Le Cheval and the Seven Courses of Beef
Written: Feb 04 '01 (Updated Jun 17 '01)
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Pros: You always get your food quickly.
Cons: They need to do something about their desserts.
The Bottom Line: Super yummy Vietnamese food in the East Bay.
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| megugrrrl's Full Review: Le Cheval |
As soon as the sun sets in downtown Oakland, it seems like everyone is in a rush to get home; there aren’t any people strolling about by the art galleries on 9th, the Chinatown shops are closed by 8, even eateries like the attractive Oaktown Café or the funky LMNO are relatively deserted. There is one downtown anomaly though; Le Cheval on Clay Street is always packed.
Ever since I first tried Vietnamese food in San Diego (Phoung Troung) I’ve always toyed with the idea of ordering the Seven Courses of Beef because it just sounds so gluttonous and a little scary. The last time I went to Le Cheval though, I went with a friend who had once braved the Seven Courses, and persuaded me to go in it with her. For $17.95 a person (minimum two) you get seven types of dishes; all beef (surprise!) and all relatively good. Due to my past experiences here, I figured Le Cheval was the right place to try the Seven Courses.
1 The first dish, which arrived immediately, was super thin slices of rare tender steak marinated in lemon. The beef tasted slightly sweetened and was topped with a mound of fresh cilantro, slivers of ginger, toasted coconut, peanuts, white onions (fried and raw), and paper-thin slices of lemon. The mingling flavors of sweet, salty, and spices proved awesome and the various textures and flavors made this dish my favorite.
2 The second course was a do-it-yourself one. Our food server brought out a small gas grill with a clay pot filled with a broth. In front of us, rice paper, a bowl of hot water, raw beef, a huge plate of veggies (lettuce, mint leaves, more cilantro, bean sprouts, and cucumbers) and a small bowl full of sweet fish sauce with lime was set out. Basically we made our own ‘beef rolls’ by cooking the meat in the clay pot and rolling the stuff in front of us, dipping the rolls in the sauce. I had fun making the rice paper pliable by dunking them in the hot water; I had no idea you did that, I just assumed they came soft all along!
3 After a while, the clay pot was removed and replaced with a small dome-shaped grill, which we fried our next plate of beef on. I ate these the same way I ate the previous course; by making more rolls. At this point I was starting to get full and a little worried that I couldn’t do courses four thru seven. But thankfully, the latter courses were smaller ones.
4-7 Course four was a small cup of a warm savory porridge with ground beef. It was similar to the Chinese congee but the flavors of ginger and other spices was stronger and for me, tastier. The last three courses of beef thankfully came on the same plate. Two were delicious sausages that were fried (one was wrapped in cooked greens) and the last ‘course’ I tried resembled a meatball.
All seven courses were great, the cuts of beef were of quality and each dish was delicious… although I’m not counting the days until I go back to order it again. There was just way too much food to eat, and I’m a pretty big eater. I would rather just order the first dish separately, bo tai chanh, Marinated Beef in Lemon (it’s under appetizers) for around $7, and another dish – anything with Lemon Grass is yum to me.
Le Cheval has a variety of dish styles – seafood, beef, poultry, pork – cooked in the same way, like the aforementioned lemon grass or served in coconut milk, sautéed with broccoli, or ‘orange-flavored’. ($6.95 - $8.55) One thing to try is the Claypot Rice ($6.25 – lunch) – pan fried shrimp, chicken, beef, mushrooms and rice baked to a crisp in a clay pot. Mmm. They have a variety of noodles soups ($5.25) – rice noodle, cellophane, egg noodle. They also serve a wicked creamy carrot chowder (the only vegan thing) for $5.50.
During the work week this place is packed because people still go for business lunches (which was actually my introduction to Le Cheval), despite the fact that the number of people coupled with the acoustics makes it tough to hear conversation at your table. If you have a large party (say over 5) do make reservations – weekends or weekday evenings even. It can’t hurt. And despite the fact that this place fills up quickly, the wait staff is quick and helpful.
Oh yes, our dessert (which wasn’t beef) was their Banana Flambe, which was a banana, dipped in batter and deep fried. Our food server dipped the banana in golden honey and poured an alcohol (rum maybe?) and set a match to it – pretty entertaining – we watched her flip the flaming blue bananas several times until the alcohol burned away and then started chompin’ – but was disappointed … it wasn’t hot! Not even warm. I expected something deep fried and then set ablaze to be warm but it was cold -- but Le Cheval isn’t really known for it’s desserts; go for the Vietnamese food.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: No
Best Suited For: Trendy Crowd
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Epinions.com ID:
megugrrrl
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Location: Oakland
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