New Lunch Fare at The Keg Steakhouse + Bar
I visit all of The Keg locations often at lunch time because I think that it is the perfect place to conduct a short business meeting. When I am host for a lunch date, I know that the food quality will be consistently high and that service will be prompt, polite and non-obtrusive. Although I love to eat steak and other beef selections, I do not often do so at lunch time unless I am planning ahead and not intending to have supper that evening, as is sometimes the case. Recently while at the Southside Keg, I spied a new steak addition on the lunch menu. The Manhattan Cut New York is a seven ounce portion which would definitely hold me over if I had an early teaching gig in the evening.
More often though, I choose the hearty Sante Fe Chicken or Cobb Salad. The latter is topped with chicken in addition to avocado, bacon, hard cooked eggs and crumbled Bleu cheese! I look forward to going back soon to sample the Lobster and Shrimp Salad which enhances the subtle shellfish tastes with black beans, corn, cremini mushrooms, avocado, mango sesame dressing and pine nuts.
I also spied the new Lobster Mac & Cheese which will also have to wait for a future visit. On this day we started by sharing Tuna Tacos. The mixed cabbage slaw was punched up with jalepenos and a side of Sriracha sauce but in my mind the sleek, subtleness of the ahi tuna was fine with no accoutrements. The quality of the tuna was exceptional: ahi is another name for yellowfin tuna and is widely used in raw fish dishes, especially sashimi. For a fish to be served raw, the quality of the flesh must be exemplary. The filets had a dusting of creole seasoning and had barely touched the grill-just the way I love it. As a result the meat was cool and silky, like a cold drink on a hot day.
I am a fried chicken lover from a way back when my grandma would serve just “caught” chickens for lunch. I know that the thought may be disturbing to some, but the taste of a fresh, free range chicken is like no other. Even though I was a city girl, I spent summers on the farm and the practice was just a part of everyday farm life. But I digress, the only way that I have found to achieve this same kind of tenderness is by marinating the chicken first. Buttermilk is the best manner because the mild acids that it contains, tenderizes the meat. The Keg’s version then coats the hearty portion with a unique blend of seasonings. I found the crust to be a bit on the salty side but not in an unpleasant way. I am supposed to be conscious of reducing my salt, but I could not help going back to the delectable tastes over and over again in the same way that I crave kettle potato chips and buttery popcorn. The chicken came with a choice of side and I selected the coconut curry soup which was delicious in itself, but offset the chicken in a lovely manner.
My lunch mate chose a half of the Brie Chicken sandwich with a salad and after I tried unsuccessfully to make it through the portion on my plate, I may opt for this lighter fare another time.
Business was conducted and the meet up was a success in all aspects.
Kath’s quote: “A cook she certainly was, in the very bone and centre of her soul. Not a chicken or turkey or duck in the barn-yard but looked grave when they saw her approaching, and seemed evidently to be reflecting on their latter end; and certain it was that she was always meditating on trussing, stuffing and roasting, to a degree that was calculated to inspire terror in any reflecting fowl living.”-Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)
Love-that is all.