Mastro's Steakhouse has been on my list of must-go places for awhile now. For me, it was choosing between the pretentious Beverly Hills location or the Thousand Oaks location in the San Fernando Valley. Plus, if you follow Chelsea Handler, you know that she loves Mastro's. Is that a good enough reason to eat there? No. I'm picky about who I take food advice from. Trust me, Chelsea Handler didn't do it. But here I was anyhow...

The atmosphere was a little too dark for me. I don't like dark lightening. It's a personal thing. Also, they have a live band in the middle of the restaurant. I personally don't care for a live band. I was there for the food. And I love bread! The bread basket was great. It came with pretzel rolls, garlic cheese crisps, sourdough, and a few others I never got to.

Raw oysters are a must! I personally would rather go to a cheaper place like Boathouse for the oysters.

Ta da! So I was about to order a rib eye or another cut until the waiter told me about their specials. Damn them! Once he said that Waygu Rib-Eye was on there. I caved. I have an obsession with Japanese anything even if it's just the name. It was American Waygu steak for $96. Zero Japaneseness aside from the name but I caved.

I ordered it raw. Yes, bleeding steak sounds great. Anyways the bone was humungeous. I actually was able to take it home. The Waygu was good, but nothing great. Not $96 great.

The Lobster Mashed Potatoes for $34 - filled every bite with a clump of lobster in it. Between two people, it's plenty to share. There's a huge chunk of melted butter that comes with it as well. It's a big portion. You'll have to take it home.

Chocolate Layer Cake was presented. It is super good. We took a couple bites and had them pack it up. We had wanted to try the famous Butter Cake but we were way too full.