The Morton's Experience

Yesterday evening John and I were invited to dine at Morton’s, the premiere steakhouse experience in Vancouver (and around the world).

The staff was great and very knowledgeable as they explained pretty much everything on the main menu. We both ordered appetizers, our cut of meat, and a la carte sides. Our host, Brad, explained that their portions are pretty large but said we should be alright with the choices we made (and that we can always pack up leftover to take home). John enjoyed a pre-dinner Grey Goose vodka Mortini while I tried the Heavenly Pomegranate Mortini.

The Appetizers

I ordered the broiled sea scallops wrapped in bacon (that came recommended) and John had the colossal shrimp cocktail after which he commented, “I could do that about 10 more times.” It’s a good thing he didn’t since we had no idea what was in store for us upon the arrival of our entrees and sides.

The Main Course

Before dinner arrived, we got some wine pairing suggestions from Brad that worked out really well. John then had the New York Strip and I ordered the Filet Oskar (which is Filet Mignon with crab and asparagus). I chose broccoli as my side (which turned out to be two full heads of broccoli) and John had the grilled asparagus drizzled with a balsamic dressing. We also split the creamed spinach (for two). Needless to say we didn’t come close to finishing it all.

The Dessert

I also had a few people recommend that I try Morton’s Legendary Hot Chocolate Cake, which is made to order. It arrived at our table with a scoop of vanilla ice cream slowly melting alongside the warm dessert topped with raspberries. We were also offered an after dinner drink so my Frangelico with its hazelnut essence was the perfect compliment to the fudge-filled lava cake.

The USDA prime-aged steak comes directly from Chicago and the Midwest so after the meal John, my good-hearted corn-fed American man, asked where exactly in the Midwest. They tracked down and confirmed Indiana and Kansas, but couldn’t name the third state. I was pretty impressed that they could name two of three, and John was satisfied with the answer (although he said there would have been bonus points if it came from Iowa).

Our experience at Morton’s was fantastic and we were well taken care of. The only down note was that due to the lighting, and me not knowing how to properly use my camera, my photos were all very dark and had an orange hue. I turned them into black & white to at least capture our meal in some way although I wish I could share the bright colours represented on our plates.

Morton’s is definitely something we wouldn’t be able to afford to do often but if you have the means (and love meat and seafood) I highly recommend this unique experience.