Manhattan Supper Club Switches Menu A Bit, Still Great

As long as we've been adults, my best cousins, friends, and I have celebrated birthdays at the Fullerton branch of Stubrik's, the fine local steakhouse chain. If I'm in North County and want a slab o' meat, I still go there and heartily recommend it to all. But my current beef obsession is at Manhattan Supper Club in Orange, so I treated the boys to a dinner there recently.

Manhattan's main claim is that all of its meats are organic and grass-fed, and you can taste the difference with every bite, a sweetness so juicy sauces aren't necessary, a sensation that will make you never want to try any other steak. Even my best friend and cousin, Mexican losers who can content themselves with Pizza Hut and Norm's for the rest of their days, immensely enjoyed the pork chop and sirloin, could taste the difference, will come back for more.

I hope others will, as well. Every time I've visited Manhattan Supper Club, it's largely empty. Part of it is that the space it occupies is so damn big, but it's also not exactly in the most happening of spots--on Main Street in Orange, between St. Joseph's Hospital and Chapman Avenue. Inside is the party--part lounge for men, part bar, part secluded rooms for dates. If you think the steaks are too expensive--most around $30--then gorge on their cheap-eats approved $14 quartet of sliders--and if the best burgers outside of In 'n' Out and TK's don't entice you enough, they're now serving garlic chips as well.

Manhattan Supper Club, 202 S. Main St., Orange, (714) 978-6161; www.manhattansupperclub.com.