I guess it has grown to be a bit of a tradition for us now… Allen’s Steak Festival has become our annual Valentine’s trip out to the east end of the city.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I have gradually become the cliché west end Dad, and rarely make it across the Humber over the course of a year. Barring international trips, the vast majority of my time is spent within about a square mile of our home! It’s laughable really.
Anyway, then reasoning behind this post was to encourage you to try out Allen’s Steak Festival.
We were there on Saturday and had a truly memorable meal, choosing the JOHN W. MAXWELL BONE-IN RIB STEAK from WYATT FARM ORGANICS, FLAMBOROUGH CENTRE, ONTARIO; DEXTER breed ; HORMONE and ANTIBIOTIC-FREE; FEED GRASS, HAY; AGED 35 DAYS. Priced at $46.00 per 14 ounce, and the FRANK BATTY TENDERLOIN from MEAFORD, ONTARIO; ANGUS breed ; HORMONE and ANTIBIOTIC-FREE; FEED GRASS, HAY, BARLEY, ALFALFA, SOYBEANS, FIELD PEAS; AGED 32 DAYS. $42.00 per 8 ounce; $5.15 each additional ounce.
We accompanied these simply gorgeous pieces of meat with creamed spinach, rapini, fat fries, sour cream and horseradish mashed potatoes, and some delightfully traditional Béarnaise sauce.
Oh, and we started off with a couple of GRILLED COLOSSAL CHILI-RUBBED SHRIMP (3) COCKTAILS with AVOCADO-CORN SALSA priced at $19.95
If you are a wine lover who drinks local, Allen’s all Ontario wine list is legendary, and there are regularly fascinating back vintages being offered by the glass.
The full steak menu is below so as you can see the expansive selection of cuts and suppliers available, although be warned that many of the cuts sell out well before the end of the festival. As of Saturday evening they still had everything in stock.
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And that was so good.
