This week is about Steak

It’s also going to be a little shorter, I think.

Last Friday and the Friday before I ate steak for lunch.

This is not something I normally do.

As many of you know I normally am not one to go for a steak, unless it is as tartare. I had heard good things about the Morrison Hotel steaks, so I wanted to try them. The initial plan was to go there two Fridays ago, but three tour buses meant no parking. We went to the Red Brick Hotel instead.

At the Red Brick  I got a porterhouse, blue of course. It was actually a pretty good steak. I liked the flavour. I liked the accompanying salad and the chips. I liked the actual venue. I was glad we went.

Usually when I ask for a blue steak, it is closer to rare. My friend and I have had many conversations about places that offer blue steaks and give you rare instead. Yes, to those of us that eat blue there is a difference. Admittedly it is not an easily noticed difference, but there is one.

We sat and discussed games, different places we had eaten at, what the Red Brick Hotel used to look like and a few other topics before the steak came out.

It looked pretty good. I cut into it to test it. It was blue. They got it right, mostly, the edges were a little rare but it was still good. I was prepared to forgive them if they gave me a rare steak instead. The flavour of the steak on it’s own was pretty good. Mixed with the sauce I got, buggered if I can remember what, was also pretty good. My mouth is watering thinking about it now.

I would happily go there and eat it again, though next time I will be trying a different cut.

The following Friday, we went to the Morrison Hotel. Technically, we went to Fiasco’s which is part of the Morrison Hotel. This was a higher class of establishment than the red brick, and you pay a little more here for the steaks. Worth it, at least I am pretty sure it was, I will need to go back and confirm. Honest, that is why.

The first thing to catch my eye was that one of the sauce options was truffle butter. If anywhere, outside of ‘Fromage de Cow’ and possibly ‘Detour’ was going to have actual truffles in truffle butter I thought it would be here. Not disappointed.

I ordered a Wagyu Rump steak, blue of course.

We sat and discussed games, different places we had eaten at, what the Red Brick Hotel used to look like and a few other topics before the steak came out (different conversation, same friend, similar topics including the red brick hotel).

This time I got twice cooked potato with the steak and a very good salad. The salad was better here. The twice cooked potato was good. The steak, on its own, was good. The steak with truffle butter was great. I felt like every mouthful should have been a heart attack.

It was a really good combo.

Of the two places, I honestly liked them both the same. The porterhouse from The Red Brick Hotel was on special. The rump was not and was a bit over twice the price. I don’t feel like I got ripped off though. They were two different bits of meat, from two different places and equally well done. The sides were better at the Morrison Hotel, and while the staff were more polished there, both places were equally welcoming. The Red Brick Hotel feels friendly and is friendlier to your wallet.

You know what, try both. Eat at one and then if you have the room go to the other and eat there, they are both worth it. If this was a race they would have tied. They have their differences but they were both equally good.

Eat well.