Born in the western part of Ukraine to an Eastern Orthodox mother and a Jewish father, Chef Oleg Shaynor has cooked in and learned lessons from many parts of the world. His family fled Ukraine in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. They headed to Israel, staying in Jewish community centers in Lithuania, Italy, Austria, Alexandria and Morocco along the way.
But the road to his current gig at Alexander’s Steakhouse in Cupertino started in Boston, where Shaynor worked at a place doing Japanese fusion based on illegally sourced wagyu.
Everything is on the up and up at Alexander’s Steakhouse, where Shaynor is revamping old-school Japanese dishes in creative ways. Take the smoked beef tataki, for example, with Shiro dashi and black garlic, or the Wagyu fried rice with onsen egg, shiitake, nori and bonito.
“We still have shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad (to which is added furikake and white anchovies), a steakhouse wedge and all the old-school stuff,” says Shaynor. “But we added dishes that are Japanese-centric, made with local California produce, on a seasonal basis.”
Being hypervigilant about seasonality is what drives him, and he typically switches up one salad every month. The fall chicory and citrus salad with almond crumble, ricotta salata, fried scallion and fennel vinaigrette is a prime example. During the late summer, we feasted on fried Jimmy Nardello peppers topped with Meyer lemon marmalade and micro greens.
Shaynor also features seasonal treatments for proteins like scallops, sea bass, king salmon and octopus. The silky tender Hokkaido scallops with sunchoke puree and pomegranate were phenomenal. And of course, there’s wagyu: so many choices. A simple filet with bearnaise proved magnificently melty, yet with a wonderful meaty chew and flavor.
Not one to rest on past accomplishments, Shaynor’s challenge since taking over the Cupertino Alexander’s three years ago has been to make sure that the steakhouse doesn’t rest on its laurels either. Shaynor, who previously worked at Alexander’s San Francisco location, says there was a time when the Cupertino restaurant was so busy and overbooked that they could charge a premium. Then the pandemic upended every aspect of the restaurant business, particularly the world of fine dining.
One of the most important things Shaynor has done is to realign the menu so that people are not overwhelmed by the offerings or the prices. Many people visiting for the first time may not be real foodies, so he wants to avoid the feeling of being pretentious.
“We are trying to get people to come back and dine with us again,” says the chef. “We are doing many of the same things were doing in the past, but without being pompous and cluttered. And we’re trying to keep prices reasonable.”
At the same time, he wants the menu to provide some excitement for people to try something new. “We hope to open up someone’s palate,” says Shaynor. “We want to separate us from those chain steakhouses; we are a small, family-owned place.”
And they still offer a beautiful assorted bread basket with many delights, including house-made black sesame crackers and butters, at no charge. Refills are just $5.
Sourcing meat is critical, especially at current high prices. “People are shocked when they go to the grocery store,” says Shaynor. “They think we as a restaurant are immune. We’re not.”
Alexander’s is passionate about supporting a collection of smaller ranchers in the greater Omaha region, where consistency is less important than the overall quality and flavor.
“I hate conglomerate farms and commodity farms with animals in cages,” says Shaynor. “A New York strip that melts in your mouth means that there is no muscle, just fat. That animal didn’t ever move. Costco gets away with this because people will buy it.”
Higher prices also mean that people are eating out less and less, notes the chef.
“When I first moved to San Francisco, people were eating out at nice restaurants at least once, if not twice a week. Now, it’s more like once or twice a year! It used to be cheaper to eat out, but now it’s become a luxury.”
Despite these challenges, Shaynor feels positive. “We have hunkered down, and now that creativity is being showcased,” he says. “It’s that je ne sais quoi of eating at a great restaurant.
“Food is more exciting than ever,” he adds. “The challenge is, how do we get the younger generation to come in to a semi-fancy steakhouse like ours? It appears they have fallen out of love with dining as a social event.”
He laughs as he shares the story of 10 Korean girls ordering a giant tomahawk steak just to take an Instagram photo. “They didn’t even eat it!”
Alexander’s Steakhouse is located in Main Street Cupertino, 19379 Stevens Creek Blvd. For reservations, visit https://alexanderssteakhouse.com/cupertino.
Dining and Cooking