GOLDEN BULL

DINING WITH GRACE

GOLDEN BULL

170 W. Channel Rd., Santa Monica Canyon • (310) 230-0402

By GRACE HINEY

Restaurant Editor

For decades this restaurant has been the ‘go to spot’ for locals, tourists and friends for a tasty meal. WHY, you ask? The answer is FLAVOR. Every dish has marvelous flavor, be it a simple soup or a salad with a special dressing, and everything in between.

Happily seated in a comfy leather booth in the bar with its aquarium behind the bartender as well as interesting artifacts and an old-time clock on the shelf above the bar, my friend and I studied the menu.

At 7:30 p.m., we were too late for the Early Bird Menu offered from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, there are nightly specials Sunday through Thursday, and the Tuesday combination plate of barbecue ribs, chicken and shrimp ($20.95) caught my attention. My friend, however, was taken by the Pacific red snapper ($18.95).

All dinners are served with a choice of the soup of the day or salad, along with a choice of rice, French fries, mashed or a baked potato.

There are six salad dressings to choose from as well as toppings for the baked potato. So when you have studied the entire menu and made your selections you are ready for a cocktail, beer or glass of wine.

There are also 10 appetizers ranging from steamed Little-Neck clams ($18.95) to potato skins filled with bacon, cheese green onions and sour cream ($8.25) to the Maryland crab cakes ($13.25), which are served with a tasty remoulade sauce.

Then, our generously portioned dinners began. Lentil soup of the day was scrumptious, as was my salad of greens with diced carrots and sliced cucumber, all topped with a terrific blue cheese dressing.

As I said, flavor is the main word here. The firm-textured red snapper came with fresh vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, a tasty cole slaw, and a baked potato with an excellent blue cheese dressing. Most compelling were the zesty barbecued ribs, chicken and shrimp, each of which had incredible flavor. With these came mashed potatoes. Again, not your ordinary mashed but potatoes with added flavor.

The dinner menu offers steaks and chops, ranging from a broiled hamburger steak served with grilled onions ($17.95), to a 10-oz. filet mignon ($39.95). There is prime rib of beef, pot roast, and my favorite (which most of my friends do not like)—liver with bacon or onions.

Chicken dishes vary from chicken Marsala ($20.95) and fried chicken to teriyaki chicken breast ($17.95). And then there are pastas served with soup du jour or a crisp green salad.

The dinner menu also offers sandwiches and salads for those who prefer a hot prime rib sandwich ($18.75) or a shrimp salad ($20.95). Sandwiches are served with French fries or mashed potatoes.

And, of course, there are great desserts along with specialty coffee drinks and an assortment of liqueurs. The chocolate cake a la mode was marvelously decadent with its warm chocolate dripping over the cake, ice cream and the plate ($8.75), and according to my friend, “good to the last tiny bite.” Equally special was the warm Golden Bull bread pudding with its delicious caramel topping ($5.75).

Valet parking is $4. No wonder The Golden Bull is the right destination for locals and visitors who value flavorful food and moderate prices.