Lobster Summer at The Keg steakhouse and restaurant Granville Island

After dining at The Keg on Thurlow last time, it officially became our favourite steak restaurant in GVR.

No, really, for the price to quality ratio, the steak at The Keg is one of the best you can find.

Other places like Glowbal, Hy's, and Ruth's Chris; yes, they serve up great steaks, but also come with premium prices.

The Keg is the only place that can satisfy your steak craving (esp if you are a meatatarian like Jordan) without breaking the bank! (and we love the casual ambiance! you don't feel the need to be in something particularly fancy... just like having a steak dinner at granny's home!)

Anyways, because I kept on mentioning the Lobster Summer at the Keg - Jordan got annoyed and was partially "forced" to dine at the Keg with me. 

Don't get me wrong, he still loves his steaks.  It's just he's been trying to lose weight and a steak dinner really won't help...... (plus he's been restricting his diet, so you can imagine the CRAVINGS!! Hah!)

I chose The Keg Granville Island for no particular reason other than the fact that I could not book burnaby The Keg on Open table (and I just don't prefer New Westminster the Keg.... no particular reasons either!)

It was a beautiful sunny day... 

After circling around Granville Island, we somehow managed to snatch a (free) spot right in front of the Keg.

yay!

All Vancouveriattes know that it is difficult to find a free parking on a beautiful day during the summer on Granville island - it is THE tourism spot!

Upon checking-in with the maitre' d - we were lead to a quiet two people table.

Our server was really pleasant and answered all our questions including one of my really dumb question regarding their larger sized prime rib... (I swear they had a 24oz prime rib on menu before!!)

Anyhow... now to the food!

lobster and crab spinach dip - $9.95 -  3/5

 It was cheesy, creamy, savoury and a bit nutty from the sautéed spinach.

Great compliment to the crunchy nacho chips (except for approx 30% of the nacho chips weren't crunchy but rather hard... I cut the back of my mouth with a chip.....

They gave us half a lemon but I wouldn't recommend squeezing all the juice into the dip - I found it to be too tart and over powered the flavour of the dip.

BUT!!! For $9.95 - this was alright.  Yes, it's true that you could barely detect any crab or lobster meat but.... it was a good dip :)

16oz Prime rib (as rare as possible) with baked potato - $ 28.95 - 4.5/5

 The Prime rib is their specialty... Undeniable!!

Tender, juicy, and flavourful.... I mean, what more can you ask for a piece of prime rib at 16oz and less than $30??!  

It was served with au jus and horseradish... oh so heavenly!

The only failure is the fried onion string - somehow it is almost always soggy and oily :(

why not replace it with seasonal veggies or fries?  Even onion rings (2 large but crunchy ones) would have been better!

8oz sirloin with half lobster - $38.95 - 4/5

8oz sirloin with half lobster - $38.95 - 4/5

Now the main attraction.... surf & turf!!!

I debated for a long time :(  

I was originally going for the full atlantic lobster ($41.95) - but I suddenly had a craving for steaks too!! (girls are indecisive creatures. FACT) 

Of course my greediness came in and I wanted both steak with lobster..... but I really didn't want Sirloin because I knew it would be too tough for my liking...

(later I learned that you could opt sirloin for prime rib at $1? or $5 extra.... make sure you ask!!)

According to our server, the lobsters weighed 2 - 2.5lb on average on our day of dining.  I now regret not ordering the whole lobster!

Anyhow...

I ordered Chicago style medium rare sirloin with half a lobster.

The meal came with some grilled veggies and a twice baked potato.

The Lobster was surprisingly... A-MAZING!!!! 

It was sweet, bouncy, and full of meat.  All positive signs of a fresh lobster.

I thoroughly enjoyed my lobster with lemon and butter...

and felt a tad of regret from not ordering the whole lobster!

The Chicago style sirloin steak was not really my favourite.

I usually go for the tenderloin or the filets...

I don't like chewy meats. (though sirloin is definitely more flavourful)

It was nicely charred on the outside and a tad over cooked on the inside (closer to medium)

My steak was really really well seasoned - yet it was quite tough (for me; Jordan liked it).

I would really suggest to order the prime rib with the lobster (will definitely worth every extra penny!)

Over all we both enjoyed our dinner at the Keg.

Our server was friendly and everything was smooth - we didn't have to wait for long to receive our bread, and we received our entrees right when we finished with our appetizer.

Food - 4/5 - The Keg food. Predictable but good.

Service - 5/5 - We were tacked in a quiet corner but our server checked up on us quite often. Though you may want to take into consideration that we went in at 5:30.

Ambiance - 3.5/5 - The Keg ambiance but more antique-y than posh - it's a tad old but things are in good condition; just old. 

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 :$

Birthday dinners - The Keg on Thurlow

I love the Keg.

Despite that they are chain restaurants and all, I find them to be one of the more reasonably priced steak houses that serve up great steaks.

Jordan and I made it to their Crab festival month for this birthday dinner, here is what we ordered.

