Adam on 1221 Steakhouse aka the old Queue de Cheval.

[blondee_47]

I wrote this after reading that the new Q is serving their meat by sourcing it at Pat Lafrieda in New York..." Please don't tell me that you are not dealing with Quebec suppliers but are giving your business across the border??????"

Adam responded like this...

"Hi Natalie, I appreciate your respect for Quebec-made food products, but we have searched the world for the finest meat EVER, and we found it! Especially with all the Alberta beef problems going on now, we know we made the right decision. We have even recently brought in some Quebec Wagyu, but unfortunately, it was not up to our standards. I assume you know that a steakhouse needs steaks that are abundantly marbled. I invite you to come try a bone-in LaFrieda Kansas Cut and see for yourself!
Adam"

What do you guys think about this? I would love some farmers to give their opinions...am I just a shit-disturber or do I feel this restaurant should choose locally?

[mattlane]

I think they should source the consistently best quality meat, no matter where it's from. That's what you're paying for - and pay you will - an amazing piece of dry aged beef.

I have not tried QDC recently, but 40Westt still have good rib steaks at their butcher shop.

Alberta, Colorado, QC is of no matter if it's not really, really good.

My next stop will be Marchand du Bourg. They are still having issues measuring demand - stopped by recently, no aged ribs available.

Best,

Matt

[porker]

Apparently even Pat Lafreida could not save them
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2013...

I had been wanting to try Marchand du Bourg ever since I saw an article in the Gazette. Finally made it this past weekend.
We tried his "Dorado" and 40-day dry aged.
Its a fun destination place, fun to chit-chat, but IMO somewhat overpriced.
Don't get me wrong, the steaks were wonderful, and its tough to find proper dry-aged in Montreal. Again, IMO, if you want to splurge for dry-age, you gotta pay the piper, no matter where you go (and I'd likely go back, but just not that often).
His other offerings, I think, are simply Canada Grade AAA or higher, which can be had at other butchers.

BTW, theres a small grocer on St. Viateur where I spied a cabinet behind the butcher counter which has dry-age (it might be at the corner of Esplanade, but I'm not sure). Haven't tried it yet, but its on my list.

[catroast]

Latina?

By the way, the Metro on Beaumont and Rockland now dry ages their own meat and they have a lot of beautiful product. It is the best grocery store in town for meat and seafood. Unfortunately, produce is not their strong suit.

[blondee_47]

Gotcha all. I wonder who Gibby's uses and or Moishe's? Rib N Reef? of course I cannot compare taste since I have not yet eaten at the 1221. Moishe's IMHO also find is a little downhill than it used to be

[porker]

There are restaurants which do terroir and they attract a certain clientele. 1221 is not seeking these customers, they're looking to wow with the Lafrieda name.

SnackHappy hit it on the head.

[EaterBob]

Pat La Frieda is a wholesaler for Creekstone Farms. So while 1221 may feel that they can't get better steaks in Quebec or Canada, they definitely could get them cheaper by going directly to the source. And somehow I have a feeling that if they looked just a little bit harder they could find some Black Angus Beef here in Canada that was just as good if not better.

[SnackHappy]

Obviously they're using Pat LaFrieda for the brand recognition and the premium they can charge for it. If they just wanted good beef, they could easily source it elsewhere.

[BLM]

Any other restaurant in Montreal or Canada using Creekstone Farms beef? Pat LaFrieda is best known as supplying custom burger blends to burger joints all the way up to upscale restaurants. They make the custom burger blend burger patties for the Shake Shack as an example.

[westaust]

CAVA uses Creekstone Farms Beef

[BLM]

OK now I remember. They have using Creekstone Farms beef since the beginning.

[eat2much]

Shouldn't a chef or restaurateur be allowed to choose the ingredients that he/she prefers? While I agree that if the local product is superior then why not give it preference but Quebec is not exactly famous for beef.

[Maximilien]

If they feel the quality of the beef they find locally is not up to their expectation (*), why not use the one they can find where they can find it...?

(*) I'm not saying it is not high quality, but does not fit their particular requirements (marbling).

[catroast]

it's your right to decide which restaurants you frequent. i hardly believe that you purchase quebec products at every occasion.

i personally do not care for steaks that are 'abundantly marbled' since they are often way too fatty. i think think that characteristic is over-emphasized.