#MinaMoments: Bourbon Steakhouse at The Americana at Brand

 

I was excited to be invited to Bourbon Steakhouse at The Americana at Brand which opened only five months ago. Chef Michael Mina and his collection of fine restaurants have won so many awards; I could not wait to see what it would be like. I enjoyed starting the evening with the special bubbly from White Horse which made the whole evening feel like a celebration!

As you enter, notice the Wall of 234 vintage spoons from all around the world. This restaurant has a travel theme for Glendale because it was where the first transcontinental flight took off.

Our wonderful server, Tony, brought us a trio of sauces with our trio of fries. He was extremely knowledgable about the restaurant and the food. He tempted me to try a different type of steak and our multitude of food issues were no problem at this establishment.

Wondering what to start with? Our Appetizers included Octopus a la plancha with romesco, fingerling potato, lemon, and almond; Roasted eggplant & avocado dip with the most incredible chickpea fries, and heirloom vegetables and my favorite: Heirloom tomatoes with garlic aioli, onion rings, lovage, cucumber. I could eat a whole dinner of chickpea fries.

Between the three of us, we ate a Rib cap 8oz, Bavette 8oz, and the special Wood grill fish of the day, ahi tuna. The bavette was excellent, the rib cap was out of this world and the ahi is fresh and seasoned really well. Additionally we added the Delta asparagus with 7 treasures and the baked potato with accompaniments. I love a good baked potato.

Chef Joseph Conrad moved from Seattle to open this restaurant and his modern steakhouse menu includes steak, fish, pasta and vegetarian options. Gluten free, or dairy free are available here just talk to your server. The meat is Domestic black angus and there is also three types wagyu beef available here: Japanese, Australian rib eye (1 in 4 restaurants in Los Angeles to offer this) and a Prime black angus with a one-foot long bone dinner for two! Chef also recommends the Maine lobster pot pie.

Dessert is decadent here:
Devil’s food cake: dark chocolate, peanut butter, chocolate cream, peanut butter powder and peanut butter ganache
Butterscotch toffee pudding: Macallan 12 toffee, with madeleines and
Michael Mina’s signature root beer float. Huckleberry and root beer sorbet are available.

What will you eat first? What do you want to try? Let me know your favorites!

A special thank you to my dining companions: Laura Koleniak and Betsy Flanagan as well as the marvelous team at Bourbon Steakhouse.

Lisa Ellen Niver

Lisa Niver is an award-winning travel expert who has explored 102 countries on six continents. This University of Pennsylvania graduate sailed across the seas for seven years with Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, and Renaissance Cruises and spent three years backpacking across Asia. Discover her articles in publications from AARP: The Magazine and AAA Explorer to WIRED and Wharton Magazine, as well as her site WeSaidGoTravel. On her award nominated global podcast, Make Your Own Map, Niver has interviewed Deepak Chopra, Olympic medalists, and numerous bestselling authors, and as a journalist has been invited to both the Oscars and the United Nations. For her print and digital stories as well as her television segments, she has been awarded three Southern California Journalism Awards and two National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards and been a finalist twenty-two times. Named a #3 travel influencer for 2023, Niver talks travel on broadcast television at KTLA TV Los Angeles, her YouTube channel with over 2 million views, and in her memoir, Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless After Fifty.

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