Chop Steakhouse Bar
1750 Sargent Ave
204-788-2015
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chop.Winnipeg
Twitter: @chop_winnipeg
Instagram: @chopstarswpg
February, 2017
This is a revisit to Chop; my first review occurred on February, 2008 (here: http://foodwinnipeg.blogspot.ca/2009/02/restaurant-review-chop-steak-fish-bar.html). Most of my descriptions about atmosphere and service still stand so I won't repeat. The main difference lies in the title of the restaurant. When the called themselves Chop - Steak - Fish - Bar, I misinterpretted "fish bar" and expected a large assortment of raw fishes.
There's no greater disappointment in life than to have the expectation of raw fish, then get none.
Their present name, Chop Steakhouse Bar, leaves a clear impression: this is a steakhouse. As a steakhouse, the servers highly recommend the prime rib. Having tried it several times in the last while, I find it ranges from very good to excellent. On the excellent day, the meat melts in your mouth, literally giving your teeth a holiday if that's what you choose. The worst outing comes today, where the outer reaches taste fine but the inner core tastes somewhat tough. In each occasion, the flavours leave nothing to be desired.
Here is the bone-in version:
The meal comes with a salad, which offers nothing special. The greens come fresh and crisp but there's too much dressing, drowning the vegetables. For house greens, I would like to see originality and expression, but the ubiquitous lettuce works fine.
If you choose the smaller prime rib cuts, all the sides come on the plate with you meat.
Their fries tastes deliciously crunchy on the outside and flakey in the middle. They rustic-cut the fries, which means that the skin will leave a nice texture to the potato strands. The beefy jus accompanies the fries equally well as the meat--be sure to ask for extra! The tomato has a wonderful basil bread crumb crust. I'm very fortunate some of my friends don't eat tomatoes; I'm happy to gobble them down.
Chop claims that their ovens reach 1800F to quickly sear and seal in steak juices. Although the concept of high-heat searing steaks is no stranger to any accomplished chef, 1800F does not seem extraordinary to me. Ruth's Chris claims to sear their steaks at 5000 degrees and my specially rigged up home grill will get close to those temperatures.
Regardless of the actual temperatures, Chop does an excellent job of searing their steaks. Just as it should, the outside tastes wonderfully charred and the inside looks pinkish red--the desire of any steak aficionado.
If you're looking for something lighter than big slabs of meat, Chop delivers a well executed burger, although it's quite hefty and not what you call light.
The meal also comes with the delicious fries, jus and tomato, so don't plan on leaving anything behind. Often, when I have a sandwich in lieu of a main, I order something for an appetiser. Rarely have I ever seen a sandwich selection leave me hungry but some habits break reluctantly and honestly, I just can't learn.
The hot chicken wings come battered, then deep fried.
The hot sauce here is essentially a buffalo sauce with a bit of extra kick. If you're a chilli head, this won't taste hot to you. The drummets taste quite dry, overcooked with all the juices sucked out. The wingettes inherently have more fat to the meat so they taste (still overcooked) but less dry than the adjacent cut. The accompanying dip is a basil mayo, which has nice flavour, but not with buffalo chicken wings. The flavours do not contrast nor complement each other well. Save the mayo for the fries!
Slabs of beef is the bread and butter here. They make a mighty fine steak and a prime rib that basically quite good. Deviate from the beef and you're into iffier territory. Then again, what do you expect when you choose to eat at a steakhouse?
As usual, thanks for reading. I offer these unbiased reviews as a public service and I'm happy to do some. If you enjoyed this review, please consider clicking on the accompanying ads. This is the only payment I receive for this service. Thanks again for reading and good food to you!
Chef Ray Yuen
1750 Sargent Ave
204-788-2015
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chop.Winnipeg
Twitter: @chop_winnipeg
Instagram: @chopstarswpg
February, 2017
This is a revisit to Chop; my first review occurred on February, 2008 (here: http://foodwinnipeg.blogspot.ca/2009/02/restaurant-review-chop-steak-fish-bar.html). Most of my descriptions about atmosphere and service still stand so I won't repeat. The main difference lies in the title of the restaurant. When the called themselves Chop - Steak - Fish - Bar, I misinterpretted "fish bar" and expected a large assortment of raw fishes.
There's no greater disappointment in life than to have the expectation of raw fish, then get none.
Their present name, Chop Steakhouse Bar, leaves a clear impression: this is a steakhouse. As a steakhouse, the servers highly recommend the prime rib. Having tried it several times in the last while, I find it ranges from very good to excellent. On the excellent day, the meat melts in your mouth, literally giving your teeth a holiday if that's what you choose. The worst outing comes today, where the outer reaches taste fine but the inner core tastes somewhat tough. In each occasion, the flavours leave nothing to be desired.
Here is the bone-in version:
The meal comes with a salad, which offers nothing special. The greens come fresh and crisp but there's too much dressing, drowning the vegetables. For house greens, I would like to see originality and expression, but the ubiquitous lettuce works fine.
If you choose the smaller prime rib cuts, all the sides come on the plate with you meat.
Their fries tastes deliciously crunchy on the outside and flakey in the middle. They rustic-cut the fries, which means that the skin will leave a nice texture to the potato strands. The beefy jus accompanies the fries equally well as the meat--be sure to ask for extra! The tomato has a wonderful basil bread crumb crust. I'm very fortunate some of my friends don't eat tomatoes; I'm happy to gobble them down.
Chop claims that their ovens reach 1800F to quickly sear and seal in steak juices. Although the concept of high-heat searing steaks is no stranger to any accomplished chef, 1800F does not seem extraordinary to me. Ruth's Chris claims to sear their steaks at 5000 degrees and my specially rigged up home grill will get close to those temperatures.
Regardless of the actual temperatures, Chop does an excellent job of searing their steaks. Just as it should, the outside tastes wonderfully charred and the inside looks pinkish red--the desire of any steak aficionado.
If you're looking for something lighter than big slabs of meat, Chop delivers a well executed burger, although it's quite hefty and not what you call light.
The meal also comes with the delicious fries, jus and tomato, so don't plan on leaving anything behind. Often, when I have a sandwich in lieu of a main, I order something for an appetiser. Rarely have I ever seen a sandwich selection leave me hungry but some habits break reluctantly and honestly, I just can't learn.
The hot chicken wings come battered, then deep fried.
The hot sauce here is essentially a buffalo sauce with a bit of extra kick. If you're a chilli head, this won't taste hot to you. The drummets taste quite dry, overcooked with all the juices sucked out. The wingettes inherently have more fat to the meat so they taste (still overcooked) but less dry than the adjacent cut. The accompanying dip is a basil mayo, which has nice flavour, but not with buffalo chicken wings. The flavours do not contrast nor complement each other well. Save the mayo for the fries!
Slabs of beef is the bread and butter here. They make a mighty fine steak and a prime rib that basically quite good. Deviate from the beef and you're into iffier territory. Then again, what do you expect when you choose to eat at a steakhouse?
As usual, thanks for reading. I offer these unbiased reviews as a public service and I'm happy to do some. If you enjoyed this review, please consider clicking on the accompanying ads. This is the only payment I receive for this service. Thanks again for reading and good food to you!
Chef Ray Yuen
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