Sherman's Food Adventures: 21 Steps: Kitchen & Bar

21 Steps: Kitchen & Bar

Trying to find a reasonably-priced restaurant in Whistler Village can often be a challenge.  Sure, there are some cheaper spots, but as we learned from our experience at EI Furniture Warehouse, you get what you pay for.  Now let's make it even more challenging and add the fact the place needs to be kid-friendly AND offers up a reasonably-priced kid's menu.  Okay, if you have stopped laughing, please pay attention because we thought 21 Steps fit the bill after taking a look at their webpage.  With Viv and the kids finally making it up to join us, we headed over to the Village.

Although I wasn't particularly hungry, I wanted to try one of their smaller plates and upon asking our server which one to order, she suggested the Star Anise and Orange Braised Pork Ribs.  Good call, as these were addictively good.  With a quick deep fry, the ribs were crispy on the outside while fall-off-the-bone tender on the inside.  The star anise really came through in terms of taste and aroma.  There was a 5-spice-like flavour to the dish as a result.  The drizzle of Chinese mustard added both a tang and kick to the otherwise very sweet glaze.  For my larger plate, I went for the Boneless Pork Chop with porcini mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and roasted veggies.  Everything on the dish was prepared beautifully including the thick, moist and tender pork chop.  The rich and creamy mushroom sauce was woodsy and well-seasoned where it had the proper consistency that clung onto each piece of meat.  I found the mash to be creamy with little chunks and super buttery.  The veggies were still vibrant and crisp with just the right amount of seasoning.

Viv tried the BC Bowl with a bevy of smoked salmon, linguine, onions, peas, capers in a dill cream sauce.  This was a substantial amount of food as there was so much salmon, we could barely see the pasta.  About that pasta, it was toothsome while bathed in a rich and creamy sauce.  There was plenty of dill as well as the saltiness of capers that was balanced off by the sweet pop of the peas and onions.  Chill, who was joining us for dinner because Bubbly was still in transit, had his standby with the 10 oz Sterling Silver NY Steak with mashed potatoes and roasted veggies.  The steak was moist and tender where it was slightly past medium-rare.  There was no absence of flavour due to its well-charred exterior and chipotle garlic butter on top.  Again, the mash and veggies were good accompaniments.

For my daughter, she had the kid's 5 oz Sirloin Steak atop mash potatoes.  For $10.00, we thought it was a lot of food, considering that fact it included a beverage as well.  We asked for the steak to be prepared medium-rare and it was ever-so-slightly past that.  But that didn't mean it was not still wasn't succulent.  Much like Chill's steak, it was well-charred and seasoned where there was an appealing smoky flavour.  My son decided to be boring and had the Chicken Strips and Fries. The fries were thin and mostly crispy with quite a bit of starchiness left.  Hand-made and breaded, the chicken strips were natural in texture while not dry nor chewy.  Each piece was firmly crisp and not greasy at all.  Although the prices were still not cheap, it was inline with everything else in the Village.  But considering the quality of the food and the fact there is a reasonably-priced kid's menu, I would eat here again.

The Good:
- Nicely executed food
- Decent value considering its location
- Reasonably-priced and portioned kid's menu

The Bad:
- Of course with anything in the Village, it isn't cheap

21 Steps: Kitchen and Bar on Urbanspoon

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