The Keg at Morgan Creek, Surrey, BC

Yes...if you keep reading there will be a restaurant review amongst the rambling.  Some places are more difficult to write about than others or it could be that my ADHD is really active today :-)
I've had this review churning for quite a while now...couldn't really get it out.  So this is it.  It's the Keg, what can I say? Don't get me wrong..... I don't mean that in a bad way at all.
It's the Keg......

After a couple weeks of heavy duty cooking and entertaining we went with the option of eating out…..nothing fancy, just good old meat and potatoes.

Interesting the feedback you get once you start telling the world about yourself.

I have had several people mention that they didn’t realize we were such Asian food lovers.  Go figure?  I would have thought that it would be a given for me… being Asian and all.  I guess I am really a banana personified. (yellow on the outside and white on the inside)

BR has learned to love Asian food too.  In fact, it is often he who suggests where we go for our meals out.  Invariably his choices are Asian restaurants, more specifically Chinese.  He loves the freshness and the quality and finds that there is way more value in a Chinese meal…… It’s no wonder my momma loves him and says he’s “a good boy!”
So what does that make BR.....a hard-boiled egg?  Haha, I like it.  BR is a hard boiled egg!

Does any of this have anything to do with the Keg?
….nope, but just saying and also clarifying for some of you that we enjoy a variety of foods.  The Keg review is coming......any minute now....bear with me....there's some stuff I want to say.

Most of our meals are cooked up at A Wok in the Tuscan Kitchen.  That’s BR’s favorite restaurant of all!  There haven't been too many complaints from our other patrons either.

When we eat out, it is often Chinese, so most restaurant reviews are going to be just that.  That’s who we are; 

a banana and an egg ….and this is what we eat!

When we want to go out for a basic steak and potato type meal, we often end up at the Keg.  Steaks are one thing that I really don't enjoy having at a Chinese restaurant. I'd actually go as far as saying, I find them quite disgusting.  On the other hand, I don't go to a Western style restaurant and order Chinese "style" food either.......that's just scary.  Please don't get me going about fusion. 

Our meal at the Keg was good.  It’s the Keg.  They do a pretty consistent job of cooking pretty decent steak.  I just wished the didn't take the bone out of my favorite go to rib steak.
It's been bone-in forever and the last couple of years.....boneless! Go figure.  Why ruin a perfectly good thing?  

I asked about this and they said they may be going back to the bone-in Rib Steak.  

I  particularly like that Keg meals include sides…….I have issues with paying  $10 for a baked potato!

Bread Basket, warm and doughy ...I prefer the old sourdough version from years ago.
This bread was served with whipped butter and some sort of bacon flavored cheese spread

Caesar  Salad

Yes there are better steak houses around and we enjoy those too….when you don’t want a fuss or have the desire to take out a second mortgage…the Keg fits the bill.  I think one of our most expensive steak dinners was at Michael Jordan's in New York, granted this included a very lovely bottle of wine. I remember thinking at the time....holy crap! .....this meal costs more than our airfare from Vancouver.

OK, rambling complete.

The Keg....remember when it was the Keg and Cleaver? 

Remember the Salad bar?  Escargot? Mushrooms Neptune?

The Keg has been around for a long, long time.  I remember going to the Keg before I had my driver's license.......whoa....that's a long time ago!  It all started in North Vancouver in 1971.  Amazing they are still as popular ever.

The Morgan Creek Keg is no exception.  The place was packed to the point of overflowing on the Saturday night we were there.  The place is noisy and the lighting is dim (hence the very crappy photos!)

It's the Keg!

In my opinion, we were seated at the nicest table in the restaurant……right in front of the blazing fire.

Our server, Tristan was amazing…. attentive and friendly. I love that you always get to know your server's name when you go to the Keg.  Tristan was an outstanding server. If you go…ask to sit in his section!  Nice ambience and great service.

"Hi! My name is Tristan and I will be your server tonight"

Our steaks were cooked they way we asked….maybe just a bit under. For me that's better than over.....I think over cooked meat is a crime!  

My medium rare was really a bit closer to rare, which is really how I like my steak!

BR had Chicken and Ribs.  He liked it OK, nothing really special and he prefers how they are served at A Wok in the Tuscan Kitchen. Nothing against the Keg….just personal preference.

Also on the table: 

the Filet, classic dinner.

Prime Rib with Alaska King Crab Legs

Rib Steak

Our starter was Tempura Pea Pods and Asparagus

The wine list is decent and their mark up is the typical 100%.  You can certainly pay a lot more for the same wines at other restaurants.

If I wanted to complain about something, it would be the wine glasses that the Keg uses.  This is not a complaint...merely observation.  I asked for a glass with a cut edge lip, but they don't have them at the Keg.

Personal preference….I like to have my wine out of a stemmed glass with a smooth cut lip.  I find that drinking wine from glasses with a rolled edge at the lip interrupts the flavor of the wine as it rolls onto the tongue. It changes the taste and the bouquet (think speed bump)…..it’s true.  

Freakish?….ya probably!!

Some restaurants will give you better glasses for nicer wines. (not that we ordered a really great wine this night!)

Compare glasses for yourself and see if  you notice a difference.  That’s another reason we enjoy wining and dining at home….proper wine glasses!

Our meal was just under $300 for five of us, including a bottle of wine, a couple of drinks and appetizers.  The Keg at Morgan Creek was great for a decent meal.  The best part of the whole thing was that I didn’t have to prep it, cook it or clean up afterwards!

In terms of the $$, yes we could have fed 12 - 15 people a greater variety of dishes in a Chinese restaurant ....but  you can't really compare these two dining experiences can you?  

I feel the topic for another post brewing:-)