Vancouver Steak Houses

[nwyles]

Check again.

Prime is the top 3 % of beef on the continent. I do not think that it is broken down to different quality grades within Prime. You could specify breed and age, but Prime is Prime. Given the difficulties in the beef market right now, I do not think that level of specifics is possible right now. 3 % of 3% is three animals in 10,000 and that is very unlikely for one restaurant the size of Gotham. You would eat through most of that tight a spec in a few weeks. I would imagine that Gotham goes through 2 - 3 beef cattle a day in middle cuts ( Prime Rib, Ribeyes, New Yorks, Filets ) .

I think that you are dealing with the top 3 % ( 3 in 100 Beef Cattle )

[thoughtbox]

Just at a Filet Mignon at HSG on Saturday. The honest truth is the Hanger Steak just ain't my thing, but the Filet Mignon was magnificently delicious.

[nwyles]

Just at a Filet Mignon at HSG on Saturday. The honest truth is the Hanger Steak just ain't my thing, but the Filet Mignon was magnificently delicious.

←

I'm glad you enjoyed.

I am over hanger right now but that is probably becasue I have had so much of it. The short rib on the Taste of Yaletown seems to be calling me............

I love short ribs

[canucklehead]

I've been hitting HSG as my go to place when I get a steak craving. Had the 24oz Rib Eye - and it was perfectly done (MR on the Rare side). A tremendous steak at an excellent price (same steak at Morton's or Gothams would be double the price) - great service and a good selection of drinks.

Great food done in a relaxed and easy manner. Perfect for chilly evenings.

[BCinBC]

I can't find the dang HSG thread, but I wanted to say that Neil and HKDave are currently churning out some killer sausages at the Hammy. Had a duck and an Italian fennel last night - the former was good, but the latter was outstanding. Depending on ingredient availability, choices may vary but they've also dabbled in venison as well as a couple other varieties.

NY Strip with a side of sausage. Go try now.

[Feedbag]

Had a steak craving and didn't want to go downtown to the usuals,

so ended up at the Keg in Burnaby. Say what you will, but the 16-oz.

ribeye for $29 was very good. Same slab at Morton's or Gotham would

likely be double.

As we drove in, noticed lots of construction beside it. The server says they're

finally ditching their 30-year-old building and moving into new digs next door.

It will be very spiffy and feature a patio. Hoping for a summer open, but

more likely fall. I suppose I should post this on the openings and closings...

[nwyles]

Had a steak craving and didn't want to go downtown to the usuals,

so ended up at the Keg in Burnaby. Say what you will, but the 16-oz.

ribeye for $29 was very good. Same slab at Morton's or Gotham would

likely be double.

As we drove in, noticed lots of construction beside it. The server says they're

finally ditching their 30-year-old building and moving into new digs next door.

It will be very spiffy and feature a patio. Hoping for a summer open, but

more likely fall. I suppose I should post this on the openings and closings...

←

That was an old Keg when I started at the Keg, and that was 20 years ago.

[jahvay]

Had a steak craving and didn't want to go downtown to the usuals,

so ended up at the Keg in Burnaby. Say what you will, but the 16-oz.

ribeye for $29 was very good. Same slab at Morton's or Gotham would

likely be double.

I have to agree that the keg has a great Rib Steak, but at Gotham, for ONLY $10.00 more you get PRIME beef, not double. Ofcourse you have to buy your potato.

With the Rib AAA is pretty damn good, but for NY Striploin, and Porterhouse, I think it is definetly worth the extra few dollars for the superior quality.

[jlo mein]

After much anticipation from egullet reading, I finally made a visit to the Hamilton Street Grill on my birthday this past saturday. Started off with a Whisky Sour that was refreshing, although the choice of glass leaves masculinity on the bar floor (it was like a miniature hurricane glass without the flared lip). I was surprised at how fast our orders came.

I had the Hanger steak, my girlfriend had the NY Strip, and we shared some yam fries. The Hanger steak comes with fries, not mashed potatoes, although the waitress indicated otherwise when I questioned the menu. From this mixup she gave us a complimentary side of mashed potatoes which was a nice surprise.

