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| - Yes, I am a fan. I was disappointed that a place with a name like Charcut did not have more Charred Cuts of beef, which is what I expected, but I gave it a chance by ordering an appetizer and the rest is history.
Eating alone, and at the bar, I had the Piri Piri Linguica as an appetizer. House made sausage, sliced, with a hard cheese - forget the type. Excellent, and plenty to go around for myself and myself.
Watched the bartender make a mint julep. He rolled the mint leaves in his palms and never muddled them. I asked him why - he said it was Japanese style (who knew the Japanese would tell the Americans how to drink a mint julep - in Canada). Then he poured it over crushed ice into a copper Woodford Reserve mint julep cup. Yes, I know, not silver - but hey, it's Canadia, and they have Woodford, and fresh mint, and it's October.
At any rate, I asked him to make me one and I would be the judge - as I had just spent the previous week in New Orleans and had had my fair share of mint juleps. He won. Hands down. Best mint julep I'd ever had. And the presentation - I haven't seen someone do a real julep with the style and panache he showed in a long time.
Which reminds me - go here for drinks if nothing else. These bartenders are absolutely outstanding. They are true bartenders and mixologists, not just off the street stiffs mixing stuff in a shaker glass. Was fun just to sit at the bar and watch them work.
Had the Chimmichuri steak with the truffle fries. Everybody has truffle fries in Calgary. I can't say these were the best, although they were far from the worst. They had boar gravy over them, if I'm not mistaken, with some truly fantastic cheese melted over the top of that. The fries came out I'm sure exactly the way they were supposed to, piping hot and full of greasy goodness - just maybe a bit too much greasy goodness for my American taste. Personally, I could have done with the gravy on the side, not soaking my fries. Perhaps that just me.
Steak was very good, chimmichuri sauce was excellent. Steak was a sirloin, sliced on the plate, cooked perfectly. Guy next to me had the prime rib and said it was fantastic, fyi.
So all in all, a great dinner. The service was lively and fun at the bar, and the bartender was quite familiar with the menu and the dishes. Only reason I'm giving a 4 instead of a 5 is simply a scaled basis on which I review restaurants in my head. Calgary is full of incredible restaurants, and to earn a 5 star in my book means you've truly blown me away. Charcut is very good, probably excellent, but so are many other places. I did not feel particularly blown away by impeccable food and flawless service, but you cannot go wrong here.
Do not go here for beef. Not that it isn't good, but if you're looking for a steakhouse this isn't it. The reputation of the chef and the locally sourced, urban-rustic cuisine is what they're marketing here.
Prices are in line with the rest of Calgary. Expect $65-85 CAD per person depending on alcohol consumption.
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