Steak+ (part 2)

I awoke Saturday morning with a heavy belly and with the smell of the previous nights beef still lingering in the air. So you can imagine the task of calling up a steak house and booking a table for that same evening was not particularly appealing. But persevere I did and by noon that day I’d confirmed a table for 4 at Chiswick’s foremost meat eatery, Chakalaka.

I was first made aware of Chakalaka through a piece of direct mail which landed on my doorstep. Normally I deposit such junk straight into the recycle bin, but on this occasion an interesting headline caught my attention. Chakalaka – a South African restaurant located on Barley Mow Passage – was offering a free t-shirt to anyone who successfully completed their steak challenge. In the words of my good friend & founding S.A.S member Dylan, they could not have sent their marketing communication to a better suited recipient.

I was joined at Chakalaka by Mark Savage, Alex Edwards & Nick Kernaghan. We all agreed to take the steak challenge, which we were told involved eating 25 ounces (700 grams) of prime Rump steak in less than 25 minutes. Confident that this was an achievable task, we asked what the record time was, which we were told was a little under 10 minutes. Personally I prefer not to rush my meals, so the thought of scoffing beef at a rate of 100g/minute was not something that appealed to me. The same could not be said for Mr. Kernaghan however, who decided that the record was his for the taking. When the steak arrived Nick wasted no time in getting started. And within a couple of minutes he had made a mighty dent on the Rump.

Meat Mountain

Chakalaka is most accurately described as a themed restaurant. The decor is hideous, complete with zebra prints, Zulu artwork and other South African paraphernalia. The waiters and bar staff are nice people – our waiter John in particular – but they are certainly not knowledgeable about the food they serve. My expectation of the food we were going to eat was therefore not very high.

But when I first tasted the Namibian organic rump I was more than impressed. The meat was cooked to perfection. I ordered it medium-rare, as I find rump steak that is cooked rare usually retains a little too much blood for my liking. It was slightly salted and had a great texture and natural flavour to it. For those who like sauce they had either a mushroom,pepper or monkey gland on offer. However being a purest I opted for none of the above.

Whilst the rest of us slowly chewed our way through our mountains of meat, Nick was well on his way to smashing that record. By the time he’d finished his last mouth-full only 8 minutes had passed, a pretty impressive feat by anyone’s standards. The remainder of us all managed to empty our plates within the 25 minute threshold and were deservedly presented with our Chakalaka t-shirts soon after.

We wobbled out the restaurant at about 11PM and stopped for a brief night cap before heading home.

I’ve calculated that this weekend I have eaten almost 2 kilos of steak. Note to self: go for a long run this week and book yourself in for a colonic.

Steak+ (part 1)

It’s fair to say that I have had more than my share of steak this weekend. After being berated by my brother for what he described as a weak blog entry last week, I was determined to eat plenty to write about for this weeks entry.

On Friday I received a call from Dave Cosgrave of the Cosgrave clan, inquiring about what I had planned for ‘Friday night is steak night’. He happened to be passing through Chiswick so I invited him to join me to feast. I popped out to pick up some meat from Macken Bros. And as Dave was joining me I opted for something a little special. I requested the butcher to hack me off a couple of T-bones, to which he gladly obliged. The man put considerable effort into cutting the pair of 900g steaks and I informed him that his effort would be rewarded with a mention on the blog. Sadly this did not seem to impress him. The Philistine.

Loot at the effort

As well as the T-bones I also bought a small rib-eye for Tillie. And when Dave arrived in the evening he presented me with even more steaks.  On his way up from Dorset he’d stopped off at a place called Griffs Traditional Butchers in Broadstone, Poole and purchased two healthy well-aged (35 days) sirloins from the Isles of Orkney. So in total we had almost 3.5 kilos of beef to play with. Whilst I like my beef 3.5 kilos between two gents and a lady is greedy by anyone’s standards. So I kept one of the T-bones aside and cooked only 2.5 kilos instead.

Satisfactory selection of steak

We grilled the meat in the normal fashion and served with a healthy Rocket & cherry tomato salad dripping in Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar. We also griddled a pack of Asparagus that I picked up from the green grocers on the High Road.

Sadly I cooked the sirloins a little too much for my liking, though the T-bone was grilled to perfection. Needless to say we polished off the lot and even Tillie managed to empty her plate.

We rinsed down the grade-A Aberdeen Angus with a couple of delicious bottles of Mauvinon Bellevue Saint Emilion Grand Cru (2005) and a Cadbury Dairy Milk with Crunchy bits.

Dave & Tillie

Unnecessary steak? (I think not)

500g of pure Sirloin. No problem.

