My history with steak is complicated.
I grew up eating terrible steak thanks to my father buying the worst cuts of meat and then cooking them with all the finesse of a Thanos destroying a planet (daddy liked to cook the life out of meat). I once dislocated my jaw while endlessly chewing a piece of meat that was tougher than a Navy Seal.
It wasn’t until I was 20 that I actually ate a steak that wasn’t the consistency of a used tractor tire.
So, for a long time I have avoided steak in preference of seafood and other types of meat because I have bad memories. But since I now have a food blog, I have opened my mind again to certain foods I had blocked out – perhaps we’ll even get to Brussels sprouts one day, although I wouldn’t hold my breath.
I’ve been sampling steaks at various Burnaby restaurants and have been pleasantly surprised at the quality. Deciding on which one is the best was a tough call, but I have made my decision. This, as usual, is personal preference, as some people like different cuts of meat, like steak with or without sauce, and prefer the meat cooked a certain way. For the record, I’m a medium rare guy, ever since I heard Martin Scorsese’s dad say medium-rare guys are “aristocrats” in Goodfellas.
I’ve seriously fallen in love with the tomahawk steak at Atlas Steak + Fish inside the Grand Villa Casino.
It’s a ginormous 48-ounce bone-in certified Angus beef steak that is hand-butchered, aged for a minimum of 40 days and grilled in a mesquite-fired Jasper oven. It’s served with Madagascar green peppercorn sauce presented at tableside.
Yes, it’s 48 ounces and goes for $130, not including sides so I conquered this with three friends. I had actually gone to Atlas the previous week and had a small steak, but saw the tomahawk and convinced three buddies to meet me there this past week.
It was worth it. It’s family-style eating that we added lobster and other things to. Yes, it’s pretty decadent, but it was also cathartic – I felt as though I was exorcising my childhood steak demons.
DISCLAIMER: I have not been compensate by the restaurant in question in any way. They don’t even know I am writing about them.
Follow Chris Campbell on Instagram @shinebox44.