We were recently invited to the first "taste and tweet" event at El Gaucho in Bellevue. There we sat with over 20 fellow "tweeps" to check out their new lunch menu & share our thoughts online via Twitter. We had yet to dine with El Gaucho so we were definitely excited to finally get the chance to experience the famed steakhouse & be a part of this intriguing social experiment.
The meal began with Arnold Palmer, the first of a trio of lemonades & wild mushroom marsala flatbread - both of which can be found on El Gaucho's regular dining menu.
All three lemonades + the fourth beverage: Scratch Mint Limeade were tasty but our fave was definitely the strawberry lemonade. It was light, refreshing, not too sweet & just a bit tangy- spike it a bit & it's definitely the perfect summer evening cocktail!
The fantastically crisp yet chewy flatbread was followed by a beautiful ahi tuna salad. The ingredients were fresh, the lemon vinaigrette was flavorful but not overpowering, and the ahi tuna was seared to perfection.
We were then presented with a tenderloin sandwich. Seeing as how we're not big on the red meat, we had our reservations but we felt it was only polite & for a good cause (i.e. social media) that we suck it up & check out what makes El Gaucho so popular. For sure we have no credibility- we don't know what a good tenderloin sandy would be, but everybody around us really seemed to enjoy it & claimed it was the best of the meal!
Our personal fave was the last entree: a portobello mushroom burger. Yum, yum, yum! This veggie burger was definitely the best that we've had & the fries were delicious. If for no other reason, we will absolutely be returning to El Gaucho for this meat-free burger!
While we noshed on the delectable mushroom burger, our meat-loving peers seemed to enjoy the sirloin burger:
By the end we were completely full & maxed out of ability to taste - or even tweet - when we were presented with the chocolate macadamia lollipop. It was so Top Chef, that we just had to taste it. It was super rich for us but we could definitely see rich chocolate enthusiasts loving the bite size dessert.
We highly recommend El Gaucho! Their dishes are spectacular & meticulously made with the freshest & top quality ingredients. We definitely plan on going back & checking out more of the goodness their menu has to offer - this is definitely a girl's guide fave!
3 comments:
What a great event and spectacular food! One thing I'd love to point out is the pristine, warm and knowledgeable service. I was as satisfied and blown away by how they treated us as I was by the food. Having Chef Steve Cain come present each dish (and how he sources his ingredients) was a treat. David (Manager) was so diligent and approachable, too!
I love seeing that the Gaucho Bellevue Team seems to love working there, and enjoy taking care of their clients. That was the "cherry on the top" for me. Oh, and getting to meet some lovely people as well ;-)
Best,
V
Could you fix the first line of your last paragraph, please? Fun.....nicely objective review. The fix will convey your true thoughts.
Valentina- Thanks so much for the comment. You're so right, the El Gaucho team was spectacular! They were so kind and hospitable. They definitely provided an all around amazing experience!
Anonymous- thanks for pointing out that sentence. It was definitely a little bit confused. I think its fixed now. :)
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Thanks in advance for the comment, lovely! xx