C|Prime Modern Italian Steak and Wine

Haven't been back to C|Prime in the Century Plaza Hotel for quite some time.  I remember when it was Roy's Steakhouse (that closed 20 years ago), that my parents would frequent back in the day.  Yep, they brought me along and I was that little kid who was getting his fill of steak.  I guess not much has changed as I still like my fill of steak!  Recently, I returned with Jackie to try out some dishes.

We started off with a showstopper in the Osso e Manzo (Bone Marrow Beef Tartare).  With filet mignon tartare on top, the huge bone marrow was really over-the-top.  It served its purpose though by being a serving vessel for the tender and buttery tartare.  Of course there was fatty bone marrow underneath all that, which only helped make the dish more sinful and buttery.  Soaked with butter, the side of toasted bread was the perfect crispy texture to compliment the bone marrow and tartare.  I do think the bone marrow and tartare did clash a bit and I'd rather have them separately.  Both were good though.

Next, we had the Risotto Nero which featured a grilled 1/2 lobster.  However, the thing that made this dish sing was the lobster bisque reduction.  Our senses of both smell and taste were blasted with the concentrated lobster essence.  It helped flavour the risotto completely and made us wanting our next spoonful of risotto.  Thick but evenly spread on the plate, the risotto was cooked right with chewy rice that exuded the beautiful colour of squid ink.

The main event was the Angus Reserve Bone-in Ribeye prepared medium-rare.  This was a bit closer to rare, which kept the meat moist, but possibly less tender.  With that being said, the steak was sufficiently tender and had good natural beef flavour.  It was served with a silky and gelatinous demi-glace which was flavourful with a pleasant saltiness and umami.  It was also properly rested as there was minimal juices on the plate.

On the side, we had two dishes including the Truffle Mac & Cheese as well as the Foraged Mushrooms.  Typically, I find mac & cheese at most steakhouses to be highly disappointing.  This one bucked the trend by being cheesy and properly sauced, so that it wasn't dry.  There was plenty of truffle flavour (with real black truffle too) and seasoning.  Toasted crumbs on top added a nice crunch while the noodles were not mushy.  As for the mushrooms, they were texturally on point while completely seasoned.  

For desert, we had the Tiramisu, which was presented in a showy manner.  Once the clear cylindrical container was removed, it revealed plenty of mascarpone cream.  This ate quite well with moist espresso-soaked lady fingers and sweet mascarpone.  Although this looked rather wet, it didn't eat as such.  Overall, this was a solid meal and there was some pizazz to go with it. 

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Nice decor and atmosphere

- The items we had some flair

- Some really good dishes

The Bad:

- Steak was prepared properly but could've been a bit more tender