The Keg's Annual Report

Friday night we headed out to the Keg on York street to partake in Lobster Summer. I typically get the calamari to open things up but I find it's a lot to eat on my own. Instead I stole some croutons from Janice's salad. For the main course, I had my usual Steak and Half Lobster while Janice had a Teriyaki sirloin as part of the classic dinner (hence her salad). Both were great as usual. The major innovation during the pre-meal bread eating was that Janice took to dunking the bread in the heated lobster butter. That definitely seems like a good idea. Who needs a knife then!

Since we saved our arteries by skipping the calamari, we went for dessert. We shared a brownie sundae. We've had it before but this was the best one ever we agreed. The brownie was delightfully fresh and warm. Combined with the ice cream, it really is terrific and reasonably priced at only 5 bucks and change.

The best part, thanks to Janice's Keg income trust units, dinner was 20 bucks off. We'll definitely be back again next year! (If not sooner)

Santa Meets the Easter Bunny

Tonight I made two side dishes from my new veggie cookbook that Ian's parents got us for Christmas. Both turned out delightfully well.













Here I am making honey mustard salad dressing for the salad with the cute whisk my mom and dad gave me for Christmas a few years ago.



























The final result. New York strip loin from St. Lawrence market. One minute seared per side + 15 min in the oven at 350= perfectly well done. I will go with about 12 minutes next time.

Parsnip mash (parsnip, balsamic, olive oil, S&P).

Broccoli salad (cooked broccoli, raw apple, raw red onion). Salad dressing with cider vinegar, dijon, olive oil, garlic, honey, salt, pepper.

Outback Un-Tastiness

While stuck in Duluth Minnesota, we often partake in the Outback across the parking lot from the hotel we stay in.

The first time around I ordered the "Outback Special" involving a 9 oz centre cut sirloin. I would have liked "medium-well", but instead it came out "hockey-puck overcooked". No complaints about the extremely tasty baked sweet potato and bread before the main event.

The second time, I would have liked the fish special, but instead ended up with the Tilapia since they ran out. It was seasoned and grilled, but unfortunately seemed to have been coated in butter of some sort. The fish was a bit undercooked, which I know some restaurants like to do, but who wants to eat slimy inside fish??

The "fresh steamed veggies" tasted as though they had butter on them :(

The Keg

On Friday night Ian and I went all out and went to the Keg on York between Queen and King. Ian started with some deep fried calmari which was alright. I had a piece and was not a big fan.

Then we both had the 1/2 lobster and steak special done medium well. I had baked potato and Ian had some rice.

I have never really had lobster (due to the long term veggie thing) and I thought it was ok. It seemed like a lot of work for how much you really get out of it. The steak was alright, but seemed a bit tougher than I would have expected from the keg. The price was the biggest pitfall - $35!

We were not planning on having dessert, but the $5 brownie sundae convinced us to! Very tasty and about double the size of the equivalent DQ $5 treat.

In the end, the bill was about $100 including tax, tip and after my $20 keg shareholder gift card that came with the annual report.

For a similar price, I would just go to North 44 or equivalent next time. The entrees and appetizers are in the same price range, but North 44 is must tastier and nicer!

Lone Star

To cheer ourselves up after the EQ3 fiasco, we headed over to Lone star. The free tortilla chips and salsa at the start are fun and they seem to have moderately improved the salsa from last time.

We shared an order of steak and chicken fajitas for $19. It was more food than two people really should eat. Came with fixins - some veggies, rice, beans, guac, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream etc. The best part is the home-made tortilla machine! Ian said that if we get a house, he is going to buy a tortilla machine. We'll see....

Alexander's Steakhouse

Tonight we were off to a steakhouse in the Galleria just outside downtown Birmingham. The rest of the gang had the 12 or 16 ounce steak with a variety of side dishes. All seemed to be quite tasty. I think most ordered medium-well, but they all seemed a bit bloody to me. I think the nicer the restaurant, the more undercooked the steak? Maybe it's just my mostly eating veggie perspective?

I had the veggie burger with fries. Suprisingly, it was one of the more tasty veggie burgers I've eaten. Came with very good BBQ sauce. Not bad value for about $8.

Shared a bottle of merlot from washington state. Was one of the cheaper items on the menu and was not shocked when it turned out to taste a bit like cider vinegar. They had a wine menu completely full of americain wines. Maybe it's just me, but is there more variety when you go to a canadian restaurant?

The Keg

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Ian and I went out to the Keg in South Edmonton Common with some of his friends last night. We arrived post dinner so I had the tempura asparagus and snow peas and Ian had calmari. My stuff was pretty tasty, but Ian claimed the calmari was not really cooked. Mark didn't seem to mind and helped Ian finish it off.

Then a brownie sundae at the end...tasty but not much brownie at all.

Yeah, kinda neutral on the keg. Would probably be better if I were more into the meat.