Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Review : American Diner Degustation - February 21, 2012 Mad Cow (March into Merivale)

Level 1, Ivy
330 George Street
Sydney


9240 3000


Lunch: Mon-Fri 12pm-3pm
Dinner: Mon-Sat 6pm-10.30pm


Maybe it is just me, but when I read American Diner I think: Fried Chicken, Foot Long & Beans, Onion Rings, Burgers, Corned Beef Brisket, Cheese Steak, Mac n Cheese, Coleslaw.....you get the picture. 


It needs to be stated that Buggles and Squeak love these American Diner classics.


So when we saw that Mad Cow were hosting an American Diner Degustation as part of March into Merivale, well we couldn't contain our excitement!

Having never dined at Mad Cow previously, we are surprised by the size of the restaurant, we expect it to be larger. 


The room is quite pretty with its yellow & white & we are thankfully seated at one of the extra large, comfy booths.




Giddy with anticipation, we order a limey cow cocktail each....delicious.






When presented with our menu, we realise that our expectations for the evening are not going to be met with reality.




First up is Corn And Cheese Quesadillas. They are delicious. 
Stuffed with sweet corn and cheese and topped with a small squeeze of lime, I could eat quite a few more of these. But we have to pace ourselves, there is much more to come.




Next is Mad Cow Chopped Salad with Spencer Gulf Prawns, not really screaming American Diner, but I have to acknowledge the very generous serve of prawns & the salad is quite tasty.




Following on we have Grilled Atlantic Salmon, crushed peas, mint. Again, not a dish I would associate with an American Diner. However, as someone who doesn't normally eat fish, I do enjoy the well cooked salmon, especially the crispy skin.




For the main course we have Braised Beef Short Ribs, peas, baby carrots, thyme. This is more like it....well yes and no.
The rib is delectably good, very tender it falls from the bone. However, with the strong red wine & thyme flavour, it really would sit more comfortably as part of a French menu. 




The accompanying mash and fries (talk about carb loading) are both spectacular and the dish overall is really, really good.




Dessert brings us Key Lime Pie. Tangy lime mousse topped with not too sweet meringue, on an incredibly moreish, buttery biscuit base & Buggles and Squeak are well satisfied. Magnificent.




We finish with Coffee and Petit Fours consisting of housemade: Oreo, Grandma's Oat, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies. All are really good, especially the peanut butter.


So, while we enjoyed our dinner very much, with everything on the menu being well cooked and really tasty, we have to say we don't think it was the best representation of American Diner food.


Squeak
Mad Cow on Urbanspoon

8 comments:

Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said...

I think I've seen chopped salads on diner menus (though not with those generous prawns!) but agree that I would've been expecting...perhaps a reinterpreted loose meat sandwich? Or burger? Or ribs?

joey@forkingaroundsydney said...

Ooo, keylime pie looks great.

Tina@foodboozeshoes said...

Certainly wouldn't associate grilled salmon with American diner... looks a feast though :)

Anonymous said...

I was there last night and I totally agree with you B&S.
My friends and I love American food and we booked out a booth.
And although we had a nice night we were disappointed by the almost complete lack of "diner" food. When it was meant to be a "diner degustation."
And what was with the salmon course? I couldn't think of anything less "diner" than grilled salmon on pea puree? It was the type of meal you get at The Carlyle.

Annie said...

I was planning to check this out but it was sold out. Glad I saved my money though because I would have been disappointed especially after watching too many Man v Food episodes

Mel said...

What an odd diner dinner - I thougth it would be more burgers/hotdogs/apple pie/fries...you know, "American food". The key lime pie does looks good though.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

We attended the American Diner dinner and was wondering if any one else felt sick after? My partner and I both felt quite sick after the dinner and was wondering if it was attributable to the diner or possibly our lunch. My apologies for posting this comment on your blog B&S, I could not find any other posts about the dinner.

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