Hummingbird604.com » SteakCamp

Restaurant review – The Brave Bull (East Hastings & Clark)

Raul — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 05:25:09 +0000

By now, if you’ve been following Karen’s blog (Tiny Bites) and my blog, you’ll know that Buzz Bishop issued a challenge to us last week – “review The Brave Bull, and demonstrate that you’re not just reviewing only the high-end establishments“. We both bravely accepted (my response – Karen’s response) and I actually found it kind of funny as the restaurant is called “The Brave Bull”. That’s how SteakCamp came to be.

I arrived slightly after 6 pm, as the bus was running late (a guy I bumped into the bus, Martin Rotschild, told me that the evening was going to be better than I expected – and I have to say, that was TOTALLY TRUE). Tom brought along Ryland, Lisa, Candace, Corey. Karen brought Kurt (aka Mr. Tiny Bites) and we were also joined by Steve, Karl and Ryan. I am sure you’ll be seeing lots of Flickr photos around!

Since I knew that the establishment was going to be run only by the elderly Chinese lady who is one of the co-owners, I had already indicated that we should expect slow service. We got there at 6 pm. We finished at 9.20pm. It was a long but awesome affair. The food took long (as expected), and so did the drinks, but everyone seemed to have had a great time.

I ordered a beef and barley soup but with the fact that we had brought an 11 people table, the owner scrambled to manage all of our orders. However, at all times, there was a really sweet and strong feeling of “being home”. For all the negative comments and bad reputation that this area tends to have, people have seriously underestimated The Brave Bull. True, the exterior doesn’t look particularly appealing. True, the fare isn’t upscale. But if you just want a steak and baked potato, for what it is, it’s a good one. I gave it an 8 out of 10.

Remember, this is NOT an upscale establishment. This is a Mom-and-Pop kind of small joint. Nevertheless, I did like it. We all finished our soups really quickly (and although I had to switch my beef and barley soup for clam chowder, I was quite alright). The steak I ordered was well cooked, simply because I don’t like medium rare, or rare, or medium well when I don’t eat in Mexico. I am a lover of Argentinian meat and thus it’s kind of hard to have me have a steak in Vancouver. Nevertheless, I finished EVERY BIT.

The lady owner was EXTREMELY sweet and accomodating to our every need and request. Truth be told, with a group this size, she was always very honest and said “the service is going to be slow”. True, I also had to distribute napkins and cutlery, but I had absolutely no problems and on the contrary, I had a wonderful time with all these folks. And I got to do some geeky talk too

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who showed up, especially Karen and her husband.Thanks also to Rastin and Rebecca for their support. And thanks to everyone who showed up. As I told you guys at the table, my whole intention in answering the challenge was to bring some good business to this elderly couple, to clear some of the bad reputation (which to be quite honest, seems not to be warranted, because CLEARLY this place has patrons that understand very well the way The Brave Bull works – I counted at least 15 different people who were there having for dinner at various times throughout the night – so, for the size of the establishment, that’s not a bad outcome), and to just have fun and create community.

I think I succeeded in my attempt, and I didn’t do it alone – all of the participants in SteakCamp at all times helped me (particularly Karen being such a good sport – sorry to have dragged you into this!). When I went to pay the lady and she counted the money, her eyes widened and said “are you sure you’re leaving THAT tip?”. I just smiled back and said “yes I am sure”. Whatever price I paid for that meal (which yes, was about $12 dollars), and however complicated it was to organize this SteakCamp, her smile back to me was worth every single penny I paid and much more.

SteakCamp is on! Monday Jun 23, 2008 – 6:00pm

Raul — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:30:57 +0000

You must have read all the posts Karen and I have been cranking out in anticipation for SteakCamp. Well, it’s happening tonight and I already got a few confirmations (since unfortunately I am NOT on Facebook, I can’t see who has confirmed there, but I can see the Upcoming.org one).

Karen has provided a summary of the details which I reproduce here (modified to match my own blog).

