PHOTOS: A Sneak Peek Into Menlo Park's New American Steakhouse

When I first walked into the restaurant, a woman in a seductive blue cocktail dress introduced me to lady named Natasha.  She was to be my personal guide to the new LB Steak in Menlo Park. The tone for the evening was set.  

Restaurant Investor Ed Levine and Chef Roland Passot threw a gala Saturday night to introduce their new restaurant to about 70 people from all over the Bay Area.

Sharply dressed men holding trays of champagne flutes roamed freely through the building, offering glasses of liquid celebration to anyone interested in commemorating the event.  Elaborately constructed structures made of shrimp, fruits, and vegetables had been built upon the tables that lined the walls in the front room.  Elegantly dressed-diners plucked morsels with silver tongs from the structures at their leisure and placed them onto small white plates, cocktail party style. 

I meandered through a long hallway amid more men holding trays of food that would make any foodie stop in their tracks, pausing briefly to consider the artistic value of the flowering rosemary that sprouted from the top of a mountain of glistening sausages and green olives.  The tongs called out to me, encouraging me to sample. 

However, I was there to eat steak. "Come now, this is a steakhouse," I told myself, internally encouraging myself to save room for the place's main attraction.

Beyond the mount of olives lay the rear dining room, a.k.a. the meating room.  On the right, stood Chef de Cuisines Ryan Ellison flanked by succulent meats.  On the left, multi-tiered silver trays held an array of colorful confections. 

Yes, this is where I belonged, in the room of meats and sweets. 

Take a look at these pictures I took of what I sampled to get a sense of what the LB Steak menu will contain when the restaurant opens for dinner on Monday night.

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