Category: Food
Title (Restaurant): Chop Steakhouse & Bar
Event: Summerlicious 2013
Chop Steakhouse & Bar, located near the Toronto Pearson Airport at 801 Dixon Rd, is your typical steakhouse and bar. I came across this steakhouse randomly as I was trying to find a summerlicious restaurant suitable for my Irish relatives. Steak seem to be reasonable since it offers a bit of everything: chicken, fish, dessert, soup, salads...oh, and steak.
The People
Hostess: Friendly people. I didnt really interact with them since my relatives spoke for me. When I did ask about parking (shared parking with hotel nextdoor), they kindly mentioned to us that the parking was free today and no need to worry about it. Great!
Waitress: Nice but not that friendly/ as professional as she could be. Polite, composed, basically everything that a waitress should be, but no special or outstanding personality. Took a bit of time bringing us extra bread though.
Servers: Also nothing special. Polite young gentlemen and ladies.
The Ambience
Stepping into Chop was no different than stepping into The Keg or Moxie's and all those other casual fine dining restaurants with dim lights and modern interior design. Seats were quite comfy, the tables were the right height, and there really isnt anything to complain about (other than dim lights). Cute lights though (they're hats!).
The Food
Bread and Spread
Warm, soft, fluffy interior with a touch of crunchy exterior. The average fist sized bread was cut into 4 slices, but you can argue that the serving size can easily be eaten by one individual. Nonetheless, great bread to start off the meal!
The Drinks: Caesar and Pink Lemonade
First time drinking a caesar, and it was very vegetable-y. Tasted that sourish spicey bit from the tobasco, and had intense tomato juice flavour. It was my sister's drink. I went for the pink lemonade: raspberry liqueur, raspberry sorbet, vodka, lemoncello, and I think one more thing. Tasted just like a fruity drink. Didnt really taste the vodka, but at the beginning tasted the bit of alcohol, afterwards it just tasted like rasberry flavour diluted lemonade. A little sour, a little sweet. For a short period of time it tasted like the fruity medicine, but I'm not saying its bad, it was pretty good actually!
Appetizer 1: Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
This was good. Nice creamy butternut squash taste. Simply delicious. The lemon sour cream gave it a bit of a tang to accompany the sweet taste of squash. I personally love squash, so this satisified me a lot! Soup wasnt grainy, instead it was very smooth, rich yet not too heavy. Would've tasted great with bread, sadly we ate it all before it came, and waitress took too long to bring us our second batch. Large bowl too!
Appetizer 2: Crab and Shrimp Cakes
Appetizer 3 & 4: Mixed Greens Salad and Caesar Salad
Appetizer 3 & 4: Mixed Greens Salad and Caesar Salad
The two seafood cakes were small (palm size) but pretty good. They didn't cheap out on the seafood, at least from the piece I ate. You can taste the shrimb and a bit of the flakey texture from the crab. It wasn't oily either. No sauce. Didnt need it. Salads was ordered but looked no different from any caesar. The mixed green had sesame seeds and a honey vinegrette, but I didnt get to taste it :( .
Entree 1: Baseball Sirloin and Lobster Topper
The image might look nasty, so I must say that the plating was nothing special or very 'rough' and looked very empty with such a big plate. The baseball sirloin was the smallest entree out of the three we ordered (all steak). The steak itself was good, not wow thought since a baseball sirloin is known for their thick cut. I ordered medium rare and it was cooked perfectly, but slightly touch (I blame the cut though). The sauce was creamy, savoury, and had bits of lobster. It reminds me of an 'oscar' but overall very good and paired nicely with the meat. The mashed potatoes and the tomato side was nothing special: good mashed potatoes with skin in and a nicely roasted tomato.
Entree 2: Prime Rib (12oz)
Entree 3: New York Striploin
Please refer to menu for rest (too many!)
Prime Rib was AMAZING. Tender, juicy, HUGE, moist, soft, not too fatty, and simply melts in your mouth. This piece of prime rib (which I should've ordered instead) was the perfect cut of meat. Simply seasoned with only the basic spices paired with au jus and horseradish. That's all it needs. The meat speaks for itself. Yes, I got all that from just one piece. My skinny 6.2ft cousin weighing 130 (and usually eats nothing) devoured this dish like he hasn't eaten in years.
NY striploin was also very juicy. I didnt eat much of it since my mom ordered it and she sat far away, but from the piece she cut me (and it was sadly the fatter piece), it was tender, juicy, and perfectly seared. Their steaks are definitely a must try. So fresh! I must comment on the sides. They're very unevenly distributed. My sister and my uncle both ordered veggies, and my uncle got twice as much as my sister. Tsk tsk.
Dessert 1: Unforgettable Apple Pie
Last but not least, dessert! I was very satisfied with my order of apple pie. I wont say it's UNFORGETTABLE, but it was pretty awesome for a piece of pie. In my picture the serving size is normal, but my mom's apple pie slice was literally twice mine! Although I wished mine that was huge, I was happy with my portion size. If you remember, I'm trying to lose 5 pounds. The pastry was supposed to be a cream cheese crust, but I didnt taste any cream cheese flavour. Perhaps it just gave it that flaky texture. Nonetheless, the pie was slightly warm and the apples were perfectly caramelized and not sour/too sweet. The pie wasnt heavy or sweet, perfect the way it is. The crust had a slight crispy texture while still being soft and flaky. Paired nicely with the vanilla ice cream.
Dessert 2: Raspberry Creme Brulee
Dessert 3: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Butter Cream
The custard for the creme brulee was good, but I was disappointed with the inconsistency again with the brulee-ing of the dessert. This one was very burnt, so you could only taste the burnt sugar. The custard at the bottom was great. Sweet and silky like how a custard should, and the raspberries (which werent too evenly distributed) werent sour/too sweet. Once again, it paired well with the custard. The cookie I didnt take a bite out of but family said it was too buttery. The chocolate cake I didnt taste, but my cousin got it and said it was good.
The Verdict
Come again? Yes. The steak was amazing and you can tell its really fresh since its so tender and juicy and perfectly seared.
Worth the $35? Definitely. The portion is pretty big, and even though my side mashed potatoes (or my sister's side veggies) was nothing different, 30 dollars at a normal steakhouse can probably get you just a prime rib (no dessert or appetizer).
Recommend? I already did :)
Give it a try! Although service wasnt the best and there are some bads, I guarantee you that if you love steak this place would satisfy you (and if it doesnt people have different tastebuds so you cant blame me!)
TeaC101
The Verdict
The People: 3.5/5
The Ambience: 4/5
The Food: 4/5
Overall: 4/5
Come again? Yes. The steak was amazing and you can tell its really fresh since its so tender and juicy and perfectly seared.
Worth the $35? Definitely. The portion is pretty big, and even though my side mashed potatoes (or my sister's side veggies) was nothing different, 30 dollars at a normal steakhouse can probably get you just a prime rib (no dessert or appetizer).
Recommend? I already did :)
Give it a try! Although service wasnt the best and there are some bads, I guarantee you that if you love steak this place would satisfy you (and if it doesnt people have different tastebuds so you cant blame me!)
TeaC101
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