Holdren's steakhouse

The latest of the steakhouses opened in our neighborhood is Holdren's Steaks & Seafood. This reasonably priced restaurant with its clublike atmosphere, dark wood shutters, brick tile walls and warm lighting is perfect for a business lunch or a nice dinner out.

The main dining room is open to the bar and a bit noisy when busy. There is also a great wine dining room which is more intimate if you are lucky enough to get seated there.

Start your meal off with Clay's shrimp scampi, fabulous with a rich sun-dried tomato cream sauce. The jumbo roasted garlic pepper onion rings sounded great but had too much breadcrumb coating and no flavor, to my palate.

The steaks are Holdren's specialties. All Midwestern farm-fed aged beef. I would recommend the "Cowboy Cut," a 24-ounce bone-in ribeye, $38, or the prime New York strip, $33. Both will melt in your mouth and you will hardly need a knife to cut them.

The stuffed chicken breast, $19, is terrific. It was perfectly done with light breading and stuffed with a mixture of spinach and ricotta cheese, topped off with a rich Champagne sauce.

Try the barbecued rack of ribs, $18 to $27; they are so tender the meat falls off the bones. Delicious, but the sauce is a bit bland.

For those seafood lovers there are plenty of choices: salmon, sea bass, lobster, scallops or shrimp.

All dinners are served with your choice of soup or salad, and choice of potatoes or perfectly grilled vegetables.

For dessert share the s'mores on the campfire; as the menu says, "just like sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows, only this time it's at the dinner table," $7. Sure to put a smile on your face.

Holdren's has a full bar and an impressive wine list with a large selection of wines by the bottle or glass at reasonable prices.

This new restaurant is a great addition to our neighborhood.

Right off the 101 Freeway at the Ventu Park exit, Holdren's is located at 1714-A Newbury Road, Newbury Park. Call (805) 498-1314 for more information.

Holdren's is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays; for dinner 5 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Marty Bee is a pseudonym for The Acorn's restaurant reviewer. To preserve the objectivity of Mr. Bee's work, his appearance at each restaurant is kept a secret. To read past reviews or make recommendations, go to www.martybee.com.