Last week, I decided to head to the Italian Kitchen on Alberni Street to check out two varieties of the same steak side by side.

What type of nut would eat two 16 ounce steaks in one sitting? A frame of reference to help you understand, might help..

CrossFit Vancouver, the gym of champions, featuring a workout geared to total overall fitness looks at all aspects – exercise, sleep and diet. Members of the gym, given the intense and ever-changing training regimen, gradually become animalistic in their tendencies. Imagine, you’re a ravenous jungle beast and no one steak can satiate you. Well, that’s essentially I felt like that night especially after having restrained myself from eating the finger foods at an AceTech event earlier in the evening.

Rather than gnawing on the bumper of someone’s car.. you feed the beast… order two steaks, the 40 day aged rib steak and the regular rib steak.

What’s the big deal about a slab of meat that’s been sitting in the cooler for 40 days?

A 40 day aged rib steak contracts over it’s course in the cooler and it becomes denser and drier. More flavour but more meat to make a steak, too. So, it’s more costly, leaner, flavourful and complex. Most restaurants that carry this type of product have to plan well ahead to ensure they have enough quantities for their customers – if they run out, it can take days to get another batch prepared.

The 40 day aged steak is darker whereas the other steak is certainly pinker – the 40 day steak was a slight bit more tender too!

So what’s the verdict?

Overall, this process isn’t suited to a fatty steak like the rib eye but works wonderfully for the steaks like the strip loin or New York steak. So there will have to be another installment of the Steak vs. Steak sometime soon.

Next time you’re in at Italian Kitchen, definitely check it out!

Italian Kitchen
1037 Alberni Street,
Vancouver BC V6E 1A1

TEL: 604-687-2858
WEB: www.glowbalgroup.com