Aside from Dal Rae’s, what are some other good business-lunch kind of spots near Downey? Price not an issue, Client thank you lunch.
Bizarra Capital or Colonia Publica in Whittier?
For Downey, I usually get popcorn chicken and fried squid at Class 302. Doesn’t really help you though.
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Also some options:
Clearman’s Steak N’Stein (Pico Rivera) - old school steakhouse with red booths and eclectic decor inside (think stained-glass windows and mid-century European art on the walls in a dimly lit setting). I actually do happy hour here a lot by the fire pit. The house dressings are great, and they have good cheese bread in addition to the solid steaks. The baked potatoes come with a crock of hot cheese sauce, and your can add the green onion-sour cream dressing to it. The broiled lobster tails are stuffed with some sort of stuffing that my best friend adores. The folks who work here are interesting and the bartenders are known to make stiff cocktails. I prefer this place to Dal Rae because I think Dal Rae is too stuffy.
Lock & Key Social Drinkery (Downey) - it’s basically a hipster gastropub that you can find in the city, but you don’t have to drive into the city. The food here is good…I love the buffalo cauliflower. But they do dry-aged steaks (a la tomahawk), and the steaks are solid. I would avoid the duck confit fries…I’ve had it twice and both time the duck confit was dried out. The bacon candy is good, but the bottom of the serving vessel is super greasy. The cocktails and whiskey selection here is probably one of the best outside the city and they have an awesome selection of beers. A bit more casual, but good food and drink.
The Nixon Chops & Whiskey (Whittier) - Katsuji Tanabe’s foray into the steakhouse game. While I haven’t been, yet…I hear it’s good. From the photos alone, it’s very nice inside and may be an appropriate place for a thank you lunch.
Amor Y Tacos (Cerritos) - I’ve been going since it opened and JGold just gave it a nice review in recent months. The mole tots are out of this world, and anything on the entree list is bound to make even the pickiest of eaters happy. I’m a huge fan of the braised short rib, pork belly, and whatever the special happens to be. There was a delicious pozole with Hatch chiles the other week. The churros make an excellent dessert. Delicious margaritas…great bar, and they make their own agua frescas everyday.
The Original Fish Company (Los Alamitos) - a bit out of the Downey area, but the clam chowder is the best in L.A. Both New England and Manhattan are great. I’ve been coming here for years, and enjoy pretty much anything on the menu. They adjust it daily based on the fresh catch that’s brought in. Recently renovated so it also looks super nice.
@A5KOBE also made some solid recs. Bizarra Capital is on my regular rotation, too.
Also in the same plaza as the Class 302 is Gaucho Grill if you want to go the Argentinian steakhouse route. I had a pretty nice dinner there last year, and the wine list wasn’t too shabby.
Happy eating!
Killer recs, thank you!!! I was dreading another Dal Rae’s lunch. Hope to hook you up with one too someday soon. Love this site 
Especially if you like mole, and even if you don’t
Ipse, the wealth of your knowledge is truly staggering. Perhaps you should be the new Zagat. I think you know every crevice of the LA/OC area.
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