The Keg - Guildford (Surrey)

A couple of nights before Eric went back to the Philipines.....or was it before I went to Japan?  Anyway, not too long ago, we went with Jay to the Keg in Surrey.  I was on a diet (still am) so I told myself to stay away from the bread, the appies, skip the fried stuff and no deserts.  Of course, these two bastards would never let me have my way and the next thing I know, I'm saying to hell with the diet and started shovelling bread, crab cakes and deep fried calamari down my neck, polished off with a Keg Size Prime Rib and a Billy Miner's Pie for good measure. 

The two instigators.

The lovely sourdough bread I said I wasn't going to eat, but did (and nearly using up all the whipped butter in the process).

Eric doing.....God knows what, haha!

I had the crab cakes once before (at the Richmond Keg), and I found them overseasoned.  The server told me that it was because they use Dungeness crab meat which is cookedin salt water.  I think she didn't know what she was talking about, but didn't bother arguing the point.  These ones, on the other hand were perfectly seasoned, and I didn't find myself chasing them down with a gallon of water.  (I don't mean to trash The Keg in Richmond, I've always had good experiences there.  I think the Prime Ribs there, especially the Omega, are are suspiciously cut larger than spec).

What's the best way to lose weight?  Eat high-in-cholesterol deep fried squid of course.  These were a bit spicy, and the dipping sauce was a perfect compliment mixed with sweet and spicy.  We didn't leave even a single crumb.

Eric again....showing us his expertise at pleasing calamari, haha!

The pork back ribs were good, but not as good as mine, haha!

Of course this is something I could not replicate at home, The Keg Size Prime Rib.  Hand-crafted in heaven by *insert favouriet diety here*, this succulant peice of beef has almost no rival.  Anyway, if you've read my other posts about The Keg, then you're probably bored to death of my worshipping this fine peice of beef, but there really is no other comparison for the same price point.  The Keg in Guildford delivered it to me exactly as I asked, fat and bloody, and it tasted every bit as good as I expected. 

Remember that Drinking and Driving commerical way back when?

Eric at the end of his limit......just kidding, there's till pie.

Usually I can't eat anymore after the Prime Rib, but lately, I've developed a liking for this desert.  Billy Miner pie.  It's probably nothing you want to eat on your own, and it is big enough to share with several people because it's not overly sweet or rich, despite the appearance. 

Our experience at The Keg in Guildford was awesome as expected.  The staff were attentive, friendly, and there whenever we needed anyone, the food was oustanding as usual, and we would definitely go back.  I guess the only issue is, I'm not often in Surrey :)

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Dinner at the Keg

How can you go wrong with the Keg? I never get bored of telling people how awesome this place is. It's on my list for my last meal on earth, it's on my "to do" list, it's on my grocery list. My stomach growls as I'm writing this and I want to go there right after work. What we have here is a Keg-Size Mango Marguerita next to a regular Caesar.
Onion Soup - When I usually go to the Keg, I hardly ever order soups, or appies, but for some reason, we did this time. If you're going to The Keg, stick to the meat, if you're going to have just a salad, then go nuts with the other stuff. The soup was alright, it's hard to go wrong with so much cheese on top.....love cheese.
The Crab Cakes were really, really salty. I'm not sure if it was just that one time, but these were seriously over-seasoned. I was crying for a jug of water afterwards, and not in the same rewarding way as after a bowl of ramen. I seriously doubt I'll order this one again, but if someone else did, I'd steal a peice just to see if it's still as salty.

Where's the garnish, where's the side veg? Looks pretty boring right? It was meant to. I go to The Keg to eat meat, not to frolick with my fork through the forest of greens that often comes with other fancy steak joints. The Back Ribs and Garlic Mashed Potatoes from The Keg do not need any sort of introduction here, they're just simply great. Now, I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I've been told on numerous occasions that my BBQ pork ribs are way better.....I have to agree.

And of course the star of the show, the Keg-Size Prime Rib, hand crafted by God. If The Keg ever went out of business, I would commit seppuku.
Fat and bloody, just the way I like it. If you look really closely, you can see the blood pooling at the top. I love it.

On ocassion, I will even eat the grisle if it's got a nice spice rub coating it. In this case, I ate it.

A couple of friends have done me a few favours in the past, and I promised to repay them with dinners at The Keg......I can't wait to repay them!

The Keg Size Omega

This has got to be the biggest hunk of dead cow I have ever tried to eat - the Keg Size Omega. My friends and I first heard of this oversize order of beef from a server we did not at first take very seriously. We thought he was joking when he told us we could acquire an order of prime rib that was double the size of a normal Keg Size prime rib. Some time had passed and the story of its existence developed myth-like qualities because some servers and certain Keg locations had never heard of this elusive monster. It almost seemed like some servers were trying to cover up or deny it's existence.

Anyway, sometime in November last year, my friends and I went on a mission to find proof of it's existence and so went to one particular Keg a few times and asked several servers if there was such thing as a super-size prime rib that was not listed on the menu. Our server had to go off to her manager to verify our claims and came back a few minutes later with a grin on her face. When our meals came a short time later, we were blown away. This thing was massive and the word massive doesn't really do it justice...and neither do the pictures. I could see our server straining under the sheer weight of our prime ribs. It literally dwarfed the plates they were served on. It was like the IJN Yamato sitting on top of a wood pallet. Isn't it glorious?

You can get an idea of how big this beast was by looking at a regular size prime rib in the background. The regular size looks like it wants to cry and run away.

Here's another shot from the side. More than triple a regular size.....I'd say it was easily double the size of a Keg-Size prime rib.

Beautiful cut of meat, and it tasted phenomenal, but I was not able to finish my meal.

Here's the aftermath of my attempt. A cross section with a fork standing on end will provide a bit more perspective on how big this thing really is. I don't think I could ever find a day in my lifetime where I would be able to finish a meal this big and enjoy it. I considered maybe next time I would skip the bread, but the bread at the Keg is really quite good. Maybe skip the sides and not eat any of the garlic mash potatos? Nope, I doubt I could resist eating any of that either. Skipping lunch would just shrink my stomach capacity. I guess this is a mission that isn't for everyone, but at least now, we know that it truly does exist.