When it comes to dining in a casino and resort property, the restaurant is usually a bit of an afterthought. The casino is the focal point of your visit for the day or your vacation and the restaurant that you visit tends to be almost a bit of a tag-along experience. That is certainly not the case with The Pines Modern Steakhouse located inside Yaamava’ Resort & Casino would be front and center regardless of where you would put this stunning restaurant. The Pines is a dining experience that lends itself to choosing the restaurant first and the fact that you get to enjoy all the pleasures of Yaamava, which is just a delightful secondary happenstance.
The Pines menu is full of worthy dishes to try and adding at least one to your meal is a must, but this is a steakhouse so taking a look at the seemingly endless assortment of high-end steaks on the menu has to be front-and-center when you visit. You can start off with the delicacy of all beef, Japanese Wagyu and Dry Aged Beef, and The Pines has received its Kobe Beef Certification so there is no question that this is the highest quality beef. You certainly can’t go wrong with 45-day dry-aged steaks, they have prime-cut steaks and if you are looking for a meal for the entire table, nothing is going to be the beautifully prepared tomahawk steak. If you can’t find a steak at The Pines to satisfy you, well then steak might not be for you.
While that list of steaks is impressive, The Pines knows that steak is not for everyone and that is why the rest of the menu is just as impressive. The selection of seafood is good enough to make you forget about steak for one evening. You can choose the delicately prepared olive oil poached halibut, pan-roasted king salmon served with spring pea risotto and miso-glazed Chilean sea bass. The Pines also allows you to create your surf & turf, featuring jumbo prawns, crab legs, cold water lobster tail and King Crab & Caviar Oscar.
Now that you know what you have to look forward to, you can get things started with what The Pines refers to as their “Collection 86”. which is a compilation of the finest in wine, spirits, beer and cigars for you to enjoy with your meal. You are going to find a collection that you won’t find anywhere, a Glenfiddich 50-year-old whiskey, some wonderful aged stouts from Bottle Logic and an incredible assortment of wines. The wonderment doesn’t end at “Collection 86”, The Pines has a long list of wines in their collection and an incredible six variations of the Old Fashion to choose from, with each being unique in their own way.
The menu is truly all encompassing from start to finish. You can bein with selections from their raw bar and take it all in with their seafood tower. They create seasonal dishes and you might not think salad when you come to The Pines, but the Fall Harvest Salad gives you those holiday, fall flavors in each bite. The salad is filled with apples, candied walnuts, goat cheese, the unique cand cane beer chips and it is finished off with a local honey vinaigrette. One of the most flavorful salads you will ever try. If that wasn’t enough, there is hand-crafted pasta that would leave you thinking this was an Italian restaurant and not a steakhouse.
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino deserves all the awards and praise as not only the best casino in Southern California, but in the entire country. The casino is truly breathtaking, but there are not many places that you can take in a concert seeing Mariah Carey or Ed Sheeran in a truly intimate setting and then steps away complete your evening with a world-class meal at The Pines.
The Pines is “modern” in their approach and menu, but they deliver a classic steakhouse experience in every possible way. From service that is simply as good as you find anywhere, to an intimate setting and an upscale experience that makes any meal a memorable one.
For more information, visit: The Pines and Yaamava’ Resort & Casino
Photos Courtesy: Yaamava’ Resort & Casino
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