12 Goldie Pl
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Tonight
is a special night; it’s the night
Chris lost his rib-ginity. I couldn’t believe it when I heard that a
man of 20 years has never had ribs before: luscious, fatty ribs with juices
that drip down between the fingers, the flavours soaked in so as to make you
want to gnaw on the bones after the meat’s long gone. And where do you get
ribs? At a steakhouse of course; namely, Squire’s
Loft Steakhouse.
If
there’s one thing Melbourne likes, it’s guilty-pleasure food masquerading as
fine dining (hot dogs, burgers, baos – just to name a few), so it’s no surprise
that Squire’s Loft was all completely booked out on a Friday night.
I
was disappointed that Squire’s Loft didn’t have a loft. Until we were led up
into the loft. Whilst the downstairs dining area had to share itself with the
cash register and semi-open kitchen, the upstairs was a dining hall for nothing
but feasting. It’s truly a man’s domain up here – nothing but brick, wood, and
makeshift chandeliers hanging from the exposed rafters.
There’s
nothing better than bread, except free bread – that’s what I always say anyway.
This bread was pretty good, Chris and I agreed. The edges were crusty and the
center was warm and springy. Then we came to a crossroad of opinions; Chris on the one hand loved the way the butter melted into the bread, whereas I thought the
entire doughy confection was ruined by the watery, subpar Western Star butter.
 |
| Porterhouse Steak (200g, $25) and Garden Salad ($4 surcharge) |
You
can’t go to a steakhouse without ordering steak, so aside from the ribs, we got
the Porterhouse Steak (200g, $25).
It came with a side of potato chips/mashed/baked, which I decided to swap to a Garden Salad for a $4 surcharge.
Plenty
of people, especially my mum, would cringe in horror at this, but I like my
steak to bleed when I cut into it. Keeping that in mind, I ordered my steak
medium-rare, expecting a bright red center. This was definitely not
medium-rare; it was medium, leaning towards medium-well on one side. Add that
to the fact that the steak is hardly wagyu, and you have yourself a tough,
flavourless hunk of protein.
 |
| Pork Spare Ribs (500g. $32.5) |
Thankfully
the Pork Spare Ribs (500g,
$32.5) we came here for were significantly better. The meat was literally
fall-off-the-bone tender, and whilst their signature steakmate baste didn’t
really stand out, the addition of some good cracked pepper in the marinade was
all that was needed to flavour the succulent ribs. If only the 500g didn’t
include the bones.
Squire’s
Loft Steakhouse was definitely a miss for me. The ribs were very tasty, but the
steak was frankly atrocious, especially considering that steak is what this
establishment specialised in. Coupled with the fact that, for the price of the
better cuts and sauce to go with (it’s charged separately), you could get an amazing
piece of wagyu at Rockpool Bar and Grill that is cooked to a juicy
medium rare. And bottomless bread and butter. And 7 different condiments. And
service that isn’t sparse and dismissive.
Rating: 11.5/20 – boot-leather steak.
This rating reflects my personal
experience at the time of visit. And the number of times I blew my nose during
the meal.
I'd like to try their CAAB Angus Porterhouse - it's a step up from the regular steaks. I always worry about steaks with no origin or brand name (i.e. just 'porterhouse'.) Then again, the steakhouses I've been to usually overcook their steaks, which is why I cook my own instead. That steak is def med to med well.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for dropping by! I'm too scared to cook my own steaks I'm afraid, the line between bleeding and bone dry is just too thin for me I'm afraid! Have you been to rockpool bar and grill? They do a mean steak
DeleteHey Ming, there is nothing to it, specially for a person trained as deeply as you in chemistry! Just get a food thermometer, digital, about 30 bucks and panfry to brown then bake your steak until theinternal temp hits 60 degrees for bloody, 65 for med/rare and make sure you let it rest for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack so the juices drip off the steak.
ReplyDeleteBetter yet barbecue the meat and flip it once when juices appear on the top and then remove when temp reached.
Or do what i do...
Cape grim eye fillet or my preference, yearling scotch fillet about 2kgs worth so you will need soe friends over! Wash the meat, paper towel dry, rub with grape seed oil, salt and craked pepper. Seal in a non stick hot pan until all sides and ends are browned thrn into the oven at 110 degrees (let it sit until it get to roomtemp before starting any of this procees first though)
Cook that beef until internal temp hits between 60-65 degrees c and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
Then eat with spinach and roasted potatoes. Make a red wind reduction as a condment or horsradish cream or dijon mustard.
Hi, thanks for dropping by! That does sound a lot easier than I had expected, I guess all I need is a thermometer. Your recipe is making my mouth water - nothing beats roast potatoes and dijon with some good steak! :D
DeleteWe always go for the medium rare eye fillet at squires so we get tender. Enerything else is pretty average. And the extra expensive cut of fillet not worth the extra dough.
ReplyDeleteBbq sauce is the business though! Love it!
Hi, thanks for visiting! I really hope I had caught them on a bad night, as I think any cut should taste quite nice provided it's cooked well. Have you been to rockpool bar and grill? Even their secondary cuts are juicy and full of flavour :)
Delete