* Buzz Bishop’s challenge: Review The Brave Bull!
* My response to Buzz’s challenge: SteakCamp!
* Karen’s reaction on Tiny Bites
* Rastin’s Facebook Event Invite
* Buzz Bishop discusses The Brave Bull on 95Crave
* Karen’s very nice summary of what we’ll be up to AND photos of the outside (although as I mentioned to Karen, I went there at 3pm on Saturday and it doesn’t look half as scary as people think it does).

The Brave Bull is right in the South West corner of East Hastings and Clark Drive, and it has parking in the back. I’ve already made reservations for about 20 people but I am sure they won’t turn down more customers. Remember that I’ve warned you that they said the service would be slow, but we are in it for the fun, to be able to socialize with other bloggers, Twitterers and readers and just to have a good time amongst friends.

CAN STEAKCAMP INCLUDE A VEGETARIAN?

Of course!!! You don’t need to eat the steak. You can always reach us for dessert.

SUGGESTED TAGS FOR FLICKR PHOTOS, TWITTER AND BLOG TAGS/CATEGORIES

Flickr photos:
- SteakCamp
- “The Brave Bull”

Twitter
#SteakCamp

Blog tags/categories
- SteakCamp

WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO HAVE DINNER THERE BUT JUST COME DOWN FOR EITHER A DRINK OR SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

That’s ok too! Just send me an email, a tweet, or drop a comment here!

SteakCamp 2008 at The Brave Bull – The details ;)

Raul — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:57:10 +0000

Dear all,

As you may all have read, our very own 95Crave Buzz Bishop issued a challenge to several local restaurant reviewers, including my fellow foodie friend Karen and yours truly. I also took the liberty of inviting another fellow foodie friend, Degan.

My awesome friend Rastin offered to put the event on Facebook and the Tazzu community. I am now uploading the details on Upcoming.org (hat tips to superstar Rebecca for reminding me of Upcoming.org)

SteakCamp details

WHEN – Monday June 23rd, 2008 at 6:00pm
WHERE – The Brave Bull
WHY – To answer Buzz Bishop’s challenge to Raul (http://hummingbird604.com), Karen (http://tinybites.ca) and restaurant reviewers in Vancouver.

The Brave Bull’s House of Steaks
1298 E Hastings St, Vancouver
Tel: 604-253-4728

Upcoming.Org page here.

I ~~don’t necessarily need~~ actually DO need RSVPs – they’d be much appreciated. Thanks to Rastin, Rebecca, Karen, Tom, Jay, and everyone else who has agreed to join. ‘

Photos from the event will be tagged “SteakCamp” on my Flickr stream. If there is wireless, I’ll be live-blogging it! Come down for the cheapest steak in town!!

I am coming to The Brave Bull over the weekend to make sure there’s enough room to accommodate us. If you’re coming, drop me an email, or send me a tweet.

UPDATE – I called ahead, and the elderly couple who run it asked me to inform everyone that “service may be slow“. But I am sure we don’t care, do we? It’s all about hanging out with good friends!

I’ll take the Buzz challenge :-)

Raul — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:30:08 +0000

After having had an absolutely lovely afternoon of meetings from good friends whom I’ve met through the blogosphere (lovely Phaedra at Our Town Cafe for yerba mate tea and poppyseed muffin, and adorable Isabella for very early dinner at The Locus), I got back at home, rushing for an interview that got rescheduled at the last minute.

So what do I find when I turn Twhirl on? A challenge by local news power blogger Buzz Bishop (of 95Crave fame) to review The Brave Bull. The restaurant may be in the seedier part of town, but I am never one to back off of a challenge, so I agreed to review it. Since tomorrow – Thursday, and Friday are potentially already booked for dinner, I might end up going on Saturday night. Unless they have brunch, in which case I’ll go in the morning.

Any readers/bloggers/twitterers want to join me? Drop me a comment and let me know So, you can expect a restaurant review as early as Monday morning! YAY! He also challenged Karen from Tiny Bites, so she may join me (potentially, so – Karen, don’t feel obligated!)