Last Friday Tillie was kind enough to pick up my steak from Macken Bros in Turnham Green. I requested a thick cut of Sirloin weighing no less than 500g. She called me from the shop saying that the butcher was refusing to cut me such a large steak as it was gross and unecesary. When I replied asking him to keep his opinion to himself and cut my steak as I requested, he said to Tillie “I bet your husband doesn’t have a 32 inch waist”. “No I don’t, it’s 34 inches” I lied back to him.

Needless to say I got my steak the way I wanted it. We ate round Saggy’s in the evening and I cooked the meat on her barbecue on the balcony. I nearly killed myself in the process however, as her little man Rafa had switched on the gas beforehand, so when I threw a match into the grill a flame the size of a small car erupted from within it, singeing my facial hair and initiating the Maillard reaction in some style.

The meal was delicious nonetheless and despite the warnings from the butcher I nailed the meat in record time. Easy peasy.

The inaugural SAS meeting

This week marked the momentous occasion of the inaugural Steak Appreciation Society (S.A.S) meeting. The concept behind SAS meetings is simple. A group of steak lovers get together at one of London’s leading steak houses to eat beef, drink good wine and chat nonsense.

The carefully selected venue for the first ever cattle call was none other than the legendary Hawksmoor in East London. The founding five members comprised myself, Dr. David Cosgrave and Messrs James Allen, Dylan Amlot & Ben Ashby.

It’s easy to miss Hawksmoor as you wander down Commercial Street. The outside of the restaurant looks more like a trendy East end design studio than a leading London steak house – though once inside there’s no mistaking where you are. The dimly lit venue has space for seventy or so carnivores to huddle closely around the wood-veneer tables. The white walls are adorned with a variety of meat related prints and other stylish artwork. And the aroma of freshly cooked beef lingers in the air.

Not wanting to waste any time with niceties we declined the option of a bespoke cocktail in favour of getting straight down to business. We were seated by the lovely Anna who was at hand to answer any questions we had regarding the menu. With so much on offer the decision making process was time consuming though after some considerable debating the team settled on their choices. Ashby and Allen spared no expense and opted for the most costly item on the menu – a 600 gram Chateaubriand priced at a mere £72 a portion. The remainder of us went for the slightly more moderate Bone-in Sirloin also weighing in 600 grams. Sides included Baked Sweet Potato, Grilled Tomatoes and Onions, Creamed Greens, Field Mushrooms and Triple Cooked Chips.

To wash the cow down we ordered several bottles of Pulenta 2005 Malbec at £37.50 each and a jug of Spitalfields finest tap water.

The meal took slightly longer to arrive than normal but this – as we were told by Anna – was due to the process by which the meat was cooked. The team of cooks – led by head chef Jason Wallace – have a very particular way of preparing the steaks which involves seasoning the meat, searing it over the charcoal grill before resting it for a full twenty minutes then finishing off the cooking process and serving up.

After things had quietened down I was invited by Anna to pay a visit to Jason and his team in the kitchen to see how things worked and to ask a few questions. The one thing that struck me was how passionate Jason was about the meat he was serving. He showed me several uncooked steaks he had prepared that day including the fillet, Rib-eye and Porterhouse. The colouring, texture and smell of the meat was quite unlike what you’d typically find in most London butchers. Jason informed me that they get all their meat – which is delivered daily – from the renowned Hackney butcher the Ginger Pig. The Ginger Pig recently received Observer Food Monthly’s Producer of the Year Award. Their beef is 100% British born and bred from their farms in North Yorkshire.

Despite the enormity of our collective order their was not a morsel left on anyone’s plate within 15 minutes of commencing eating. A post match review of the meal concluded with some interesting findings. Most notable of which was Dr Cosgrave’s description of the Chateaubriand as being comparable to a Chelsea princess whilst the Bone-in sirloin equating moreso to a Whitechapel housewife. Of the side orders the Baked Sweet Potato was the clear winner. All in all the food was deemed exeptional and bar one slight complaint from Mr Amlot everybody was left satisfied.

We rounded the meal off with two plates of cheese and some digestivos then parted company at the very social hour of eleven o’clock.

The inaugural SAS meeting was nothing short of an absolute success. Entry to the SAS is strictly by invite only and limited to one new admission per quarter. The next SAS meeting is planned May this year at a venue to be agreed. To be considered for membership please contact me via email at christopher.mair@gmail.com.

Chris Mair, Founder & Chairman of the SAS

Dr. David Cosgrave, Founding member of the SAS

Mr Dylan Amlot, Founding member of the SAS

Mr James Allen & Mr Ben Ashby, Founding members of the SAS

£144 of Chateaubriand

I {heart} New York Steak

Not a bad view

Four weeks ago I received a telephone call from my mothers boyfriend, Bob, asking if I had any plans for the weekend that has just past. “Not that I know” I replied. “Good” he said, “in that case I’d like you & Tillie to join your mother and I in New York City where we’ll be getting married”.

