Entries Tagged as 'steak'

Roka Akor

January 12th, 2012 · No Comments


Roka Akor


Red Miso Soup with Lobster


Butterfish Roll


Wagyu Beef and Kimchi Dumplings


Filet


Salmon Teriyaki


Pickled Cucumber


Steamed Rice with Furikake


Another look at Alden’s steak.

A several months ago, I earned enough Open Table points to get me $20 off any Open Table restaurant bill. Since a bunch of the points were earned when Alden and I went out for lunches in River North, I thought it appropriate that I take him out to use my check.

We decided to go to Roka Akor, a fancy schmancy sushi restaurant and Japanese robata grill that we probably wouldn’t go to at dinner because it would be too expensive. It was a bit expensive even for lunch, but at least we got $20 off. We both decided to get the Roka Akor Business Lunch ($24 each), which includes red miso soup with lobster, Wagyu beef and kimchi dumplings, spicy crispy butterfish sushi rolls, steamed rice, and your choice of an entree. The entrees offerred were salmon teriyaki with pickled cucumber, cumin BBQ pork loin with shaved vegetables and cilantro, grilled seasonal vegetables with truffle soy butter, a 6 oz. prime beef filet or prime skirt steak. The steaks were $6 more. Alden went all out and got the steak. I got the salmon.

Everything that we had was pretty good. My salmon was very tasty and the portion size was larger than what I expected, for sure. Alden gave me a piece of his steak and it was flavorful and tender. I’m not a huge steak person, but it was really good. The pickled cucumber wasn’t too pickled, really refreshing. I also really liked the butterfish rolls and could see coming here for sushi and not even getting things from the grill. I thought the dumplings were alright. Not the stars of the show. The miso soup was pretty good too, but not outstanding.

I never had food cooked on the robata grill (high-heat method of searing and cooking using expensive, imported binchotan charcoal from Japan) and it was great. The grill area at Roka Akor is really pretty and it’s wide open so you can see the cooks using this unique grill. I would come back to Roka Akor, but probably only for a special occasion dinner. Just because I’m sure it tends to get swanky at night and the dinner prices can get expensive, but the food was great and the service was good, as well.

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Roundarch Holiday Party

December 5th, 2011 · No Comments


Roundarch Holiday Party at ZED451

Some highlights from the buffet


Geoff, Jim & Jeff thanking everyone for coming to the party.


Awesome fire!


Kelly, on the right.


Ashanth & Dallas catching up and drinking the mojito bar dry.


Roundarch Holiday Party at ZED451

This year the Roundarch holiday party was at ZED451. I’d never been there, but really liked it. Roundarch basically took over the whole first floor and the second floor was someone else’s holiday party. I really loved the space. It was very warm and inviting. The colors were very rich and the fire was an awesome touch.

ZED451′s main dining room area had this HUGE round buffet. We thought it was one of the biggest buffets we’ve been to, not counting Las Vegas. There was everything on this buffet: shrimp, crab, poke, charcuterie, all the cheeses, duck pastrami. Craziness. It was so good. ZED451 is kind of like an upscale Brazilian steakhouse where they come to your table and offer you all sorts of meats, which they cut off right in front of you. Since this doesn’t scale, they cut all the meat ahead of time and skewered it and there were guys constantly offering you choice cuts of “aged 48 hours blah blah blah.” Point is, it was delicious. There were all kinds of steak, a Mediterranean chicken, fish, etc.

The party was, of course, open bar. And a nice touch was the mojito bar where you could get all kinds of different mojitos: blackberry, pineapple, cucumber, blueberry, cranberry, etc. I had to try hard to keep myself in check, something which Dallas did not do! But that’s ok. I was the one with big plans (cookie party) the next day, not him.

Roundarch never skimps on their holiday parties and this year was no exception. We had a fun time talking to all of my coworkers and their guests. Dallas got to catch up with the people from my office he doesn’t get to see much. Great time! Oh, and here’s a photo my coworker, Rose, took of Adam, Brad and me:


Rachelle, Adam, Brad. Gray is the new black!