Our first reaction was that portions were huge! I was glad we decided to skip appitizers. The Hanger steak lived up to all expectations. It was full of flavour, cooked to a juicy medium rare, and was indeed chewy as forewarned. Personally I think eating a whole Hanger steak is a little much for my jaw muscles, and would love to share half a Hanger and half a more tender steak next time. None the less, I was very impressed. My girlfriend's NY Strip was very soft and juicy, and she enjoyed it, admitting that she was not a steak fan. The grilled veggies are a great side and I wish more came with each plate. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and not overly buttered/salted. The yam fries were excellent, as many places tend to make them oily. They were soft and sweet without any greasy drips.

We ended with the Gingerbread Pudding with Pumkin and Ginger ice creams. The dessert is large and more than enough for two people. My girlfriend hates gingerbread but thoroughly enjoyed this. My personal preference would be to have two scoops of pumkin ice cream instead of one scoop of each.

Overall I was very impressed. Service was great even though it was a busy saturday night with only two waiters. I definitely need more of that Gingerbread Pudding. I only wish the dinner portions were a little smaller so I could try some of the appitizers which looked interesting.

[Panda]

Funny, I was just talking about HSG last night when I was telling my sister that there was a steak house I wanted to try out. She's out of the country at the moment but I told her that I'd treat her to some meat when she comes back.

Pretty excited about trying the gingerbread pudding since I've only heard praises being said about it on the forum.

[SBonner]

Try the 21 day air dried beef at Sean Cousin's So.Cial. Very nice steaks.

Stephen Bonner

[urbandiner]

I've been meaning to add my experience at HSG for some time and this post reminds me to do so.

I brought my partner to sample the much-talked-about steaks at HSG. We ordered appies and were pretty full of gorgonzola and salad but were so impressed with the rib eye, we ate the entire dish--each!

My partner had been on a vegetarian diet for 9 months for health reasons and went on a ballastic "give me meat" diet for 6 months and could not find a good piece of rib eye anywhere.

He was raving about our experience at HSG to friends for weeks.

We were also chatting it up with our waiter (can't remember his name but he also works at GM Place?) who was very friendly and attentive.

Great steaks, great service ... think we'll be hitting HSG again this week

[nwyles]

After much anticipation from egullet reading, I finally made a visit to the Hamilton Street Grill on my birthday this past saturday.  Started off with a Whisky Sour that was refreshing, although the choice of glass leaves masculinity on the bar floor (it was like a miniature hurricane glass without the flared lip).  I was surprised at how fast our orders came.

I had the Hanger steak, my girlfriend had the NY Strip, and we shared some yam fries.  The Hanger steak comes with fries, not mashed potatoes, although the waitress indicated otherwise when I questioned the menu.  From this mixup she gave us a complimentary side of mashed potatoes which was a nice surprise.

Our first reaction was that portions were huge!  I was glad we decided to skip appitizers.  The Hanger steak lived up to all expectations.  It was full of flavour, cooked to a juicy medium rare, and was indeed chewy as forewarned.  Personally I think eating a whole Hanger steak is a little much for my jaw muscles, and would love to share half a Hanger and half a more tender steak next time.  None the less, I was very impressed.  My girlfriend's NY Strip was very soft and juicy, and she enjoyed it, admitting that she was not a steak fan.  The grilled veggies are a great side and I wish more came with each plate.  The mashed potatoes were fluffy and not overly buttered/salted.  The yam fries were excellent, as many places tend to make them oily.  They were soft and sweet without any greasy drips.

We ended with the Gingerbread Pudding with Pumkin and Ginger ice creams.  The dessert is large and more than enough for two people.  My girlfriend hates gingerbread but thoroughly enjoyed this.  My personal preference would be to have two scoops of pumkin ice cream instead of one scoop of each.

