Steak-Off

A few weeks back I had the absolute pleasure of enjoying not one, not two, but THREE of Vancouver's steakhouses all within one weeks' time. This blog is about them and my assessment of what "makes" a steakhouse a good steakhouse. Now I know a good steak. I wet-age my meat and can BBQ it to perfection so trust me when I say, I KNOW STEAK.

People have different ideas of what makes a good steak. Some prefer steak to smothered in some kind of sauce or melting blue cheese or perhaps both if it's a special occasion. Some people like the good old reliable Montreal Steak spice. Or perhaps just a naked steak seared on each side for approximately one minute so it's still blue and mooing in the middle. But no matter how the final presentation of the steak is, people just want a good steak.

My first steakhouse that week was to Gothams. I hadn't been to Gothams before so I was pretty darn excited to be treated to this steakhouse. I had heard many fabulous things about this place. The decor, the food, the overall experience. Well........it was good..... but quite frankly.....it wasn't how I had pictured it in my head. It wasn't really busy (granted it was a Monday night) so we sat in the lounge. I had pictured the room to be filled with men in suits smoking cigars, drinking a fabulous Bourbon or scotch, the air buzzing with conversation. But alas, no.

I knew I was going to another steakhouse later in the week so I had decided to stick with one cut of meat, the New York strip. Yum freakin' yum. So I had ordered that, medium rare. And that's exactly what I got. It was pretty tasty, but it was also $47 for 16oz (or 14oz, can't remember). Oh, and this isn't' the Keg, it's not like you get "sides". You have to order sides and pay for them separately. I think what made Gothams fun that night was because of the peeps that I was there with more than the food. Not sure if I would go back to tell you the truth.

Two nights later I had the pleasure of going to Black and Blue, a fabulous steakhouse on Alberni Street. Wow, now that place was happening, even for a Wednesday. I again had ordered the same size New York strip but I did add a tiny bit of blue cheese to my order. Can I just say....yum freakin' yum. But again, $47 and you had to get your sides separately. However, that being said, dear Lord they had the best creamed corn. Creamed corn with jalapenos. UM, YUM! At this point in my adventure if I had to pick between the two steakhouses, Black and Blue hands down. The price is the same but the quality of food (including the sides) and the atmosphere is better at Black and Blue.

Then came the last steakhouse......the one I was most excited about trying. The Brave Bull House of Steaks at the corner of Clark & Hastings. I have been driving past this place since I was a kid and after awhile it was added to my huge list of things to do. The only problem: finding people to go with me. This place doesn't exactly look like it would be a great place to eat, it's creepy. But after awhile I finally found two crazy enough friends to join me, Scott & Justin.

I had read a lot about this place over the years. It's run by the most lovely little Asian couple, Linda and her husband (his name slips my mind). She handles the front, he does the cooking. We got there and there were only a few other tables, the place was empty. However, every time someone would come in off the street, Linda would kindly turn them away explaining that they were full..... yes, there were many confused looking faces from these people that had to leave because the place was seriously empty.

I had ordered the same cut of meat, $14.95 and it came with your choice of soup or salad, a baked potato and veggies. You can tell that Linda's husband cooked our three steaks one at a time because of they were certainly not cooked exactly how we had asked, but it didn't matter. It wasn't necessarily for the food, it was for the overall experience and to meet Linda. She had come over to our table and spent quite a bit of time talking to us. I had told her that I had been wanting to come here since I was a kid and if it would be ok to have my picture taken with her..... she couldn't have been more delighted. So I got my picture taken with Linda and I will be taking her a copy because she wants to hang it on her wall. AWESOME!

So to conclude, I wouldn't go back to Gotham's. I would go back to Black and Blue, the food was amazing and so was the atmosphere. As for The Brave Bull, I had such an amazing first time there, I wouldn't want to risk ruining the memory with a second. :)

Steak

"I LOVE STEAK"

For those of you out there that might not quite know me all that well, there is one thing that you should know..... I was a vegetarian for 14 years. Yes, 14 years. Perhaps longer if I think about it. I grew up in Kamloops surrounded by farm animals. They were my friends. But being a child you don't really get much input in what you can and cannot eat. Well, I guess in retrospect I could have said something but I'm pretty sure the response would have been "Eat it" with a look that only a mother could give that would submit you into doing exactly what she said. Just one look, that's all it took. My mom was really good at giving the "look". I didn't really do anything wrong out f fear of getting the look of disappointment followed by the slow shake of the head and her turning and walking away. No words had to be spoken, that look was enough.

So a few years ago when I started to date my ex, he spoke highly of steak. How delicious it was. How tasty it was. Satisfying. God-like meat. In my defense, I had been contemplating eating meat again. So after weighing the pros and cons I decided to try a bite of his steak. Just one bite..... one small bite...... OH_MY_GOD. Really? It was the most tasty bit of food I had put in my mouth in a looooong time. Long story short, I basically ate his entire steak and for the next 8 days I had steak every night.

Fast forward a couple of years, I now consider steak one of the items I shall take with me to a desert island. If I had to pick between taking a friend or steak...well, it better be a damn good friend. I also "wet-age" my meat. Nothing like a big slab of meat soaking in it's own juices rotting for 6 weeks to make your mouth water. Nothing beats a steak.

This week I finally got to try a few steaks houses out of coincidence. Gotham's on Monday, Black & Blue on Wednesday and tonight.....The Brave Bull House of Steaks at the corner of Clark & East Hastings. You know the one, the one everyone drives by and I'm sure shudders.

So I shall be blogging about my three steak houses and the pros and cons of each. But no matter what, no one, and I mean NO ONE can BBQ a wet-aged steak like myself. Just sayin' :)