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Category Archives: beef

My new favourite: STK Toronto

21 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by notanotherfoodblogca in american, beef, comfort food, review, reviews, toronto, Toronto restaurant, travel, Uncategorized

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Tags

review, steak, STK, toronto

Ahh…! Spring has finally arrived here in Toronto, and we’ve thankfully gotten over the cold, harsh winter. The blinding sun’s out most days, the grass a vibrant green, beautifully dotted with yellow flowers (weeds?), and the sky a light blue, making me feel so alive! It’s in these quiet moments that I always remember to be grateful, to hold on to these moments of happiness, and to make sure that I spread only good, positive vibes to everyone around me.

menu

It was a beautiful partly cloudy day last Wednesday too, despite getting caught in a torrential downpour of rain in Yorkville. I was very lucky to be invited to dine at STK with my sister, and we both had such a wonderful dinner – one that I kept thinking about a few days later. I loved so many things about my experience, from the trendy and warm ambiance, to the excellent dishes and the amazing service. If you’ve been following my blog, I am first and foremost a steak person, and I was blown away by the 18 oz Dry Aged Striploin (!!), which was the highlight of the meal – but we’ll get to that later.

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Our dinner started off with a few drinks, and I got the Paloma Escobar (sour drinks are my ultimate favourite), which was a lovely, refreshing tart cocktail mix of white tequila, lime and grapefuit that would be a perfect drink to have this summer! We were also served a mini loaf of bread freshly baked in house, delicious pieces of soft, buttery goodness!

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We had a few starters – all of them were tasty, and you could definitely notice that all the ingredients they used were fresh and very high quality. The Tuna Tartare featured hass avocado, soy honey emulsion and topped with taro chips. Loved the presentation! The taro chips had a nice crunch that provided really good texture to the sauce and tuna.

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The Crispy Calamari & Shrimp featured blistered shishito peppers and was served on a chili remoulade sauce. Lightly breaded and fried, this was a nice light dish that didn’t leave me feeling heavy compared to the usual deep fried dishes I’ve had in the past. I liked that the seafood was fresh, and that the sauce was creamy with a slight kick to it.

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I also really enjoyed the Local Heirloom Tomatoes, featuring burrata cheese, Panzanella sauce and tomatoes that were sweet and very juicy. This was a very rich dish because of the creaminess of the burrata and the sauce. Yum!

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And now my favourite, the 18 oz Dry Aged Striploin! At this point I was in heaven – the steak was juicy and a perfectly cooked rare, with the dry aging of it giving it a nice umami flavour (salty, savoury richness). What a beautiful, tender cut of meat, which went perfectly with our sides, Mac & Cheese and Parmesan Truffle Fries. Both sides were very flavorful and delicious, I would definitely order them again.

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Finally, dessert! I wasn’t sure how they were going to top the entire meal, but wow. Dessert was SO amazing. It was hard to choose what I liked the most between the Orange Dream Cheesecake and the Sticky Toffee Pudding, since they were both great, but I liked the Sticky Toffee Pudding more. There’s just something about a nice warm dessert with lots of caramel sauce that makes me feel warm inside. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it because it was too dark – you’ll just have to order it!!

STK is definitely now on my top list of must eat places in Toronto, and I 100% recommend it as a perfect spot for a date.

STK Toronto
153 Yorkville Ave,
Toronto, ON M5R 1C4

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The ULTIMATE winter comfort food

12 Tuesday Dec 2017

Posted by notanotherfoodblogca in beef, comfort food, food, recipe, recipes, slow cooking, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

recipe, stew

cropped short rib

Toronto got hit with the first snowfall last night, and the snow was around 15cm this morning!! I’m not ready for winter, and for some reason this is the time of the year when I slack off really hard on my 6am gym workouts and eat all the carbs instead. I just loooove putting on my PJs, turning on Netflix, and eating all the carbs. Just like this awesome braised short rib and mashed potato that I made!!

I’m actually salivating as I type this entry out, just thinking about the braised short rib that I cooked this past weekend, with fall off the bone, super tender meat, in a super delish sauce that has the perfect balance of tangy and umami flavours. The recipe, which I loosely adapted (eyeballed) from a Tastemade video that didn’t have measurements, featured Franklin BBQ owner, Aaron Franklin, sharing his grandmother’s legit looking pot roast recipe. Franklin BBQ is a reallllly big deal in Texas – it is THE place to get classic BBQ in Texas with a wait that could go up to 4-5 hours… and yep it’s on my list of places to eat before I die!!

I tested a bunch of recipes for pot roasts and braised short ribs in the past, ranging from really tomato based ones, to even some with red wine, and I can say this recipe in my top three for sure! It’s got simple flavours that truly complement each other and really lets the beef shine. Comfort food doesn’t need to be complicated!!! I once made Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon and was a bit disappointed at how the flavours overpowered the meat. My favourite ingredient here is the shiitake mushrooms, which I have never used in a stew before! I’ve only used cremini mushrooms, but I love the flavour this adds.

