Posted Sep 28, 2014, 6:21 PM
|
|
Klatuu Barada Nikto
|
|
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: The Island of Misfit Architecture
Posts: 4,486
|
|
The wife and I got to try out Meat last night. Very inviting and open space with huge windows facing the street, with very minimalist decor that suits it well. We had to wait about 20-25 mins for a table, but they have ample space for people waiting to loiter around and have a drink and mingle, which makes the time pass much more quickly.
The server was very helpful and service was excellent, though she may have exaggerated how much food two people could easily eat in one sitting.
We ordered the half pound of brisket, half rack of ribs, and a quarter smoked chicken, alongside a full order or the mac and cheese and a full order of the brussel sprouts, as well as a homemade pickle and a slice of bread each.
The food came out very quickly - a huge benefit of having it all prepared in advance - served "family style" for sharing.
The brisket was good, but I found I had to rely on the homemade sauces for flavour more than the smoked flavour alone. That said, those sauces are all very good. The ribs on the other hand were juicy and delicious and could stand on their own. The chicken was what actually blew me away, though I don't think I'd ever really had real smoked chicken before. Chicken normally seems to rely on marinade, seasoning, or sauce to give the otherwise usually bland meat some flavour, but the smoke flavour was prominent throughout.
The mac and cheese was delicious, allowing the creamy cheesy flavour and little else to be the highlight of the the dish. The brussel sprouts offered a good balance of flavour which did well interspersed with the meat servings. The pickles were simple and tasty and had a great crunch. They are huge, though, so be careful how many you order. The bread, honestly, I could have done without, but it wasn't bad by any stretch.
We ended up taking home about half the Mac & Cheese, 3/4 of the brussel sprouts, and most of the brisket. It was a lot of food.
The bar has lots of local beers and an amazing selection of bourbon (including a few of my favourites); if you go here though, you have to try the Meat Caesar, which is made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, horseradish, and garnished with a slice of bacon. The flavour lingers in your mouth for quite a while after even just one sip. And you can't go wrong with bacon.
It was a bit pricey - an evening for two with two drinks each and all the food mentioned above worked out to somewhere around $100 before tip, though as I said we could have done with one less meat selection and just one large or two half sides. It was a good, delicious, and fun dining experience, though, and we would definitely go back again.
|