Player's chophouse

A while back, I picked up a groupon issued by Player's chophouse.  It was $45 for $101 worth of food - 1 appetizer; 2 entrees; and 1 dessert.  

After I read through the review from a blogger who also just recently dined there using a groupon, I decided to use mine as soon as possible because it seemed that the steaks weren't of great values (despite being a "chophouse") and also they were allowing the diners to simply order $101 worth of food instead of strictly following the groupon condition of: 1 appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert.

So off we went! 

Cream ale - $6

The restaurant was quite empty; however the decor wasn't as dated as I thought it would be (although it was definitely not hip; more like a milestones in burnaby).  We were given couple menus to look at, but I only had one question in my mind: whether I can simply go ahead and order whatever items I can that would eventually worth a total of $101 or I have to strictly stick to the 1 appie, 2 entrees and 1 dessert option.

So after approximately 10 minutes, I finally got a chance to speak to our server.

And that was when I really just decided to forget about service and try to focus on food.

He was quite rude and not very attentive at all.  I had to ask him 3 times regarding the question I had in mind - but he couldn't make it clear to me and he sounded quite impatient when I approached him with the same question.
Anyways, services are perhaps hit and misses so I will not make a huge deal out of it.  Though I just want to make a note here that it took us a looonnnnnnnnnggggggg time to get our food......

Steamed mussels - $16

After we placed our order, the drinks came pretty quickly.  So we just sat there and waited for our appetizers to arrive.

...........

.....

More than half an hour later, our appetizers finally arrived.  Jordan and I were so hungry we polished up the plate in no time!

The steamed mussels were alright.  The mussels were a tad over cooked and the curry fennel sauce was quite salty.  But we were really hungry so other than the fact that it was too salty, it tasted alright in general.  

pulled pork poutine - $12

There were so much pulled pork on it!  This dish was almost like, 50% pulled pork and 50% cheese curds+fries... definitely a filling dish!

We enjoyed it mostly because we were really hungry at this point... but even when I was starving, this dish simply tasted mediocre to me.  The pulled pork lacked flavour entirely; and some parts were really dry (though to me dry meat = less fat = healthier protein choice... I know, twisted)

The fries were pretty good - they were quite crispy and held up to the moisture from the gravy and the pulled pork.

When will smoke's poutinerie open?!

Rack of lamb - $36 - pistachio-herb crusted, raspberry dijon mustard, mint demi

I was pleasantly surprised with the lamb rack!

This was probably the best thing that happened to me this evening.

The lamb was really tender and juicy.  The centre was perfectly medium rare and although the sides were a tad pass medium, they were tender regardless.

I also loved the pistachio-herb crust with raspberry dijon mustard - it was slightly sweet and crunchy with plenty of rosemary flavours.  I chewed off the crust from the fat - that's how good it was!

I barely detected mint in the mint demi so... however I still enjoyed the sauce <3

prime rib 16oz - $38 

This was not bad either: the meat was perfectly medium rare and it was so tender (when it just arrived)

I took couple bites of the prime rib and I enjoyed it quite a bit because it was different from the lamb.  The meat was really flavourful and it had a great meaty texture/chew.  However as the prime rib got colder, the texture became chewier.  Solidifying fat maybe?

The yorkshire pudding was really really overcooked.  But the mashed potatoes and grilled veggies were nice.  The au jus didn't taste quite like the au jus; however, the rest were all pretty decent tasting.

I didn't find the dessert to be worth taking photos because I found it really over-priced.  We opted for a deconstructed cheese cake and it was some cheese + whipping cream/sour cream mixture topped with some fruit compote sauce - there was a piece of phyllo pastry baked till crisp to give a textural contrast to the whole dessert.  It was served in a martini glass - really quite small for $8!!

Overall, our experience here wasn't entirely horrible but given the quality of the food, the ambiance and the price point; we will not be back.

Service - 2/5 - rude server (manager)

food -3.5/5 (mediocre!)

ambiance - 2.5/5 :$