Quick Dinner at Black + Blue

Black and Blue as part of the Glowbal Passport Quest. As part of the promotion that Glowbal Group ran in February - March 2013, I visited all seven of the restaurants. Here is my post of Black and Blue on Alberni.
I also have posts for:

• Trattoria
• Glowbal Group
• Coast
• Italian Kitchen
• Society
• Fish Shack

With a friend from out of town, I thought it would be a good idea to take him to Black and Blue for some good beef. We stepped up to the bar and decided on a few appetizers and one entree. 

One interesting thing that we spotted on the menu was the Hot Rock. No silly, you don't eat the rock, you get to cook on it! We were served the oven roasted rock along with some beef brochettes. That rock is piping hot and the brochettes are simply skewered. You place the brochettes onto the rock and the sizzle indicates that good things are happening.
The meat is topped with some green onions which we added onto the rock too. We were also given a Worcestershire Ponzu to pour onto the rock. The sauce gave the beef a wonderful tangy flavour. After about 3 minutes on the first side, flip the beef onto the other side and pour more of the sauce on. The cubes of meat are super tender and juicy. And what could better than being able to take credit for cooking a perfect skewer of meat, and at a bar,  no less. This is a "must-do" if you like playing with your food.
Our second appetizer was the Tuna Screamer. Essentially, it's a bowlful of shredded daikon topped with some lightly cooked ahi tuna. The dressing for this is serrano chili based and there's a bit of tobiko on top too. And if that heat isn't enough for you, check out the little chillies throughout the dish. Yowza!
And when you're at Black and Blue, the one thing you have to try is their beef. So we got the Prime Rib. I liked how they marked how we wanted the meat cooked, and I have to say, to me, this was a good example of medium rare. The beef had a sufficient amount of marbling and was juicy and tender, and there sure was lots of it. Underneath was a bit of steamed vegetables, and below that were some mashed potatoes, both were okay and complemented the beef quite well. But the best part was Yorkshire pudding, with a slight crisp on the outside and a chewy centre, I could have had another three of these. Oh, and when they say that the horseradish is hot...believe them. Everything came together nicely and it was better than we had expected. 

Take note: 

• The meats aren't cheap but the $32 Prime  Rib (10oz) is worth it
• Tuna Screamer is fun but you can cut the heat but omitting the chillies
• French Onion Soup is pretty good, skip the Steak House Nachos