20oz rib steak

Jordan ordered the rib steak.  It was a really nice piece of steak.  It was perfectly rare with a really nice char on the outside.  The meat was also really really flavourful ( I didn't understand the "flavourful" until I've had a filet mignon and a sirloin grilled to the same doneness side by side; if you have difficulty grasp that, you should try my method too!)  He enjoyed this!

Crab dinner

I had a really great experience with their crab dinner when I was back in Toronto.  The crab was sweet and meaty and it was everything a crab lover could as for on a dungeness crab!  I loved it so much that I was so excited when I found out that the Kegs here in Vancouver also has the crab fest so that is exactly what I ordered.  After all, Vancouver is where dungeness crabs come from!  How can this go wrong?

What a disappointment.

The crab must have been starved for days before they cooked it.  It didn't have much meat in it and was incredibly salty.  The meat was quite dry (probably from being boiled or steamed for too long) and it was just quite awful.  The grilled veggies were nice tho - but those will never make up for the failed crab dinner.

The ambiance here is great tho, definitely more lively than some of the other Keg restaurants and the high ceiling really upstages everything.  Service was phenomenal and our water glass was never empty.  Over all I enjoyed this dinner, not because of the crab but because of everything else.  (I will be smart and order a steak next time.) 

Food: 4/5 (crab was the reason for -1)

Service:  5/5 (amazing, despite the traffic)

ambiance: 5/5 (great for date nights or nights out!!)

 

Dinner at Glowbal Satay and Grills - an make up valentine dinner :)

Being our 8th valentines day spent together, Jordan and I (more like my sole decision since Jordan was only notified last minute aka night of 13th) have decided not to mingle with the rest of the couples on the day of Valentine's because, well, first of all, it is going to be very crowded (and I cannot emphasize enough how much I hate crowd) and second, it is just not that cost efficient.  As you might have already noticed, the places that offer valentine "specials" are usually at premium prices.  Hey, I am willing to spend money when it comes to tasty food; but I am not willing to pay for "the occasion" (okay, most of the times, of course)  Much like the Xmas eve dinner or the New Year's eve dinners served at restaurants, Valentine's day dinner special is another meal special that I'd like to avoid at all cost.

Since I have been craving for a really good piece of steak, I chose Glowbal satay and Grills for our Valentine's destination.  Okay, I know I know... I am NOT out of my mind and I am well aware of the ratings of Glowbal group.  But I really didn't want to settle with somewhere safe like Gotham's!  It would be so much more exciting to have a nice meal at a place that carries a mixed, bipolar reviews than a place with a lot of hype and a lot of mediocre to positive reviews, right?  I even thought about trying black+blue.... just because they carry some really nice meats but eventually got scared off by their really, REALLY negative reviews on urbanspoon.. but anyway

Satay appitizers from front - lamb shish kebob, kobe meatballs, and braised short rib, served with thai slaw and two sauces (ginger white soy and chinese mustard) - sorry for the blurry picture

Another photo of the appetizer plate without the flash - I am so sorry for the photo quality as the place was quite dark

We didn't order much appetizers because we knew from the beginning that it was going to be a heavier meal (lots of good tasty protein + fat!) so we started with their famous kobe beef meatballs with tomato fondue, a lamb shish kebab and braised beef short rib with truffle aioli. Of course the latter two were simply because I like lamb and beef short ribs :D

First thing on the appetizers - I should have ordered 2 orders each of the shish kebobs and short ribs because they were really tiny!  I basically had a bite of each of the lamb shish kebob and short ribs so I cannot guarantee the accuracy of my reviews but here is how I thought abut them:

 lamb shish kebob: very nicely seasoned with a hint of cumin.  The yogurt sauce on the top was quite nice not only being the factor that holds all the flavours together but also cut through some of the greasiness from the lamb.  The kebob was not gamy at all and the meat was fairly tender although leaning towards "dry".  I liked the charring a lot and my only complaint is that it was a little too small.... I am sure it would have tasted way better with the sauces provided (chinese mustard!)

Kobe beef meatballs with tomato fondue - Okay, you can't exactly call it a fondue if the cheese base is not exactly carefully blended with different types of cheeses and wines... just like you can't call a hotpot a "hotpot" if all they use for the soup base is water!  That was the case here - what you call a tomato fondue, it was merely a tomato sauce topped with some firm cheese (Asiago or parmesan? I am so sorry I can't seem to recall....)  The meatballs were excellent!  One of the juiciest and meatiest I have ever tasted in Van :)  It was nicely flavored too, just enough salt to taste the natural sweetness from the meats.  The tomato + cheese sauce didn't overwhelm the flavour of the meatballs but rather, added another layer of depth (perhaps from the cheese?) to the meatball.  Jordan particularly enjoyed this dish and he even mentioned that he'd come back for it and order 10 of the meatballs instead of a steak.... I guess it is a better deal at $32.50 for 10 meatballs than an 8oz tenderloin steak... haha,,, :P

The braised short ribs - they were just average braised short ribs.  I couldn't detect much truffle in the aioli (which, btw I should have picked up since truffles should be pungent.)  The meat was a bit stringy but, what can I expect at the size of that short ribs?

