Our latest First Friday Feast was with United MileagePlus Experiences at Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena (CA), filled with great food and good company.

First Friday Feast is a monthly series debuting on the first Friday of each month and elaborates on a recent dining experience.

We’ve been trying to have a date night each month this year (and post about it on the first Friday of every month). Sometimes we bring the kids along for date night and sometimes they stay at home. But that’s fine by us–the kids are more than welcome to tag along if they want. This time we decided it was time to give United another shot at a great evening.

Booking with United Mileage Plus

We’ve done two past United MileagePlus Experiences with our United miles:

• The NYE party at 71Above in Downtown LA celebrating the start to 2023.
• An evening at Dear Jane’s in Marina Del Rey in February 2024.

These types of dinners are events where United Airlines buys out the entire restaurant for the evening. In turn, they sell the seats back to members for a handful of points (17,500 United miles per seat). These aren’t true auctions and instead have fixed pricing, but a limited number of seats.

Given our last-minute savings on our United flight to Tahiti, I figured it was worth a splurge to dine once more with United. We’ve greatly enjoyed our past dinners, making this an easier sell to myself.

One small programming note: United always has raffles to give away 35,000 miles. We won the raffle once, but they always follow the same picking process up to this point:

• Newest credit cardholder of all attendees wins (unclear what the cutoff is for winning–do new cardholders as of that day count? or does it need to be as of date booked?)
• Oldest credit cardholder of all attendees wins
• Furthest-traveled member (also unclear how this is defined as someone flew in from Australia but moved to San Diego, and drove up to attend this)

They also issue points to random names drawn out of a hat, but those three seem to be a constant.

Arrival to Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena

There was a little bit of a complication driving to Pasadena this evening. While traffic is always a pain in Los Angeles, there was an extra bit of a struggle because the Dodgers were playing in the World Series that same evening at LA. The main freeway into Pasadena (110) also passes right by Dodgers Stadium, so that’s fun.

Anyways, Jenn and I still made it on time to Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena.

Just inside the door is a welcome message to all United credit cardholders. It’s cool that (for now at least) all cardholders get to bid on these packages, including the no-annual-fee card.

Also by the entrance is a certificate of authorization for selling certain Japanese beef in 2023. It looks like the most prestigious and impressive permission slip we’ve seen.

Drinks and passed appetizers

After checking in with the host stand, we moved our way over to the bar, where everyone was hanging out until dinner service. The bar is pretty neatly organized, with a rectangular shape, showcasing all the alcohol. Several bartenders helped serve everyone. One nice thing about the evening is that all alcohol is covered by United. Open bars can be fun sometimes.

While the evening officially started at 6:30PM, it looked like some had been here for some time before that.

To help with making a selection, there is a menu of two cocktails, two wines, and three beers. I did overhear others choosing to order off-menu and not getting turned down. Though we wouldn’t recommend going too far off menu given how busy the bartenders were all evening.

The bar staff also announced that all their syrups and liqueurs are made in-house, which is pretty awesome. We love it when bars go the extra mile to focus on quality of ingredients.

We ordered one of each cocktail. Between the two, Jenn preferred the Peach…Please!! Despite the inclusion of vodka (which we don’t like), the overall peach flavor completely masks the alcohol. If you want a stronger-tasting drink, Talent Scout is a great bourbon option.

It feels like we don’t get too many chances these days to hang out as a couple, so it’s nice to appreciate it when we get it.

Passed appetizers

There were three passed appetizers for the evening. I didn’t get the official names of the appetizers, but I can try cross-refencing against their menu. First up is Steak Tartare, which is as its name describes. There is a small amount of horseradish cream on it but doesn’t overwhelm. We found it light and tasty.

Next up are the Hamachi Shots, which is a little hard to shoot. We like the combination of flavors like dashi and ponzu. The radish and sprouts add some good crunch. I wish I had a clearer photo of the hamachi, but oh well. This was our favorite of the passed appetizers.