Make this dish ASAP. It’s the perfect comfort food this winter!! Super simple recipe, which you can set and forget aka leave in your oven for a few hours. I made this with buttery mashed potatoes and roasted garlic carrots and it was EXCELLENT!!!!!

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I can die happy now.

21 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by notanotherfoodblogca in asian, beef, japanese, lavish, review, reviews, steak, travel, Uncategorized

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Tags

jaoan, japanese, review, travel, wagyu, yakiniku

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Oh, Tokyo. I often think and daydream about what an amazing adventure the two weeks my boyfriend and I spent there in February. And when I say often, I really mean once every few weeks (not ashamed to admit it at all!!).

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The country. The culture. The food. The people. Everything is wonderful. And it’s unfortunately taken me ages to post about the best beef experience and all in all best restaurant that I’ve experienced / had the absolute pleasure of eating at in my entire life thus far – Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara (炭火焼肉 なかはら). Mostly because I was unsatisfied by the photos I took (low lighting struggles), and because I really needed the photos to clearly capture the meal. It was SO epic, from the service to the food, which is so meticulously prepared and cooked.

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It took me two months of deep research to narrow down a solid Tokyo food itinerary (consulting Tabelog, and other food blogs), and this spot topped the list of must-eats. I’m a HUGE steak person, and needed to experience wagyu in Tokyo. This highly recommended spot needed a reservation made one month in advance, and it was a thousand times worth it.

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My cousin, boyfriend and I sampled different slices of cuts from the highest quality Tajima Black Wagyu beef, from wagyu sirloin, oyster blade, ribeye, and so many more.

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Look at this beauty – MY GOD, the marbling!

This was 100% on another level – my eyes literally rolled to the back of my head with every bite of meat, with my favourite being the ribeye. This is likely the best beef experience in the entire world.

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The charcoal grill was really important in melting off a bit of that fat, and it also gave the meat a slight char/torched flavour. This is mainly the reason why I chose to go with yakiniku style (grilled meat) of cooking for wagyu. To top it off, the service was outstanding, and it felt like we were welcomed in the restaurant like we were old friends.

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The tireless search for perfection of food and of the craft is evident in so many restaurants that I visited, in Tokyo. Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara in particular stood out to me, when I read a what owner Kentaro Nakahara said about wagyu: a miniscule 0.2mm difference in thickness or a slight change in knife angle can cause a complete transformation in texture and taste. I was lucky enough to speak to him in person, and you really can see his passion and commitment to the serving highest quality beef and hosting an amazing yakiniku experience.

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These pictures don’t do the entire experience justice at all. If you’re visiting Tokyo soon, I would REALLY recommend booking through here!

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Sumibiyakiniku Nakahara (炭火焼肉なかはら)
GEMS Ichigaya 9F, 4-3 Rokubancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (map)
+81 3 6261-2987

Double Layered Nachos + Pico De Gallo

04 Saturday Feb 2017

Posted by notanotherfoodblogca in american, beef, comfort food, easy, food, recipe, recipes, snack, Uncategorized

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Tags

nachos, snack, superbowl

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Oh maaaan. These nachos were really, really legit. I inhaled these… Couldn’t stop eating them!!!

Crisp tortilla chips with beef that had just the right amount of heat, plus a mix of melted sharp cheddar and monterey jack and finally topped with fresh pico de gallo and sliced avocados! My mouth is watering just typing this up. These are definitely the perfect Superbowl snack!

You really need to DOUBLE layer your nachos. Yup, scatter a bit of tortilla chips, cheese and beef to a baking tray, then do that all over again. Really makes a huge difference in getting cheese and beef to most chips.

For this recipe I ditched the Tostitos for something a bit different, the brand I picked up was called La Vista Nachos. So delicious and added a bit more authentic flavour. I also made my own taco seasoning, super easy stuff if you have the ingredients in your pantry. Also passed on the mozzarella and used monterey jack, which tasted better when the nachos cooled down (vs the hard mozzarella). Perfect to go with a glass of Coke – seriously, water doesn’t work with this.

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Ribeye with Roasted Garlic

27 Friday Jan 2017

Posted by notanotherfoodblogca in american, beef, easy, food, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

beef, garlic, recipes, ribeye, steak

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Ahhh ribeye. One of my go to easy dishes to make under FIVE minutes! I love cooking this on a cold day with some mashed potatoes and a (really optional) side of veggies. 

What we have here is a beautiful ribeye really good marbling, cooked rare. I’m not about that ribeye + herb life. Yep, tried that before, but TBH a ribeye needs to be savoured, and I just prefer the taste of beef without the herb flavours. All you really need are salt, pepper, butter and garlic – again simple is best!!

Just use this recipe and just stick to garlic!

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