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Chicago Cut Steakhouse

December 16th, 2010 · No Comments

In September Chicago Cut Steakhouse opened in the building south of where I work. I’ve been curious about it so when I was tasked with choosing a place for a team lunch, I decided to try it out.

Chicago Cut is on the fancier side inside and a bit formal as far as service and decor go. The clientele seemed to be very business-y. I guess that’s what’s to be expected, but our office is very casual so I did feel slightly out of place with our dress.

Out of about 8 people at lunch I was the only girl. I guess they must do this with every woman with a purse, but I thought it was cool that they gave me a purse hanger.

Another reason I wanted to go to Chicago Cut: Their wine list is presented on an iPad.

You can view wines on a map, click for more information, even order the wine right there from the iPad application. I had just gotten off a food-related iPad project, so this was interesting to me.

We started off lunch with some delicious bread.

And then for an appetizer we split a kobe beef hotdog. It was just a few bites each and a few fries, but it was really tasty. And big. I don’t know how you could finish this whole hotdog if you ordered it for yourself.

For lunch I wanted steak, but nothing too heavy, so I got the prime filet steak salad.

We also had some fries, macaroni and cheese, and asparagus for sides. Man, I was so full after this lunch. I don’t think I even ate dinner that night. Everything was so good. But I would advise coming on an expense account. It is a bit pricey ($19.95 for my salad!). Good place for business meetings.

Chicago Cuts is located on LaSalle and the Chicago River.

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Steak Frites Barbecue

August 7th, 2010 · 2 Comments

Last night we went out to Danny & Caroline’s for a barbecue. Since they just got married, we used the grill they got for a wedding gift, a fryer they got for a wedding gift, and dinnerware they got for a wedding gift. Danny grilled steaks from Peoria Butcher Shop and made some french fries. Dallas found some absurdly large onions at the supermarket so Danny also fried up some onion rings. This week was also Danny’s birthday, so Caroline got a cake for him. We stuck some taper candles into it and sang happy birthday. It was a fun night.

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The Best Steak in New York: Peter Luger Steakhouse

August 6th, 2009 · 4 Comments

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Peter Luger’s Menu :: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Steak Sauce :: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Steak is served pre-sliced on an inclined plate so that the juices run down.

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German Fried Potatoes :: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Creamed Spinach :: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Chocolate Coins :: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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Dallas checking out all the accolades :: Peter Luger Steakhouse, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Dallas loves steak, so while in New York I took him to the best steak place around, Peter Luger Steakhouse. I didn’t actually really pay much attention to Peter Luger’s when I lived in New York, but when I was leaving Tien insisted I go and it was awesome. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. For 24 years in a row, Zagat has named Luger’s New York’s No. 1 Steak House. As well, they have a Michelin star rating, and in 2002, Luger’s was named to the James Beard Foundation‘s list of American Classics.

Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Peter Luger’s has an old-school, German beerhaus decor. The restaurant has been open since 1887, so that makes sense. They serve only the finest USDA PRIME meat. Members of the owner’s family select the sides of beef personally. Then the meat is brought back and dry aged on site.

We went to Peter Luger’s on Sunday afternoon and a lot of people around us were ordering burgers and fries and other more lunch-like things, but we decided not to vary from the standard order: USDA PRIME Porterhouse for two cooked medium rare, creamed spinach for two, and Luger’s special German fried potatoes for two. Dallas also got a beer. I had to have a bloody mary because when we were waiting to check in at the bar area I could see a guy making the mix and it looked delicious.

I remember watching an episode of the Sopranos about 4 or 5 years ago where they tell Christopher that after he’s a “made man” he has to buy them dinners at Peter Luger’s, which was going to be really expensive. I remember commenting to Dallas that I’d been there and we talked about it a bit. I told him someday we’d go there together…. and finally we did.

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