Stark's Steakhouse Awards

Stark's Steakhouse Restaurant Review:

On the fringes of downtown Santa Rosa, three blocks from the soup kitchen line and just over the railroad tracks, Stark’s red neon marquee lights up the night. The ample front room with spiffy polished wood and black leather packs in regular Joes wanting to feel like a million bucks. Many claim Stark’s happy hour is the happiest in town: go for wildly inexpensive prime rib banh mi sandwiches, crispy calamari, ahi tartare tacos, oysters and truffle fries while sipping house martinis on a bar stool or at a cozy fireplace table. Big spenders head straight for the suave, woodsy dining room with red lamps, white linens and privacy barriers between booths. Prime or choice steaks, grass-fed, dry-aged, Kobe and sometimes local, beckon indulgent adornments from béarnaise to bone marrow or truffled egg. A you-build-it burger bar, brick chicken and Maine lobster round out the surf-and-turf offerings. Hefty à la cartes include cauliflower au gratin, black truffle and goat cheese mashers, and Brussels sprouts with linguiça, blue cheese and apples. Go for broke with finales such as cream cheese pie with brandied cherries or chocolate-banana bread pudding. A worldly wine list features steakhouse favorites.