 My drink - Whistler honey lager - also arrived together with the appetizers.  I liked it!!  I think I am falling in love with the BC honey lager brew!! although i was never a big fan of beer but... these two has gotten me hooked!!

24oz porter house!! - $49.95

10oz Tenderloin - $36.95

I wanted something tender and juicy so I asked our waiter what his recommendations were and how he'd recommend to cook the meat but he simply recommended the tenderloin at medium rare.  I don't know.  Call me nit picking.  I didn't like how he recommended something so, "safe" and "predictable".  I felt bad turning down his recommendation so I ordered as he recommended and wondered if rare was or was not an option.... anyway... Both of our steaks came out on a piece of wooden chopping board, I really liked the presentation especially with our large chunks of meats!  It added that primitive feel to an otherwise elegant dining ambiance.  What can I say?  I am a sucker for gaps!!  I got exactly what I was expecting (medium rare) and it was surely tender and juicy!  So juicy that in fact, a lot of the juice leaked through my cutting board on to the paper table cloth underneath (wait, does that mean my meat wasn't actually rested well enough? anyone?)

However, picking tenderloin means sacrificing the meat flavour to trade for tenderness and that was exactly the case with my steak.  After I had a bite of Jordan's porterhouse cut - it became evident that his steak was a lot more flavourful than mine!  If you are a fan of the huge beefy flavour (slight sweetness and creeminess from the fat and that tiny bit of gaminess distinctive to beef) and you don't mind a bit of chewing then I'd totally recommend the striploin or T-bone or porterhouse over tenderloin or filet mignon!  

 Because my steak was not very flavourful, I really got to test out the sauces.  I was very surprised with hollandaise sauce as I am more accustomed to see hollandaise on eggsbenny... breakfast items or just on eggs!!  So imagine my surprise when I found out that the two actually worked together!  The creamy and buttery hollandaise sauce was perfect for a piece of tenderloin that lacks fat.  Loved it!  As for my second favourite, it was the chimichurri sauce.  I didn't even bother trying the bbq sauce but now I am regretting!! The horseradish sauce was my least favourite as it really just overpowered my tender and delicate tasting tenderloin.

Jordan's porterhouse was really flavvourful and when he asked for rare, well, only the strip loin side was rare... the tenderloin was (as expected) a bit overdone at medium rare. Both sides tho however were very flavourful and even his tenderloin tasted better than mine!! (I guess mine must have been the filet mignon cut or somewhere close to that, anyway)  He noted that he really enjoyed his steak.  But when I tried his, I came across a huge chunk of connective tissue that was really tough.  I am sorry to ruin everyone's appetite here but I had to spit out the chunk because it was just impossible to chew.  Otherwise it was a flavourful piece of steak that we both enjoyed :)

The sides:

poutine + 4 sauces for the steaks - chimichurri sauce, hollandaise sauce, bbq sauce and a horseradish sauce

brussel sprouts - $6.50 - capers, lemon, parmasan

The two sides we ordered were really delicious!  I really enjoyed the brussel sprouts as that nuttiness from brussel sprouts and the burnt flavour really worked together!  The crispy texture worked perfectly with the creamy, tart, and nutty flavour along with the bitterness that came from the burnt pieces.  I somehow had a feeling that this dish came from an accidental failure dish where the chef was maybe preparing for a roasted brussel sprouts and ended up over roasting it but realized that the burnt brussel sprouts actually tasted fantastic with the burnt and decided to keep it!! hmm my overly imaginative imaginations... lol :P

Our second side dish was a simple poutine.  I really liked it because first of all, they kept their promise and used the real cheese curds; and second, the gravy (I believe it was chicken gravy?) was highly enjoyable with a prominent umami and a bit of sweetness coming from chicken fat.  The gravy was so good that I don't even remember how the fries actually tasted like... I am pretty sure they were nicely fried with a bit of crunch and wasn't too soggy although dumped in gravy!

Over all, Jordan and I enjoyed our meal here and being a carnivor as Jordan is, he had absolutely no complaint with the meal other than that huge vein found in his steak and, although I didn't have much problem with my steak, I just hoped that my waiter could have been a little more knowledgeable and informative.  I just wanted a good piece of steak that's been cooked perfectly!!! anyone with any suggestions.. please leave a msg and let me know! your help is much appreciated!!!!

another photo of porter house - huge!!!! and really flavourful :))

Food - 3.5/5

service - 4/5 - (excellent service from the managers of the restaurant, weird how the servers were only carrying out dishes but minimal services :$)

ambiance - 4/5 - I booked my reservation on opentable with a special request for the maitre D' asking for a quiet table and we were seated at one of the most quiet tables in the restaunrat!  Very impressed with their attention to details and will definitely return for other special occasions!   Maybe next time to their brunch menus as those are what seem to be more popular so far!