Overall I was very impressed.  Service was great even though it was a busy saturday night with only two waiters.  I definitely need more of that Gingerbread Pudding.  I only wish the dinner portions were a little smaller so I could try some of the appitizers which looked interesting.

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I could not figure out what you were talking about as far as the glassware goes, but so it happens, I was asked by one of the servers a few minutes ago how I liked to see a whiskey sour served.

Before I could respond , one of the other servers starts talking about the traditional way to serve it blah, blah, blah and coaches the first server into using a port glass ( small hurricane without a flared rim ! )

I stopped them both and directed them to serve it in a small rocks glass, on the rocks. This is the way I have seen it served before..................how they came up with the port glass, I do not know.

This was the same server who served 151 rum shooters on fire, I am doubting anything he says

[grayelf]

Try the 21 day air dried  beef at Sean Cousin's So.Cial. Very nice steaks.

Stephen Bonner

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The Significant Engineer and I have been shamefully addicted to grilled beef tenderloin since the Great Surf'n'Turf Episode of 2005 at the Bunkle Queen's cabin on Sechelt. You may say, "But other cuts have more flavour" and you may be right. I would simply direct your attention to the beef tenderloin I had last night at Cioppino's. I flew in the face of the rest of the table by having dead cow for my main despite the clarion call to pasta (got around that by ordering their house carbonara in appetizer size). Very glad I did. The delectable slab came medium rare leaning to rare as recommended by the chef per our lovely waiter. The knife melted into the meat but it still had a bit of attitude (actually, both the meat and the knife had attitude, now that I come to think of it. More on that later). The classic peppercorn sauce was just that, with a nice bite and just the right amount. Combined with the onion confit and veggie sides this was a dish of great happiness. I've heard people comment on the prices at both the Grill and the Enoteca and while they aren't exactly cheap and cheerful, I was content to pay $40 for my main. Especially since my father-in-law whipped out the Amex One tiny complaint: What's with serving steak in a bowl? Or anything you have to cut, for that matter? No matter how careful you are, your knife always seems to slide in and get covered with your dinner But all was forgiven in the face of the superb service and the always entertaining Chef Pino and his consigliere.

[Mikeb19]

Check again.

Prime is the top 3 % of beef on the continent. I do not think that it is broken down to different quality grades within Prime. You could specify breed and age, but Prime is Prime. Given the difficulties in the beef market right now, I do not think that level of specifics is possible right now. 3 % of 3% is three animals in 10,000 and that is very unlikely for one restaurant the size of Gotham. You would eat through most of that tight a spec in a few weeks. I would imagine that Gotham goes through 2 - 3 beef cattle a day in middle cuts ( Prime Rib, Ribeyes, New Yorks, Filets ) .

I think that you are dealing with the top 3 % ( 3 in 100 Beef Cattle )

←

Canadian PRIME beef is the top 0.7% of beef...

At the restaurant I used to work at, all our beef was Canadian certified PRIME, and it was incredible. Best steak I ever had was a blue rare filet at that restaurant (end of the night snack )

Who needs sous vide anyway, those steaks were incredibly tender, anymore so and they would have fell apart... Not to mention flavourful.

[jahvay]

[

[nwyles]

[

I could not figure out what you were talking about as far as the glassware goes, but so it happens, I was asked by one of the servers a few minutes ago how I liked to see a whiskey sour served.

Before I could respond , one of the other servers starts talking about the traditional way to serve it blah, blah, blah and coaches the first server into using a port glass ( small hurricane without a flared rim ! )

I stopped them both and directed them to serve it in a small rocks glass, on the rocks. This is the way I have seen it served before..................how they came up with the port glass, I do not know.

So what glass do you serve a whiskey sour neat in. I have seen it served in a fluted glass often. Same for a amaretto sour.

←

[gingerpeachy]

From barmixmaster.com:

Sour – now we are starting to get into the specialty glassware. The Sour glass is a shorter more pointed shaped White Wine glass. This glass is specifically used for the Sours family of cocktails (Whisky Sour, Amaretto Sour, etc…). In a pinch this glass can be used in the same way as the White Wine glass.

