The newly opened La Jolla Strip Club – A Steak Place (get your mind out of the gutter; “strip” steak) is a breath of fresh air among the usual suspects in the University Town Center area. The former Trophy’s has been transformed into a “cook your own steaks” joint, like its sister restaurant, Gaslamp Strip Club. The La Jolla version is not just another “me, too,” establishment. This place has got a groove all its own.

The Strip Club Wine Tunnel

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An entrance into the dining room is enough to trigger a gasp. A long tunnel of wine bottles leads you to the bar and dining room. (Now, this is the kind of tunnel to get trapped in.) Literally, a couple hundred bottles surround you, reflecting the ambient light, creating a stunning presence. It’s a bit reminiscent of watching the Star Ship Enterprise going into hyperspeed. Very sexy and cool. This passageway of wine leads you straight to the immense bar and vodka lounge area. The adult-taste treat is the newest cool thing for the Cohn Restaurants since their Oceanside 333 Pacific introduced a dandy and tempting wall-o-vodka. Nothing wrong with having more than 100 types of vodka at your disposal. The bar area is spacious, inviting and a great place to hang whether you’re dining or not.

A Leg Up On Signature Martinis

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The Strip Club is famous for grilling your own steaks: You order your choice of uncooked meat and pony up to the various grills, which are indoor live-flame cooking stations big enough to host eight or 10 aspiring BBQ masters. Add one of the many seasonings provided, and cook to your desired taste and doneness. Be careful about the level of socialization - it is quite easy to get caught up in the gab and torch a perfectly innocent loaf of garlic toast. Magical martinis and fall-in-love-with side dishes (um…truffle mac and cheese) all assemble for a perfect dining experience.

What the La Jolla location offers that its Gaslamp sister doesn’t is lunch with a full menu. Cooking your own steaks is awesome fun, but it does take some time since you tend to chat while you are doing it. Smart to open for lunch with a set menu when business lunchers don’t have the time or probably the inclination to throw a steak on the barbie. There is no lack of delectable items to choose from, even if you’re not the chef for the meal.

Cool, unique entrees include “sinful salads” for the healthy and “seductive sandwiches” for heartier fare. Our business power lunch of three opted for both. Our “lounge act” (appetizers) was a batch of Kinky Calamari in a sweet chili sauce ($9.95). These appetizing jewels of the sea were wonderfully crispy yet not too bready, allowing a nice contrast of heat and sweet to power through.

Lunches include the Main Stage, a luscious salad comprised of mixed greens, smoked bacon, egg, avocado, goat cheese, tomato, and a sweet and spicy mustard vinaigrette that

Grilling Up A Steak

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not only favored the body (healthy) but also the palate (huge salad with great textures and flavors - $11.95).

The appropriately named French Kiss sandwich included house-roasted sirloin, pepper jack cheese, Dijon and caramelized onions ($10.95). Think of it as a top-notch French dip sandwich overflowing with juicy tenderness from the satiating au jus and other components creating a lunchtime masterpiece.

A delicious example of a Philly steak sandwich, the Strip Clubs’ own Jersey Shore (no affiliation with the popular MTV show) crafts a cheese steak hoagie, also available with chicken. American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo top this bad boy off ($10.95). No offense to Philly, but this Jersey sandwich was huge and bursting with flavor. Add fries to the sandwiches (with a unique garlic seasoning), and you have yourself a meal.

While we couldn't partake for lunch, a dessert we would have had is the Rated "R" Root Beer Float (three olives, root beer vodka, amaretto and vanilla ice cream - $7.95). Need we say more?

Whether settling in for lunch or going all out for dinner, La Jolla Strip Club will no doubt satisfy your pangs of hunger in many different ways. The venue is adults only, and prices are affordable, especially for lunch. Service was spot on, and there is ample free parking.

The good: Lunch and dinner menus.

The bad: Can't do the vodka bar at lunch.