‘Hip, sexy’ steakhouse chain finds ‘perfect’ Idaho expansion city: ‘It’s little California’

When California restaurateur Karoline Platt started hunting for a western expansion city, she had her heart set on her old home state, Colorado. Or maybe Utah.

Then one of her general managers — angling for a move to Idaho — suggested ... Meridian?

“It’s little California,” Platt remembers him saying. “It’s just booming. It’s on fire.”

Platt and her husband, Mark, traveled to the Gem State. They stayed in Boise. “Cute little charming town,” she says. “Very clean. And Meridian was, what, 10 minutes away?”

“.... When we went to Meridian,” Platt adds in a phone interview, “it was like, ‘This feels perfect.’ We both said, ‘This is great. This is definitely the crowd that we like to cater to.’ It just felt right.”

If you’re a fan of upscale steak and seafood, their newest restaurant should feel right, too. The Platts plan to open a fourth Land Ocean New American Grill in the former Pinnacle Sports Grill at 2902 N. Eagle Road — by late October, Karoline says, if all goes according to plan.

Founded in Folsom a decade ago, the chain operates two locations in the Sacramento Valley. As of 2019, there’s also one in Reno, Nevada. The Platts also own two wine country-inspired Sienna restaurants in the Sacramento area. Mark, who has an extensive restaurant background, spent 10 years with the Chart House and five with P.F. Chang’s.

Closed since 2018, the 7,350-square-foot former Pinnacle Sports Grill is “a home run,” Karoline says. “The layout inside is what our Land Ocean is. The bar’s in the center. The seating’s all around it in a u-shape. We were like, ‘This is a gold mine.’ ”

Land Ocean will transform the restaurant’s look, creating a “chill” ambiance, she says. “We have nice amber lighting. Everyone looks hot and sexy in there,” she explains with a laugh.

You’ll still be able to stroll in wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Land Ocean’s founding vision was to “reinvent the steakhouse,” she says. “Let’s not have it be stuffy. Let’s make it hip and sexy. But it really is just a modern take on the traditional steakhouse.”

Land Ocean menus don’t differentiate significantly between restaurants. On the dinner menu in Folsom, patrons find starters ($8-$17), entree salads ($18-$19), American Kobe burgers and sandwiches ($14-$19) and “Land and Ocean” choices ($19-$49).

Along with preparing fine-dining standards such as Blackened Salmon (sautéed spinach, cilantro rice, chipotle mango sauce and pineapple salsa, $26) or a Ribeye (16-ounce, mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and grilled asparagus, $42), Land Ocean occasionally likes to jazz things up.

Need some heat? Do a Spicy Filet Mignon Stir-Fry (jasmine rice, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, broccolini, carrots and snow peas, $19). Or Teriyaki Wagyu Top Sirloin (8-ounce, mashed potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and grilled asparagus, $26).

Another popular selection is the market-priced Fitness Special: A chef’s creation that is under 500 calories and changes regularly.

Land Ocean offers happy hour Monday through Friday. There’s also a brunch on Saturdays and Sundays “that people love,” Platt says.

With growth exploding in western Ada County, the Platts are excited to debut the Land Ocean concept in Meridian, she says. Boise is “beautiful,” she said, but the location on Eagle Road felt like the spot.

“We don’t build in the big city,” she explains. “We’re not going to do downtown Boise. We do well in the suburbs. That’s our clientele.”