[Matt R.]

We have recently started preparing poached beef tenderloin (CAB) at work, and not being familiar with this method of cooking beef, I did not know what to expect. The steak is poached to temperature in a rich chicken and veal stock, with lots of good red wine and fresh herbs.

The low temperature cooking yields a texture very much like carpaccio (so buttery) and the poaching liquor lends a rich flavour to otherwise relatively flavourless beef. I am sold on this method!

Anyone come across this method since 1970?

-- Matt.

[nwyles]

We have recently started preparing poached beef tenderloin (CAB) at work, and not being familiar with this method of cooking beef, I did not know what to expect.  The steak is poached to temperature in a rich chicken and veal stock, with lots of good red wine and fresh herbs.

The low temperature cooking yields a texture very much like carpaccio (so buttery) and the poaching liquor lends a rich flavour to otherwise relatively flavourless beef.  I am sold on this method!

Anyone come across this method since 1970? 

-- Matt.

←

More details.

what temp, how long etc.

I could sacrifice a couple of misshaped filet mignons to the experiment.............and then I would eat them.

[jchaput]

Back in ancient times before the food network, if you wanted to watch cooking shows, Sat & Sun were the days to do it via PBS. There used to be a French cooking show with an older gentleman. I remember him poaching a chateaubriand in stock with wine and aromatic vegetables and herbs. He tied the roast and cooked it slow. Looked nice.

[Matt R.]

Regular poaching temperature, so below a simmer. What is that, 150-ish? If the liquid is too hot, I bet the meat tastes just boiled, instead of delicate.

6oz filet takes about 10 minutes to MR, plus resting. It should come to room temperature before cooking, too. Now that I think about it, resting is probably not required, given the low cooking temperature.

Poaching liquid is roughly two parts dark chicken stock, one part each veal stock and drinkable red wine. Whatever aromatics you would like. We tend to just use the Simon and Garfunkel blend for just about everything Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme .... for real!

Touch method simply does not work for this technique, but a thermometer works great. 110 for rare, 115-118 for MR, 118-122 for medium. I don't know how to cook tenderloin beyond this (have the sirloin instead).

The first time I tried it, it tasted so familar! Then someone nailed it - like mom's roast beef, if only Mom served CAB tenderloin more often. The poaching liquor lends that familiar 'gravy' taste we all know and love.

-- Matt.

[transfattyacid]

Regular poaching temperature, so below a simmer.  What is that, 150-ish?  If the liquid is too hot, I bet the meat tastes just boiled, instead of delicate.

6oz filet takes about 10 minutes to MR, plus resting.  It should come to room temperature before cooking, too.  Now that I think about it, resting is probably not required, given the low cooking temperature.

Poaching liquid is roughly two parts dark chicken stock, one part each veal stock and drinkable red wine.  Whatever aromatics you would like.  We tend to just use the Simon and Garfunkel blend for just about everything    Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme .... for real!

Touch method simply does not work for this technique, but a thermometer works great.  110 for rare, 115-118 for MR, 118-122 for medium.  I don't know how to cook tenderloin beyond this (have the sirloin instead).

The first time I tried it, it tasted so familar!  Then someone nailed it - like mom's roast beef, if only Mom served CAB tenderloin more often.  The poaching liquor lends that familiar 'gravy' taste we all know and love.

-- Matt.

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Yeah Matt , an interesting technique for beef it is.

I`ve done some thing similar. bœuf à la ficelle ( beef tied with string and poached in broth ) I recall using a double reduced consomme as the poaching medium. Enlivened with a slug of madeira and some fresh morels. `Tis a thing of beauty.

[KarenDW]

obviously there needs to be a comparative tasting.

after a round of Whiskey Sours or some other classic cocktail to start.

[Vancouver]

Has anyone tried the Morton's special that is running until November 18th? Details here: http://www.mortons.com/steakandseafood/

Sounds like a pretty good deal, but I was curious if I was missing something - (like a different quality of meat or something?)?

Edited October 21, 2007 by Vancouver (log)