with steak. The wine list here is well chosen and the by-the-glass list has plenty of variety.
My wife’s pork was a big, thick chop that had been rubbed with spices and properly roasted before being topped by what was referred to as an applejack-brandy sauce. Rather than being a sauce this was more like a fruit compote with some sweet onion, and it took the entree the next level from being just a good pork chop to something more interesting. She had picked creamed spinach and fries as her sides. The fries were the same crisp and greaseless items we had with our starter except without the spicy coating, while the spinach was just as good in its own way. Unusually for creamed spinach, the vegetable still had some crispness and texture and was a good foil for the creamy sauce.
Our children selected the shrimp sautéed in barbecue sauce and butter and a burger from the kids’ menu. The shrimp was sweet and smoky and quite a bit spicier than the pork rib starter, and was much better for it. The flavor was almost in the range of Thai food and had a good balance of pepper and garlic, with the richness of the butter holding the dish together. The name of this restaurant may evoke a cattle ranch, but the seafood is every bit as good. With the rise of aquaculture we may eventually see a seafood ranch themed restaurant, though I find it hard to believe people will want to ride the mechanical shrimp. (Whew, just barely managed to avoid mentioning that thing again.) My son had a baked potato and creamed corn for his sides, and the latter was the only disappointment of the meal. Homemade creamed corn can be light and fresh-tasting, but this was on the heavy side.
My daughter chose a burger from the kids’ menu and got a good but unexceptional burger with fries. The kids menu here has the same flaw as so many kids’ menus around town, being composed of various kinds of protein with French fries. Some kids like other vegetables and some parents want their kids to have a balanced diet, a pair of facts that seem to be lost on a lot of restaurateurs. My daughter ate vegetables from everyone else’s plates and was content.
Desserts were offered, but all were chocolate-heavy except the orange sherbet, and we were in the mood for something light like a fruit tart. Besides, the portions on all of our meals were substantial and we just didn’t have room left. We will be a bit more moderate when it comes to appetizers and try desserts another time, because we will certainly be back. I’m not going to eat too much, because I need to be in good shape in case I want to stop watching the entertainment and be part of it, if you catch my drift…
The Union Cattle Company is located at 1301 Manhattan Avenue in Hermosa Beach. Total cost of meals and beverages described in this review, $$112.04 plus tip. Full bar, children’s menu, handicap access good. Free valet parking on weekends. Corkage $20.00. Open daily for dinner only. Call 798-8227 for reservations.
