Reinventing a Classic

The Shadow Oaks Steakhouse
by Lauren LaBelle

No one likes to see something that was once great fall on hard times. Many of us, when we see an example of this, will sigh, remembering the ‘good old days,’ and continue with our lives in search of a great replacement. Not Sonia Casas. She saved her favorite local spot, the Shadows restaurant, when it went up for sale. She remembered the restaurant in its glory days as a “classic,” and after gutting and rebuilding the site, has added a few of her own personal touches.

In November of 2007, Casas, along with her husband, Alfredo, reopened the restaurant and renamed it The Shadow Oaks Steakhouse. The couple also owns Stockton’s Bella Bridal and a turkey ranch in Sonoma.. To celebrate the opening of the Shadow Oaks Steakhouse, Casas invited the Mayor and his office, the Stockton city council, friends, and family to a complimentary soft opening. Since then, the restaurant has found large success in the area, drawing customers who have been patronizing the restaurant since it originally opened in 1963, as well as a younger, new crowd that also enjoys the upscale cuisine and sophisticated setting that doesn’t intimidate. George Elliot, Shadow Oaks general manager, wine director, maître d’, “and all around grunt” says, “Our theme is that we’re as fancy as you want us to be, but we’re as casual as you need us to be. We’re fine dining without the pomp and circumstance.”

  Elliot knows fine dining. His impressive resume includes some of the most respected names in the restaurant business. Before moving to the Central Valley, where he and his wife came to pursue their teaching careers, he worked in such restaurants as Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois in Santa Monica, and Orso in West Hollywood. He also worked at a fine dining Italian-Basque restaurant in Reno, Nevada named Placido’s with Tony Turner, who is now the chef at Shadow Oaks. Turner, originally from Michigan, has been previously employed at Morton’s Steakhouse in Chicago, and attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

For guests that prefer lighter fare, Shadow Oaks is known for its seafood and pasta dishes, like Lobster Ravioli, Halibut, and Filet of Sole, however, the chops and steaks at this steakhouse are the real crowd-pleasers. “Everything is certified Angus Beef,” says Elliot, who recommends the Dry Aged New York Rib-Eye, and the Lamb and Veal Chops. For a special treat, Elliot suggests the Porterhouse Deluxe, which is a twenty-four ounce porterhouse steak. When being served steak at a restaurant, Elliot lists some things you should be aware of. “The first thing that makes a great steak is the quality of the meat. You should be looking for the tenderness of it. The sauce should compliment the grade of meat—we make our sauces, and we recommend that all the sauces come on the side because we want the steak to be the most important thing.”

 Also important to the fine dining experience is the wine menu. Casas, Elliot, and the staff at Shadow Oaks offer wines from around the globe, including Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, and Lodi.

“My love of wines is really extensive,” says Elliot. “Our list has everything from Opus One 2002, which is $450 a bottle—we also sell Cristal—to a house wine, which is Angeline, priced at $25 a bottle. We call it eclectic wines from around the world.”

“We have a fairly small wine list compared to world-class steakhouses. But what makes our list very special is that we hand-picked all these wines. We have about one hundred wines, and I know a little something about each of them,” says Elliot.

Casas, who has extensive personal knowledge of fine tequilas, added a selection of the agave-based alcohol at the restaurant to rival any upscale bottle of wine they offer. There are bottles of Grand Patron Anejo, which sells for a cool $85 a shot, to Chinicos and everything in between. It’s just another great take, from Casas, on how to update a classic.

The Shadow Oaks Steakhouse

7555 Pacific Ave., Stockton, (209) 477-5547