** Originally Published April 18, 2010 **
** Updated January 18, 2020 **
** Updated December 31, 2020 **

So when my son started eating real food, he was very particular about eating meat, probably because he didn’t have his molars yet and it was challenging for him to chew.  My daughter, on the other hand, has never shared those concerns.  She’ll eat steak any day of the week.  One day we were all sitting at the dinner table eating a steak dinner with steamed broccoli and potatoes and Alexander was being fussy about the meat.  Jodi puts more broccoli on his plate and comments, “Our little vegetarian.”

Upon hearing this, Avery, head buried in her plate and her elbows up and flapping like a Dodo bird looks up with a mouth full of beef and another piece on her fork and says, “Not me.  I’m a steakatarian!”   She routinely eats an 8oz of steak in a sitting and asks for more.  Daddy’s little girl.

This brings us to…

The Top 5 Steaks I’ve Ever Eaten

It was bloody cold out last night and upon finding the Yuk Yuk’s comedy club not yet ready to welcome us inside (we were going to see a friend I played hockey with back in the day perform. Dave Hemstad. Check him out) we needed something to eat that was nearby. Not wanting pizza, we happened into this hoity-toity place that looked like it had steak. Entirely underdressed and unprepared to spend a mortgage payment on a meal, my date for the night convinced me it would be an adventure. The freight elevator had an oriental rug in it. The meal was fancy. I did not enjoy the amuse-bouche (roe and caviar on a miniature cracker-sized pancake thing with a dollop of some sort of cream ooze). The bleu cheese with apple and fancy lettuce was good, though the cheese was a bit much for me (I tried it though!) I ordered a glass of Malbec (9oz, of course) and then came the steak. Good golly Miss Molly was it good (hence, the update to my Top 5 steaks list). I finished off my meal with a single serving of tarte tatin. The total? One Million dollars, and worth every penny.

Here’s the new list:

1. The Fifth Grill & Terrace (Toronto, Ontario)
   Both my dining companion and I had the filet on a 3-course prix fixe menu and we both agreed that it was an absolutely fantastic piece of meat. He doesn’t have a Top 5 list, but I do, and this steak jumped right to the top.

    

2. Merlot (Ottawa, Ontario – now closed)
   Thick and juicy with a subtle onion and cheese crust on top…. absolutely perfect.

    

3. Charcoal Steakhouse (Kitchener, Ontario)
   Was halfway through it before I realized I was cutting it with the dull side of my butter knife.

    

4. Le Papillon (Toronto, Ontario)
   Not known for their steak, but cooked perfectly, nice and tender… I licked my plate clean.

    

5. St. James’ Gate (Dieppe, New Brunswick) *New to the List*
   Great steak. Thick and perfectly cooked.  Wonderful flavour. On its own, this steak was juicy, tender, and tasty, but I added fried mushrooms and onions and was not disappointed with how this married so well with the flavour of the steak.