The Genius of a Simple Steak

Our waiter begins: “Tonight we have flatiron steak, a piece that comes from the very end of the New York strip. The name comes from its shape. It’s something like a horizontal New York.” The setting is Lucky’s, a steakhouse in Montecito that opened five months ago. The waiter, wearing a long white apron, has none of the rawness of L.A. waiters, who intend to be in the business only as long as it takes to sell a film script or get a comedy routine together. This guy is a seasoned professional, or else he’s a tremendously good actor.

He mentions another special I haven’t seen on a menu in a while: beef stroganoff. This, too, is given a genial but enthusiastic pitch. The regular menu is short and to the point, a sophisticated chophouse compendium of classic appetizers, straightforward cuts of meat, a steamed Maine lobster and a couple of fish entrees, such as a swordfish brochette with homemade tartar sauce.

Yet Lucky’s isn’t an Arnie Morton’s or a Ruth’s Chris Steak House clone. It doesn’t have that heavy chophouse look, and seems altogether more lighthearted, with its airy patio out front and crisp black-and-white color scheme. Instead of the caricatures that paper The Palm, the walls here are hung with black-and-white portraits from the glory days of Hollywood--Bing Crosby in his heyday, a young Stevie Wonder, Steve McQueen squinting in the sun, and a fresh-faced Marilyn.

The restaurant is the brainchild of Gene Montesano, CEO of Lucky Brand Dungarees, and chef James Sly. They met when Sly was working as a private chef for one of Montesano’s friends. Sly has worked at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, Michel Guerard’s in the south of France, and was chef at L’Orangerie for a year. By the time he became a private chef, he was more interested in simple food. “Who said, ‘Any idiot can write a complicated song, but it takes a genius to be simple?’ ” Sly asked during a brief phone interview. (It was Pete Seeger.)

That’s the idea behind Lucky’s: simple food prepared from scratch with the same care that goes into making much more elaborate restaurant fare. The kitchen bakes its own breads and makes its own stocks and desserts. The beef is Midwestern, aged four to six weeks by suppliers and two to three weeks more in Lucky’s walk-in.

Shrimp cocktail is four huge, meaty shrimp with a spunky cocktail sauce. The crab cocktail is pure lump crab meat and the same horseradish and lemon-shocked sauce. The tomato and onion salad actually has tomatoes that taste like tomatoes. Chilled asparagus spears come in a well-balanced vinaigrette.

For my taste, the best of the steaks is the Porterhouse, with the New York running a close second. The filet mignon has more texture and flavor than most. That flatiron is a real trencherman’s portion. The only main course I really don’t enjoy is the stroganoff, as the thickly cut beef strips make them more chewy than tender.

As for sides, get Lucky’s home fries. Slightly thicker than potato chips, they disappear quickly, stopping all conversation. Regular fries were limp. The skinny onion rings are fine, though, as is the creamed spinach.

Lucky’s pours Laurent Perrier by the glass, and has a nice offering of Champagnes. Of course, if you’re eating steak, you’re going to be interested in reds, which are listed on the short regular wine list, with the more interesting, and pricier, bottles on Lucky’s Cellar List. Anyone for a 1928 Chateau Calon-Segur for $7,000?

It’s always a challenge to make it to dessert after eating steak. About all most people can do is manage a sweet to share. In that case, you’ll probably be tucking into the souffle you ordered at the same time as your steaks. Both the bittersweet Valrhona and the Grand Marnier versions are textbook versions of this classic French dinner house dessert. If you can manage it, the strawberry shortcake and the pecan pie are worth considering, too.

For weekend brunch the kitchen branches out with steak and eggs, a bay shrimp and avocado omelet, smoked salmon and a bagel, along with a few classic sandwiches, including an old-fashioned tuna melt.

Lucky’s has take-out for the boat and picnic crowds, too. Or just escort that steak or chicken sandwich on a stroll at Santa Barbara’s East Beach.

This steakhouse proves it’s hard to go wrong with good products, skillfully cooked. “Salt and pepper is the secret,” says Sly.

Lucky’s

1279 Coast Village Road

Montecito

(805) 565-7540

Cuisine: American

Rating: **

AMBIENCE: Comfortable chophouse with black-and-white decor, patio out front. SERVICE: Amiable and professional. BEST DISHES: Shrimp cocktail, lump crab meat cocktail, ripe tomato and red onions, skinny onion rings, Lucky’s home-fried potatoes, New York strip steak, Porterhouse, chocolate souffle. Dinner appetizers, $6 to $15. Main courses, $9 to $48. Corkage, $12. WINE PICKS: 1998 Tablas Creek Rouge, Central Coast; 1998 Ojai Bien Nacido Syrah, Central Coast. FACTS: Dinner daily. Brunch weekends. Street and valet parking.

Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory.