Eating on the Road: McKiernan in Montreal

On past trips to Montreal I've had the pleasure of dining at Joe Beef and their sister restaurant, Liverpool House, and on a day trip this summer I had the opportunity to knock the third location in this mine-restaurant empire off my list: McKiernan Rôtisserie.

It's in a converted old industrial building in a more suburban area of Montreal, so it was a trip I saved until I had a car. And I'm unlikely to drive to Montreal again, not because of the restaurant but because driving in the city was not a fun day for me. I'm not a city driver.

But I digress. While still offering some bougie options, McKiernan was a more laid-back vibe than Liverpool House and Joe Beef, giving more the feel of a lunch counter for people working in the area. And while not working nearby we were, indeed, there for lunch.

There's a small list of menu offerings but with quite the price range. It starts with bread and butter for $6 (Mom was surprised to see this charged for but they must have been very fancy bread and butter) all the way up to evening prime rib roast for $98.

Going in I was tempted by the schnitzel bomba or the rotisserie chicken, but we would go in another direction when he heard the daily specials.

But first, for an appy we shared the three piece chicken croquetas. They came with a slice of pickets on top which we discarded, because neither of us like pickles. There was a little sauce but not much. They were filled with finely ground were dry and one note -- I deemed them OK, Mom said I was more than welcome to the second declining an offer to split. They were missing something, more sauce and flavour. Maybe it just really needed the discarded pickles. Anyway, just meh.

Anyway, for our mains we both got the prime rib sandwich. A tasty and accessible way to get at that $98 evening prime rib without paying near that price -- I think the sandwich was around $15 which was solid value for the amount of beef, topped with carmelized onions on a sesame seed bun. We both enjoyed it muchly.

Added a side of fries to share. They were fries. What can I tell you?

All in all, I'm glad I finally made it here but I don't think I'll go out of my way to make the suburban trek on future, non-car journeys to Montreal. 

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Eating on the road: Keg's prime rib a miss

I end up at The Keg maybe twice a year and I invariably order the same thing: garlic cheese toast appy, Keg classic NY strip with Caesar salad starter, mushrooms, veg. Reliable but satisfying. 

During a recent visit to a Keg to the north of Toronto (though it doesn't matter, all Kegs are the same) the server was pushing the prime rib and I thought, why not change it up? So I let him talk me into it. This was a mistake.

The garlic cheese toast was excellent as always, and probably better shared three ways as it was this time -- sometimes I dine solo and demolish it myself. The Caesar salad was fine. Garlicky, but missing bacon.

Then the entrée arrived and it looked fine, a thick slab of medium beef, some jus, a smattering of veg and mushrooms. The veg looked tired and not particularly fresh. Same for the mushrooms.

As for the beef? I would say it was lacking in flavour but there was one overwhelming note: salt. It did not taste particularly fresh or juicy. It tasted like empty protein calories. It was thoroughly disappointing. Not bad, not send it back because it's no good. Just, mediocre.

Obviously they had been pushing the prime rib for a reason, and it wasn't one that was in my best interests. My mistake. Next time, back to my old reliable NY strip.

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