My job has several perks, such as the short commute from my bedroom to my living room every morning. But my favorite perk is when my boss takes us out to dinner. The last trip I took was to the Westlake area, so he picked a nice steak house there that I never would have picked on my own. The Grill on the Alley is
actually a small chain of restaurants in the swankier parts of So Cal. It is an a la carte restaurant where the average entree is $40 (this particular restaurant had meals that came with a side dish, so it wasn't completely a la carte). On my own, I would not be able to afford to eat here, but this was paid for by the business. That is the reason I normally wouldn't have chosen this restaurant, and that is the reason I love when my boss takes us out to dinner.
Nate got to come with me on this trip, which is why I'm writing a post about this place when usually I don't blog about the fancy places I go to with just my coworkers. The waiters (we had 2 besides a water refilling person and a person who came by to sweep the crumbs off our table between courses) were very friendly and courteous. Nate and I decided to share a 12oz filet mignon with spinach mashed potatoes. They had a special that Tuesday for a whole lobster for $58, but Nate's not a fan of lobster so we didn't go for that. Instead I got the lobster bisque to start. The bisque was very good, but surprisingly filling. I couldn't finish even half of it. Because we split the meal, the staff actually cut our 12oz steak in half and served our portions (along with half the potatoes each) on separate plates. That saved us a lot of trouble, but because the filet was smaller, more of it was cooked than I would have liked for wanting it medium rare. It was still delicious, though. The spinach mashed potatoes were more spinach than potatoes. Next time (if I can ever afford to go back there) I think I'd get the mac and cheese as a side instead. Any alcoholic drinks are from $14 a glass up to $22, and they do have a very good selection of fine wines. We also got a slice of chocolate cake for dessert which was huge! It took us a couple days to finish it, even sharing it. It was very good and worth savoring.
The best thing about this place was the staff did not feel stuck up. We walked in with most of our group wearing polo shirts, shorts, and tennis shoes and they treated us like any other customers. If you have the money and want a relaxing and amazing dining experience, try out The Grill.
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