Last up is the Wagyu Gyoza, which is good, but we prefer our gyoza a bit more pan-fried on the bottom. It has good flavor, and works if you’re in the mood for a dumpling version of a steak.

Go figure that the bar had the Dodgers game on TV, and that quite a few attendees were glued to it.

The fixed menu at Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena

We had a set menu for this evening, composed of the following:

• Amuse bouche
• Caesar salad
• Choice of main
  • Atlantic salmon
  • Filet mignon
  • Handmade pasta
• Yuzu cheesecake

On top of that, United offered wine pairings with each course. And, the bartenders still made the rounds to continue offering more drinks to attendees. You certainly won’t go thirsty at these United MileagePlus Exclusives events. The generosity United has shown for these events is part of the reason why we are open to returning.

These events are larger, with two rooms of guests. Our table ended up not fully occupied, but it also gave a chance to United MileagePlus leadership to stop by and chat with us. It’s also nice to know that one of them grew up in our neck of the woods. (To be clear, I never call out that I’m a blogger or that I have anything to write about the evening.)

There were two Jeff’s from United here to host the evening. They mentioned this was their 14th event, with more to come in non-hubs as they try to expand engagement. That’s great that they’re looking to expand, especially into competitor hubs like Philadelphia and Seattle.

The food at Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena

Course one

The evening started with some bread service. Bread is always our Achilles’ heel, and having multiple options to choose from was hard to resist.

But perhaps more interesting than the bread itself was the butter. There are three different types of butter:

• Regular butter on the tray,
• Beef tallow butter in the dish, and
• Honey butter in the bone that looks like fake bone marrow

Of the three, I liked the honey butter since it offers a bit of sweetness and depth of flavor.

The amuse bouche was a furikake croquette with manchego cheese inside. It has plenty of crispiness on the outside. It’s a little heavier as an amuse bouche than others we’ve had, but it’s not a bad start to the evening at all.

Course two

The next course was a Caesar’s salad, which was very refreshing. In some ways, it’s hard to mess up a Caesar’s salad and some might not consider it fancy, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t also be a good salad to eat. You’ll also see the wine glasses starting to pile up–both a glass of champagne and some white wine at my table.

Main course

Both Jenn and I ordered the filet mignon. It felt almost necessary given we’re at a steakhouse. Jenn always thinks it’s weird when the waiter asks me how I want my steak, I reply with “the redder, the better”.

The steak is excellent, with a great crust and juicy tenderness inside. The mashed potatoes and broccolini were also superbly cooked. The potatoes have a lot of butter and cream, making it go down easy. Jenn even said she liked the mashed potatoes more than the steak, but maybe that’s the alcohol speaking?

And, yes, observant readers might noticed that I caught up on my alcohol, but now have some red wine and a beer. Those bartenders caught me in a moment where I would agree to more alcohol (though I would end up not finishing the beer). We did get a chance to chat with the bartender, including where he’s from and how he’s enjoying it here in Southern California.

Dessert course

The final course for the evening was a delicious circle of yuzu cheesecake. A lovely end that added a good amount of sweetness. Thankfully, it’s not that sweet, but came with an ice wine that added some extra sweetness the dish lacked.

Parting gift

As a thank you for all attendees, you get a gift bag to commemorate the evening. Each attendee gets one, so if you come with a guest, you’ll each come home with one.

Inside the bag are a mortar and pestle, and a pack of seasoning. I’m glad that the gifts are always different at each event. It’d be a shame to always get the same gift from them.

Recommendation: Yes

Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena serves up excellent food, which is ultimately the most important thing. We found their steak to be delicious, and the other dishes to be superb as well. Sure, coming as part of the United MileagePlus dinner experience is a bonus, but we absolutely wouldn’t mind returning for a date night or special occasion. Although, there would probably be less wine involved next time we’re here.

Have you been to Alexander’s Steakhouse Pasadena or any of their other locations?

Suggested reading:

• Other Destinations and Restaurants We’ve Visited
• Quick Hit: Earning Amex Resy Credits
• Keep or Cancel: How to Handle Too Many Credit Cards