Gulp. All of a sudden my pulse began to race and I started to feel a little faint. An explosion of emotions erupted inside me and for a second or two I was lost for words. Then slowly the reality of what I had just been told started to hit me. This was my chance to go to New York City – the home of the steak house. “Of course I replied, we’d love to come”.

We landed in Newark airport late Thursday evening and took to a taxi to my cousin’s apartment in Hell’s Kitchen. The following day was spent moseying around Manhattan. We went for breakfast at Norma’s at Le Parker Meridien. I opted for the Normalita’s Huevos Rancheros – an enormous plate of eggs, quesadilla, salsa, guacamole and cheese – and a completely unnecessary side order of bacon. I was unable to finish the meal and looking around the restaurant I noticed that I was not the only one. Some dishes being cleared away looked barely touched. I’m a fan of big portions but the amount of food that Norma’s waste must be vast.

A steak fit for Batman

The wedding was towards the end of the day and was held in a reception office on the 55th floor of the Empire State building. After the ceremony we headed to Gotham Bar & Grill for the reception. Bob likes his food – and in particular his meat – so his choice of venue was always going to be a safe bet for a decent steak. Gotham did not fail in this respect. I ordered the grilled New York Steak, which was served with marrow mustard custard and vidalia onion rings with a Bordelaise sauce. I’m guessing the steak was blowtorched and slowly cooked through as it was quite browned on the outside but was nice and tender on the inside. I particularly like meat cooked this way. A common belief is that browning seal in the juices of the steak, however what it actually does is kick-start a complicated process known as the Maillard reaction, which adds depth and complexity to the flavours of meat.

The waiter was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the meat and informed me that it was sourced from a New York based supplier called Master Purveyor and that it was certified Aberdeen Angus that originated from the Mid Western states. We washed the steak down with a few bottles of delicious Selva Grossa Trimplin (San Giovese 2005) and battled the jet lag with at least two double espressos before finally succumbing at around midnight.

Day two was spent in much the same way as the first, minus the gargantuan breakfast. In the evening we had a reservation at a restaurant – owned by a friend of ours – called Kingswood. We were joined by several friends and a cousin I had never met before which was a pleasant surprise.

Kingswood is located in the West Village between Greenwich Avenue and 6th Avenue. The style is rustic and the crowd is fashionable. The venue is loud and bustling – not a place you’d want to go for a romantic meal for two, but perfect for a night out with a group of beautiful friends.

The décor is chabby yet chic, similar in style to your typical London gastro pub. The walls are covered with stylish textured wallpaper. The small oak tables are worn and situated close to one another to create a warm and cozy atmosphere. The ceiling is lined with Tin and there are a number of decorative butterflies affixed to it. And at the end of the room there’s a backlit diaroma complete with stuffed Peacock and garden foliage.

A steak fit for a King

The menu – put together by a pair of British chefs – is unpretentious yet sophisticated. But there was only ever one thing that I was going to order. Firmly anchored at the bottom of the menu was the grilled grass-fed Rib-eye steak – served on the bone – for two hungry mouths.

I asked for the meat to be cooked on the bloodier side of medium-rare. It arrived shortly after and I swiftly began to devour the beast. The meat was of exceptional quality and there was plenty of it. Sadly I did not have a chance to speak to either of the chefs so I’m not sure of its origins. I’d guess it was aged Aberdeen Angus, most probably American reared. Naturally I polished off the lot and after a couple more drinks we headed downstairs to their subterranean private members bar for a nightcap. A great night and a great venue.

Unfortunately my trip lasted only a few days and there is only so much cow one man can eat in a weekend.  According to this article from the Telegraph steak houses are the fastest growing types of restaurant in New York City. Amongst them is Robert’s Steakhouse which was recently featured in the Heston Blumenthal series ‘In search of perfection’ where it was described as one of the best places to eat steak in the world, which is some accolade. According to this article Robert’s Steakhouse hangs its meat for up to 18 weeks, which changes its whole character. Mouthwatering stuff.

Evidently there’s still plenty more steak for me to eat. So if there are any friends or family members reading this who fancy getting married in the near future, I thoroughly recommend the services provided by the Ultimate Wedding registry offices at the Empire State building.

A great steak from Waitrose.

Double aged on the bone

I know I bang on about never buying steak from supermarkets, but occasionally there’s no other option. Last weekend was one of these occasions. We’d spent the week in Switzerland skiing and arrived back in London on Saturday evening at about 7pm. In time to catch the last 15 minutes of the rugby but sadly too late to pick up meat from the butchers or defrost any from the deep freeze.

