Brave Bull's House of Steaks

1298 E Hastings St, Vancouver

Food: 3

Service: 4.5

Price: Cheap 

I have officially attended my first food blogger dinner this past weekend. Although, there were many cancellations, we still had 4 blogger that went: Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food), Jessica and Mark (Yum-O-Rama: where I live to eat), Frank (Foodie Adventures in Vancouver), and of course myself. I first have to say it was a pleasure meeting you all, and you made the dining experience very enjoyable.

The business owner/host, Linda, was kind and friendly. She made us feel right at home. I think I can speak for all of us when I say her delightful personality and warmness just make you feel like she is your own grandma.

For drink, I ordered a strawberry thick milkshake ($2.95). However it really wasn’t that thick, which I preferred. It tasted like old fashion milkshake with artificial fruit flavor and vanilla ice cream. I liked it, but it made me full before my entree came.

First came the complimentary garlic bread, lightly toasted. It was soft in the inside, crunchy on the outside, meaning it was quite good.

All entrees came with either a salad or a soup, but everyone opted for the soup. The choices on that day were either clam chowder or beef barley. The difference I noticed was that the clam chowder looks nothing like what you normally see. The similarity was that the two soups almost look identical. The clam chowder soup I had was good, but watery.

Jessica and Mark ordered the deep fried oyster. I think Linda mentioned that it was suppose to be 4 pieces per ordered, but since it took awhile, the chef has increased it to 6, which also happen to be the exact number of people at our table. Jessica/Mark generously offered it to everyone, after trying a piece, my conclusion is that it was good, but chewy and it was very HOT, I burnt my tongue on the first bite.

I had the medium sirloin steak ($8.95). It was cooked perfectly, but slightly lacked in flavor. However since I was already quite full just from the milkshake, I did not finish it. Unlike Jessica, I did not think ahead, and thus was questioned by Grandma Linda on why I didn’t finish. So I smiled sheepishly and told her the milkshake was simply too filling. I think Linda was more worried that I didn’t like the steak, as she genuinely care about what her customer thinks of her food.

I really liked the pork chops which my bf ordered. Although it was a little dry, but it was still very tasty. For $8.95, it was an excellent deal, as you get 2 huge pieces of pork chops.

Here are some of the other plates that I didn’t get to try, the breaded veal ($8.95) and the T Bone steak ($14.95).

As Linda brought our bill, hidden underneath was 6 After Eight mint chocolate. I like it more than the usual mint candy you get at other restaurants.

The decor here is very simply but very homely. I don’t think it has changed much since it opened in 1985, with the exception of the framed featured newspaper articles that has been added on to the wall though out the years. Also, the price has not changed since 1991 as Linda told us, that quite impressive consider the inflation in the past 18 years.

So this comes down to a question that Kim asked earlier on his blog, does portion size/price affects how good the food is. In this case it did, we all felt it was a worthy meal, as the quality/quantity of the food was worth more than the price we paid. However I think what made it more worthy was our host, Linda. In the end, I would definitely recommend Brave Bull’s House of Steaks, as the experience was very enjoyable.

**Other Blogger Post:

-I'm Only Here for the Food

-Yum-O-Rama: where I live to eat