Steak | Sybaritica

I have had a number of ongoing spice blend projects underway for quite some time now. This summer, I continued on with a steak spice recipe I have been working on but I am still not quite satisfied with as yet. I took as a starting point two previous blends I have featured in previous posts; the first being one I used for an Oven-baked Beef Ribs recipe (which I liked very much), and the second a rather exotic blend for Barbecue Beef Ribs (which I didn’t care for nearly as much). The work in progress thus far takes a little for each but it needs something else so I thought I would share my progress thus far and invite some input from my readers…  Read more

While I was having lunch at a restaurant in Yellowknife a while ago, an interesting item on the menu caught my eye. I forget the name of it now, but basically it was a rib-steak marinated in a Chimichurri sauce and then given a Cajun style rub before grilling. It sounded terrific and I would love to have tried it but the steaks on the menu were only available after 5pm. In any event, the idea was quite intriguing and though I can’t really recreate it (not having been able to taste it), I thought I might try something along the same lines at home… Read more

If you have never heard of a ‘Chicken-fried Steak’ before, you may quite likely be as mystified as I was when I came across it for the first time. For the uninitiated, this particular culinary delicacy, originating in the American South, consists of a steak that is battered, or breaded, and then deep-fried (or pan-fried in lots of fat) much the same way as is Southern-fried Chicken.

My first, and thus far only, experience with this dish was at a roadside restaurant in Virginia during a road-trip to Florida my wife and I undertook a year or so before we were married. It was served, as I recall, with some sort of potato (whether mashed or fried I can no longer say) and a veggie of some sort. It was also topped with a creamy, white gravy that is more or less traditional in the south. The steak, I thought was pretty decent, but I really didn’t care for the gravy at all and, for this experiment, I think I will give that particular addition a miss… Read more

Date of Visit: July 6, 2013

The Hard Rock Cafe in Ottawa’s Byward Market is just one in a huge chain of restaurants with locations around the world. Despite the fact that the general culinary theme reflects the American southwest, the empire had its beginnings, I was surprised to learn, in London, England.

The selection of food available in these places is generally family restaurant fare, with the obligatory nachos and Chicken wings, but they also do a bit of a line in smokehouse delicacies as well. In general, the menu is not one that would tempt me especially but the Byward Market  restaurant has a nice outdoor patio with a pleasant view and so, on a very hot and humid day, I decided to see what they could do with a steak… Read more

My poor neglected barbecue had little use since my wife bought it for me as a housewarming present back at the end of August. All told, I have only been able to use it a few times so far, what with being away from home so much and being cursed with crappy weather the rest of the time… I was very much hoping to do a whole host of posts featuring interesting barbecue adventures but it looks like that might have to wait until next year, I’m afraid.

Anyway, this may not be the most exciting of posts, but I did get to grill up a rib-eye steak a while ago. My wife was away, so I couldn’t share with her, but maybe my readers might enjoy the pictures I took as I cooked this meal for myself… Read more

92 Clarence Street  Ottawa – (613) 241-6835 – Website

Date of Visit: July 27, 2012 

I hadn’t planned on visiting this place especially but when the restaurant I had intended to eat at turned out to be closed I walked around Byward Market and ended up here. I had a look at the Menu that was posted by the front doors and, when I saw that one of the specials was steak served on a sizzling hot stone, I remembered a friend telling me about it and I decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the experience started out so badly I never got to eat… Read more

62 William Street, Ottawa – (613) 241-0066 – Website 

Date of Visit: July 26, 2012 

The Aulde Dubliner sits in Byward Market just beside The Highlander Pub. I have been here before a couple of times (once with my wife) but only for drinks and never a meal. On this trip to Ottawa, I planned to have a steak as at least one of my restaurant experiences and, after working up a thirst shopping in the Market for a couple of hours, I decided to stop at this place for lunch… Read more

One morning, I returned home from shopping with a couple of nice, small steaks for supper. I didn’t have any particular plan in mind for cooking them but, as I was surfing some food blogs later that afternoon, I came across a lovely recipe by Jen over at The Scrumptious Pumpkin that she called ‘Grilled Sirloin with Lemon-Chive Pesto’. Now, Jen’s recipe is a lovely one, and I urge you to take a look, but I had no chives, nor pine nuts, to work with, as she did, and so I decided to substitute the chives with scallion greens and tweak the flavor a little with a little cumin… Read more

Date of visit: March 24, 2012

The Lone Star Grill is part of a chain but the only one I have ever visited (twice so far) is the one in Ottawa’s Byward Market On my first visit, I tried some of their ribs, which were not that bad, but, this time, I decided to extend to them a chance to be a competitor in my ongoing Rib Steak challenge…  Read more