Fortunately Waitrose has recently opened on Chiswick High Road so I am no longer forced to go to the sorry excuse for a supermarket that is Sainsbury’s. It’s fair to say that the people behind the meat counter at Sainsbury’s are complete imbeciles and know absolutely nothing about the products they sell. It’s quite shocking that a company can put such incompenent people in charge of selling their wares. What Jamie Oliver is doing associating himself with such an abhorant organisation I do not know.

The people at Waitrose however are very well informed about the products they sell. Not only do they convey a sense of knowledge but they also seem to care about what they do. They are in a different league to their counterparts at Sainsbury’s.

On this occasion the very pleasant butcheress advised me to try the Ribeye, which had been double-aged on the bone for extra flavour. I asked her to cut me a healthy 500g serving which I grilled to perfection for about 6 minutes on each side. The outcome was delicious and as good as most steaks I have eaten recently from various butchers or restaurants.

I stand by my conviction that supermarkets are generally piss-poor alternatives for a decent butcher, but I can safely say that I can exclude Waitrose from the category.

Butcher & Grill

Sunday T-bone

I finally got a booking at the Butcher & Grill in Battersea. This place is a carnivors paradise. The venue combines a fantastic butcher & grocers – full of organic produce sourced from various British farms – with a family friendly restaurant & bar. It’s located on Parkgarte Road in Battersea, but they also have a place in Wimbledon Village.

Tillie organised the lunch with the Airlock boys & wives. Sadly (for them) two of the eight people eating were vegetarians. The Butcher & Grill is certainly not a place you’d want to visit if you had an aversion to meat. To access the restaurant you need to walk through the butcher/abattoir and the walls are adorned with images of carcasses and other unfortunate animals.

The menu is not exclusively meat, but there’s not too much on offer for herbivores. A good thing in my books.

Talking of books the place also has a reasonable collection of meat related cook books to purchase. I spotted the cleverly named Beef by John Torode, which I couldn’t resist. Frequent readers will know that when it comes to cooking steak at home I am fairly unadventurous. I’m hopoing to take a leaf out of Mr. Torode’s book and cook up something a little more interesting over the coming weeks.

As for the quality of meat at the B&G I couldn’t fault it. I opted for the 500g T-bone, which comes from the Highfields Farm in East Sussex. Their herds come from pure-bred Sussex stock, with the use of a continental cross bull solely for prime beef production. Whatever they’re doing to the cows is obviously working as they tasted lovely.

The B&G is a very child friendly venue – which helps when you have a hungry 6-month baby in the party. Freddie was mainly well behaved (read asleep) but when it came to feeding time he made himself be known. For some reason he’s developed a tendency of only drinking milk when he is lying on his back, which makes feeding him in public an interesting and somewhat amusing experience.

Table for one please

Steak sausages!

Steak sausage

We had dinner with my sister & brother-in-law last week. They’d been raving about these beef sausages they bought from a local South African butcher – called St Marcus - and had promised to give us a sample for some time.

Ben cooked them up and served with the usual trimmings of baked potato and beans. They were delicious, although when cooked looked decidedly smaller than beforehand. Lack of meat is something that makes Ben quite an angry man and I could tell he was not best pleased.

I loved them though and will certainly be purchasing some steak sausages for myself very shortly.

Depressing steaks

A Mountain of Meat

What should have been a very pleasant evening – munching through a mountain of meat with my brother – turned into a quite depressing experience when we began contemplating the future of our country. We were both in agreement that the future is quite bleak for (Great) Britain and hence our children.

Frederick Mair has my eyes. His mothers smile. And Gordon Browns debts. (Quality advertising that).

Sad steaks

Despite the doom and gloom, we did our best to eat our way through over 1.8 kilo of Cornish steak, comprising 2 rumps weighing about 300g each and a pair of T-bones.

Ross slow-cooked an onion & parsley sauce and I prepared some oven roasted potatoes with garlic and rosemary. We served it with a couple of lovely bottles of Pinot Noir.

Despite the deliciousness of our meal, the sadness took its toll and unfortunately neither of us could manage to clean our plates. Not something I like to admit to very often.

Sad steak & sauce

Verdict: Don’t mix politics with steak.

Futuristic steak

Inamo's menu

Last week I had lunch at a place called Inamo – an oriental fusion restaurant on Wardour Street in Soho.

There are no waitresses at Inamo. Instead you place your order via an interactive menu from your table. Using the mouse you navigate through the menu, previewing the dishes, which are projected onto your plate from above. The system also lets you set the mood, order a taxi and if you are really bored you can even play games.

It’s all quite naff really but still a bit of fun.

Steak on a stone

Unsurprisingly I opted for the steak. The ribeye cut was served on a hot stone with three sauces; Nam Jam, Soy & Truffle. The meat was really tasty though I was not a great fan of the sauces.

Verdict: Worth a trip as it’s a fun and quirky dining experience.