Dinner: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010

There is a brand new Keg opening on Esplanade. The grand opening is March 1st, and this location is dinner only. However they might change it during summer and open for lunch as they'll have one of the biggest patios in the city (40 tables). Adrian who used to work for the company invited us for the practice run dinner. This event happens for 3 days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday the busiest night) prior to the grand opening. I believe it is by invite only, so you sort of have to know someone that works or has worked for The Keg... The menu is limited but it's still a lot of fun even for a vegan.

We did glance at the real menu that will be offered come Monday, there is quite a few new items, and a lot more seafood options. The restaurant itself is gorgeous, if you've ever been to the one at York St., it's along those lines.

We all met up at the Bier Markt since it's practically next door to The Keg... there were eight of us, but I only took pics of my and Jays' drinks since we were the first ones to arrive and I just didn't want to be the freak with the flash... I was going to become one later...
my new favorite beer form the oldest brewery in the world... Germans sure know their brew...
The Keg was packed... our party of eight was split into two tables of four. There are different mini menus randomly assigned to each table. All the items on the mini menus are part of the regular one. So the other foursome enjoyed a totally different but equally delicious meal.
Here is our menu card...
we had some drinks to start...
for me the Perfect Manhattan, my favorite Keg cocktail, and it is perfect... Jay and Adrian had beers, and Sara had the Keg size Caesar (not pictured, I didn't want to annoy too many people with my flash... yet)
the classic Keg bread basket and whipped butter...
We shared three appetizers: Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese...I enjoyed it ( worked my way around the cheese)...
a Caesar Salad...
and a hot Crab Parmesan Spinach Dip with perfectly not greasy but crispy pitas and red tortilla chips...
Adrian chose a bottle of red...
Our mains:
Shrimp Dinner... the dipping sauce is very sweet and peachy...
Teryiaki Top Sirloin Classic...
Prime Rib and King Crab...
Regular Size Prime Rib... crispy shallots instead of king crab...
and a Trio Sampler of side dishes... steamed asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, and sweet potato fries...
After our mains... Sara and Adrian both ordered espressos, and Jay ordered a cappuccino... I didn't feel like caffeine... however our waiter came back with 2 espressos (for Adrian and Sara) and 2 cappuccinos (for Jay and me)... I had no heart to tell him he made a mistake or to send it back... thankfully Sara switched with me, and so I had some caffeine after all...
for dessert a sampler of five minis
from left to right: carrot cake, lemon blueberry, banana caramel, cherry cheesecake, and chocolate mousse cake... I can't tell you what each tasted like because I wasn't tempted, but the cheesecake used to me one of my all time favorites..
So the grand total for this wonderful feast for 4 came to $66 and change... yup the practice run is a steal... we were very generous tippers... it was an awesome night...